I once tasted a 1934 Meursault. It was quite maderized, which is to be expected in a white of that age. I rather like the maderization flavors, so it wasn’t unpleasant by any means. Very nutty and caramelly. Just not very Meursault-y.

That’s the oldest I’ve had.

I ate a can of Campbell’s Tomato Soup that was a couple of years past its expiration date.

I didn’t die.

I would like to point out the title question should use “drunk”: “Has anyone ever…drunk 100-year-old liquor?” And you need those hyphens.

You’re welcome.

I seldom drink anything except chilled, dry, white wine. The vintage in my price range is someone around last Tuesday.

Wine question, yay!

The oldest wine I’ve ever tried was a 20-year-old Bordeaux. It smelled amazing, but earlier that day I’d burned my tongue on a dollar menu chicken sandwich from McDonalds and I couldn’t taste anything. :’(

The oldest liquor I’ve ever tried was Hennessy Paradis, a top-shelf cognac blended from different lots of Hennessy that are up to 130 years old. The spirits education person from their corporate office was going around to shops and restaurants sampling it to people. It was early in the morning and I was tired and grumpy; he was crisp and resplendent in a double-breasted suit with a pocket square, and demonstrated to me the proper way to waft the aromas toward my nose. It was pretty good.

Alcohol is a preservative, so liquor will last pretty much forever other than evaporation. But it only benefits from aging when it’s still in oak barrels. Once you have liquor in a bottle, there is no point to “aging” it more. It won’t gain anything and the flavors may eventually fade. Aging in different kinds of oak barrels gives many spirits their flavor, like single malt scotch and barrels that used to hold sherry. Super aged whiskies (40–50 years) cost tens of thousands of dollars and you’re unlikely to find one in a store.

Some wines can go the distance and you might be able to buy one at auction. Dessert and fortified wines are especially good candidates, because sugar is also a preservative in wine. Madeira lasts basically forever because of the unique way it’s made. (Start with a strong, sweet wine, bake it in a warehouse under tropical sun for years on end.) Fine dessert wines like Tokaji, Sauternes, Quarts de Chaume, etc. can totally last 100 years if stored well. Vintage Port is a good candidate as well.

In Adventures on the Wine Route by Kermit Lynch, the author describes drinking special dry white wines that are nearly this age, and how fresh and pure they still tasted. It’s kind of a love letter to French wine and what makes it so special. He also calls a winemaker’s son a horse’s ass; it’s a good read. Michael Broadbent’s Vintage Wine Book also has tasting notes of hundred+ year-old wines. They are different, to say the least.

While in China, I ate something called “100 year old egg”. I was assured it was only 9 months in preparation.