21 year old tequila

[Simon UK]

Hi, In August 1988 I bought a bottle of tequila during a breif visit to Mexico and brought it home (England) and it has been in a cupboard since.
I would like to know if it's still good to drink or does tequila have a 'best before' date. The bottle has been opened 21 years ago but hardly any of it has been drunk.
It has gone alot darker than it was when we first bought it and smells very potent.

[chefrob]

This was previously discussed here:

Shelf Life of Tequila

In my personal opinion, distilled spirits should not expire. However factors such as light, temperature and especially oxygenation could be detrimental to the flavor during such a long time. Since you opened it during that 21 year span and are just coming back to it now, I would assume that the flavor was compromised at least slightly. If you never opened it, I would assume it would still taste exactly the same as it always did since you keep it in a cupboard away from light and presumably high temperatures. Evaporation of alcohol can lead to bacteria development too, but this is rare if properly sealed.

[1tequila2]

What did you decide to do with your old tequila? Did you sample it?

[Simon UK]

It tastes very nice, different to other tequilas I have tried.

[1tequila2]

Interesting, just curious, what brand/kind of tequila was it?