How can i check the alcohol content in bottles of <span title="booze--[vodka-bourbon-tequilla]?">booze--[vodka-bourbon-teq...</span>

Question

please dont say -look on the label---i dont believe the label--

i want to verify myself.

Answer 1

Generally, when the &quot;proof&quot; of an alcohol solution is used, one is dealing with a solution of mainly alcohol (that&#039;s ethyl or grain alcohol) in water. The value of the &quot;proof&quot; is exactly twice the percentage of alcohol in the solution. Pure alcohol is &quot;200 proof.&quot; A solution that is 43% alcohol would be &quot;86 proof.&quot;

The percentage of alcohol in a water solution (and thus the &quot;proof&quot;) is usually determined using a hydrometer, a device that measures the density (or the specific gravity to be more precise) of the solution. As the percentage of alcohol in a solution increases, the density decreases because alcohol has a lower density that water. The hydrometer is a floating device that has a long stem that sticks out of the solution. As the density of the solution decreases the hydrometer sinks further into the liquid. The amount of the stem that sticks out of the solution is a measure of the percentage of alcohol or the proof - the more of the stem that sticks out of the solution, the lower the &quot;proof&quot;.

It is interesting how the word &quot;proof&quot; became used for the amount of alcohol. Back in the old days (pretty far back) when people were making and selling alcoholic beverages, there was a concern for just how much alcohol was in them. Those which had more alcohol were prized. A qualitative test was developed. Some of the alcoholic beverage was poured onto some black powder and an attempt was made to ignite the powder. If the liquid had too much water in it, the powder would not ignite. If the powder did ignite, this was &quot;proof&quot; that it had a high enough amount of alcohol in it.

Answer 2

You can use an alchometer.

It&#039;s basically the same thing as used to teste how much sugar is in a liquid but opposite. Many pastry Chef&#039;s use them for that reason.

It is a small test tube looking device that you submerge into the liquid while in a narrow- cylindrical glass so it does not fall over.

It has a gauge on the side that will show you what the alcohol content is. The further it drops, the more alcohol and vice verse.  

Answer 3

Trust me you can believe the label.  Proofing was done because the distillation was not under government supervision and there were a lot of cheats.  

How sure can you be of your proof if you don&#039;t know what you are doing?  The label is more accurate.

Answer 4

You don&#039;t believe the label? Why wouldn&#039;t you? There&#039;s fairly serious laws involved with alcohol labeling.

If you insist, you can buy several types of alcohol testing tools. There&#039;s a float-meter called an alcoholmeter or hydrometer that uses the displacement principle to measure the alcohol in a liquid.

Or you can boil the liquid. It&#039;s not real accurate, but at 40% abv a liquid will boil at 83 degrees C instead of 100dC

Or you can get gunpowder and do it the classic way. Gunpowder + 40% ABV liquids will still light