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I have tried to look this up but have only come up with a few community sites with improper sourcing and varying degrees of answer (from 1 month to many years).

Does anyone have first hand knowledge or a reliable source?

The back of the bottle is written in Breton, which google translate doesn't support, but since it is close to French I think this is the line I am looking for:

Conservation du chouchen une fois ouvert des annees.

Which to me sounds something along the lines of 'once opened keeps for years', but it's just a guess.

I also know this is the Breton equivalent to mead, but I believe it's made with apple juice which I assume will make it go off faster.

Update: I opened this bottle when I posted this question, forgot about it in the cupboard and remembered it again over the weekend. It tasted absolutely fine (or at least the same as it did when I opened it). I will add an answer when/if the taste changes.

Gamora
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I had to look up Chouchen as I'd never heard of it before (see, after many years still learning!) It looks like it's a form of mead made out of Buckwheat honey which gives it that dark color and probably stronger flavor. According to the article, it was originally made out of cider and honey but it looks like both versions are called Chouchen now. I looked around on the internet and saw that they were generally 13-14% ABV which is in the normal strength for wine and mead. Mead, cider and wine all can last many decades. But as with all of them, once the bottle is opened it will go bad within a few days from oxidation.

farmersteve
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  • Mead usually lasts a couple of years once opened in my experience – Gamora Sep 30 '19 at 20:10
  • Not going to post an answer, simply said your answer stands to be considered the only logical and correct one. It may last a little longer if kept in the fridge and the excess air is removed. – Ken Graham Oct 01 '19 at 21:12
  • @KenGraham right, you can mitigate the effects of oxidation after opening a bottle with an inert gas like Argon or Nitrogen and sticking it in the fridge. But that is only going to work for a couple of extra days. Years is not a possibility. It would be vinegar within months. – farmersteve Oct 01 '19 at 22:28
  • In my experience, both really sweet wines (Tokaj, Sauternes, etc), as well as deliberately oxidized wines (vin jaune and certain sherries), can keep for at least half a year without even starting to turn bad. Sugar is a good preservative (and oxidized, well, it's already oxidized) , so if Chouchen is sweet it might keep for as long as advertised. – gustafc Oct 08 '19 at 11:35
  • In my reading there was nothing to suggest it was sweet. – farmersteve Oct 08 '19 at 14:02
  • @farmersteve it's very sweet, sweeter even than mead! That's also what made me think it might keep longer – Gamora Oct 29 '19 at 13:06
  • @farmersteve it's made of honey - why would it not be sweet? – Gamora Dec 02 '19 at 14:46
  • @Bee Grapes are sweet yet we have dry wine. The same thing happens for all fermented beverages. The sugars are converted into alcohol by the yeast. – farmersteve Dec 03 '19 at 16:01
  • @farmersteve I know the basic concepts of fermentation, there is no need to belittle me with patronising comments. Honey is a lot sweeter than grapes, not all the sugars are converted into alcohol - just like in mead which I'm sure you have tasted. I was actually just asking what had made you assume that it was dry rather than sweet - especially since your research has turned up that it is similar to mead. – Gamora Dec 03 '19 at 16:53