5 Cocktail Ingredients That Always Need to Be Refrigerated

Frederick Bass
Frederick Bass


We like to show off a full, decked out home bar as much as anyone, but there are some ingredients that are better stored out of sight and in the refrigerator. Keeping some cocktail ingredients refrigerated will prolong their life by weeks or even months. You’ll get many more uses out of them than you would if they were left on the bar or kitchen counter. Here, the bottles, mixers and more that you should keep cool.

All vermouths, both dry and sweet, are fortified wines, and that means that if you don’t want them to turn to vinegar you have to keep them refrigerated. The same goes for bottles like sherry or port (both tawny and ruby). Noilly Pratt has reportedly said their vermouth can keep for a couple months, but we recommend a new bottle every four to five weeks, just to be on the safe side.

Citrus

Maybe this falls under the category of “duh” for you, but if you use fresh citrus fruits in your drinks (and you should definitely be using fresh citrus in your drinks), keep them in the fridge. A lemon for example, will last maybe a week on the counter, but a month in the fridge.

Eggs

If you like Flips or Pisco Sours and you live in the United States, then you need to refrigerate your eggs. That’s because a thin layer called the cuticle is removed in American egg production during washing, which can make eggs susceptible to salmonella if you don’t put them in the fridge.

This depends a little bit on how you make your syrup. A 1:1 sugar to water ratio should be kept in the fridge or it will grow mold rather quickly. A more sugared syrup (a rich 2:1 for example) will remain preserved a little better and can stay on the bar if it must.

Juice

Just like in simple syrup, bacteria can grow in the liquid medium of juice. That means it needs to be kept cool. Everyone from Tropicana to the FDA says juices shouldn’t sit out for more than a few hours.