When I am drinking or mixing whiskey, there are occasions where I want my whiskey to be cold straight from the bottle. I wanted to put it in my freezer, but was unsure whether the liquor would freeze if I left it in there for too long. I did some research and this is what I found.
Can whiskey freeze in the freezer?
No, whiskey will not freeze in a domestic freezer, as the freezing point of whiskey that has 40% alcohol lies at -13 ?F (-25 ?C) and your freezer is only 0 ?F (-17?C). Whiskey with a higher proof freezes at a lower temperature, and therefore all whiskeys will not freeze in a regular home freezer.
You should check to what temperature your fridge can cool and see if that isn’t cold enough to freeze your liquor. In the table below I will provide the freezing points for different alcohol content and teach you some other quick things you should know.
Freezing point of whiskey
Pure alcohol freezer at a temperature of -173 ?F and pure water at 32 ?F. A mixture of the two (whiskey) freezes somewhere in between these two temperatures, depending on the ratio.
The table below gives you a safe indication of the freezing point of different proofed whiskeys. The actual freezing point will probably be a bit lower, but this will keep your precious bottle safe from exploding/breaking in the fridge.
| Type | ABV | Freezing Point | |
| 80-proof | 40% | -13 ?F (-25?C) | All standard whiskeys are in this category, as a whiskey must be at least 40% ABV for it to be called whiskey. |
| 86-proof | 43% | -16.5 ?F (-27?C) | |
| 92-proof | 46% | -20 ?F (-29?C) | |
| 96-proof | 48% | -22 ?F (-30?C) | |
| 100-proof | 50% | -24.5 ?F (-31?C) | Cask strength whiskeys are not diluted to lower alcohol concentrations before being bottled and therefore have higher alcohol percentage. |
| 116-proof | 58% | -33.5 ?F (-36?C) |
For the table I have used this calculator from a website called Shotgundentist.
Does freezing whiskey affect it?
Freezing whiskey will not compromise the quality of the whiskey. It will affect the taste, as the cold temperature can dampen some of the flavor. If you find whiskey too strong to drink with many sharp and unpleasant edges, cooling it down can make it a more refreshing drink.
Cooling the entire bottle of whiskey is a good way to circumvent using ice. Using ice is a popular way to drink whiskey, often described as “on the rock” but one thing that happens is that the ice melts and dilutes your drink. If you do not want this, cooling the whiskey itself can be a great option.
Another option is to use whiskey stones. I would actually try those as it’s less work to cool some of the whiskey stones and they are better capable to keep your drink cold for a longer amount of time. More info on whiskey stones can be found here in an article I’ve written earlier.
Don’t store whiskey in the freezer for too long
Something that I would like to warm you for is not storing your whiskey in the freezer for too long. A bottle of whiskey should be stored upright, because the high alcohol concentration of the whiskey can affect the cork and compromise the seal or taste of the whiskey.
If you are able to store your whiskey upright in the fridge there is no problem and it will not affect the taste of the whiskey in any way. However, I would not be able to store a bottle upright in my small freezer.
For more info on whether you should refrigerate or freeze whiskey, you can read my more detailed article here.