I was curious about the shelf life of rubs and spices. After I open a gallon of chicken rub, how long will it keep? How about rib rub? I have found some rubs I really like but do not know what quantities to get because if they go bland in 6 months, I will order a smaller amount. If the keep, I will order more to save some bucks. I suspect the ingredients have allot to do with it but any help is appreciated. Also, what about BBQ sauce like the CS mild and CS spicy. Thanks.

Some of the common thinking is that spices will last only about 6 months. Spices do not really go bad, tho they will lose their strength. The key is to store them in airtight containers and keep them in cool dry places. I found an article that stated that whole spices can last up to 4 years. ground will last 2-3 years and leafy herbs can last as long at full flavor for as long as 1-3 years. One thing you don't want to do is put a bottle of spices in the freezer as condensation will occur when you pull it out for use and this will cause problems in your spices.
I think a good rule of thumb is to buy that which you think you will use within one year of time

Probably the worst things for spices are moisture, heat, and light. Gils is right that most spices lose their flair after 6 months, but you can extend that, for more than a year in some cases.

We have a section on how to store dry rubs at our site http://www.carolinesrub.com/articles/spice/storing-dry-...and-spice-blends.asp and in all reality this info applies to spices in general.

Hope that sheds some light on this...