Talk:Proof (alcohol)

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[edit] 95, 96?

Is that 95% alcohol limit true. Over here in Finland the pharmacists bottles all claim 96%. Maybe the folks accross the pond just rounded that 190 proof down to the nearest ten? -- Cimon Avaro on a pogostick 05:15, Oct 31, 2003 (UTC)

Also it might (or might not) be worth explaining that two liters of 100° proof alcohol contain what would, if separated, be one liter of pure ethanol and a little over a liter of water and other things, since the liquids shrink a little when combined.

The azeotrope of water/ethanol is close to 95-96%. I'm guessing that it is just a preference thing.

[edit] The great divide

It might also be worth mentioning that UK Proof is different from US Proof; Pure alcohol is 175% Proof in the UK. CS Miller 17:09, Apr 8, 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Reason for revert

I reverted this article back to pre IP addressee's modifications. This article is writen in english which uses the word "proof" as an indicator of alcoholic content. In addition, Robert Boyle invented the hydrometer in the 17th century. Proofing of alcohol came soon after. The article was correct prior to our drive by's input.

[edit] Alcoholic Proof Redux

As far as I'm aware ethanol is extremely hydrophilic. So, as soon as it is exposed to air, it will pull water molecules from the air and dillute the ethanol to roughly 95% alcohol. I believe you can get the percentage up to 98% by doping the ethanol with methanol, or other substances that are generally unsafe to drink. The only way to have 100% ethanol would be to put your ethanol in a vacuum, where there would be no other molecules to dillute your alcohol. Of course, as soon as you opened your 100% ethanol vacuum packed bottle, it'd almost immediately drop to 95% as the air hit it. Even if you drank it from the vacuum pack with a straw, the ethanol would grab moisture as it touched your throat, and drop to roughly 95% before it hit your stomach. So, for those of you looking for a shot of 100% ethanol, you're out of luck. (I'm about 95% sure that this information is correct. However, I'd recommend someone check with a chemist before posting this outside of the discussion page.)

Not quite. It would take quite a while to pull 5% volume water out of the air. Very pure alcohol is produced by a number of processes like salt drying, lime reaction, and three-part azeotrope distillation. However, "pure alcohol" is not sold to the ordinary public in most places. Rmhermen 00:22, 27 February 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Proof outside the Western world

It might be worth mentioning (or not) that the world outside North America and Europe doesn't use "proof" and won't have a clue what it means. It's therefore probably sensible not to give the proof of a beverage without the equivalent ABV, especially in Wiki articles describing various spirits. --Charlene.vickers 04:39, 2 February 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Production passage necessARy?

Unless I'm missing something, I don't really see why a description of the alcohol production process is necessaRy here, in an aRticle about a unit of meaSurement. Maybe the passage here could be integrATed with saY fermentation.

[edit] Firewater?

That comment about the etymology of firewater is a load of shit. Someone with balls should remove it. LOL I wrote 'firewire' instead of 'firewater'!

[edit] Science bless us, everyone.

Solid fuckin' article. I'm glad that we were able to find out how drunk we were without having to read the fuckin' article. I'm glad. I love all you fuckin wikipedians. WOOOOOOH!!!

Did you just spill my pint? Maikel 15:20, 27 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] "If a 150-proof beverage is mixed half-and-half (by volume) with water, the product is 75 proof"

I have added {{Fact}} because when you mix 3 part of pure alcohol with 1 part of pure water, you get less than 4 parts of liquid, so diluting that mixture 1+1 with water will not give you the same result as mixing 1 part water with 1 part pure alcohol. Man with two legs 09:29, 16 June 2007 (UTC)

I have now altered it to fit what I think is likely to be accurate and adequately readable:
...the product is close to 75 proof (not exactly because of a small volume change when alcohol is mixed with water)
-unless there is a fiddle in the way the thing is measured that makes this wrong. Accurate facts, anyone? Man with two legs 21:00, 25 June 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Percent, present?

ABV, the unit that is commonly used at percent ... shouldn't that be "at present"? Maikel 15:20, 27 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Why gunpowder?

To ensure that the brandy being used as payment has not been watered down or was of good quality, it was proved by dousing gunpowder in the rationed brandy, and testing to see if it would ignite. If it didn't ignite, the solution had too much water in it and the proof was considered low or "underproof". Great story. But why go to all this length and not simply light the brandy you're trying to test? I know from experience that if you want to flambée anything and therefore need alcohol that burns, you have to get the 54% ABV stuff. And according to the article, 54% ABV roughly equates 100° proof. So I suspect that "proof" simply means "alcoholic drink that burns". Maikel 15:59, 27 September 2007 (UTC)

You can burn ordinary 40% booze if you warm it first, so burning is not a practical test. Man with two legs 21:05, 27 September 2007 (UTC)