[jlo mein]

ok so i know all about percentages of alchohol and stuff.....you got your smirnoff with like 40%...

but i found this bottle of scotch wisky or something...says its 86 proof? i'm assuming thats some sort of measure of alchohol?

man.....i can about 3 shots of vodka and still feel normal, but i've had one shot of this 86 proof wisky and my head is SPINNING!


oooooooo.............thank god i dont have school today...

 

[Carlos3]

86 proof = 43% alcohol


Just divide "proof" by 1/2 to get the alcohol %

200 proof = 100% alcohol
100 proof = 50% alcohol

 

[fewtch]

"Proof" equates to double alcohol content. Thus, 200-proof would be 100% pure alcohol.

http://www.geocities.com/catzlawyers...lsouthward.htm

 

[DanG]

Regarding proofage... alcohol content listed for scotch and other whiskies is usually an approximation. Kentucky Bourbon, for example, is usually around 100pf but can vary from the mid 80s to the mid 100s depending on the barrel.

Regarding intoxication: more important than how much total alcohol by volume you consume is the state of your body at the time you consume the alcohol. Having had little sleep, an empty stomach, or having consumed certain medicines or drugs before drinking can all increase your level of intoxication.

Another important thing to note is that you're somewhat used to vodka but not to scotch. Your body can become accustomed to certain substances and will begin to compensate when it recognizes attributes like taste or smell. Keep in mind, too, that vodka tastes like horrible water (the name comes from the Russian for water, "voda"). Scotch has a rather strong taste that you'll likely begin to enjoy as you get to try more and better varieties.

What kind were you drinking? As I recall, Johnnie Walker lists 86pf as its alcohol content. Red and Black label are not very good scotches -- search on Head-Fi to find some better recommendations.

One of my favorites under $30/750ml is The Dalmore (a single-malt). If you can find it for a good price, Glenmorangie is very good as well -- in fact, I'm told it's what the Scottish themselves drink.

 

[guzzler]

Quote:

Originally posted by DanG If you can find it for a good price, Glenmorangie is very good as well -- in fact, I'm told it's what the Scottish themselves drink.

second that, rather nice... Famous Grouse is a bit cheaper, but is still pretty good!

g

 

[jlo mein]

i dunno its some special stuff that i found stashed away....

man did this stuff taste horrible though when i started drinking it...tasted like old socks or something haha....but after a while i couldnt really taste it anymore....

crazy....i dunno why this stuff got me so spinny....i guess its only 43% but man i'm just all dazed....i was going to go to my hip hop dance class today too haha!!! but now i'm afraid of falling over at the bus stop haha....uuuuuuhhhhhh.......

i think i'll stick to my smirnoff and bacardi for light drinks from now on thank you hehe...

 

[DanG]

If you want to get smashed fast and cheap, yes, go for vodka and rum. Scotch is really something you should drink slowly and for enjoyment, the way I see it.

 

[Zanth]

Johnny Walker Blue label is a good way to go to start. By that I mean mainstream scotch. It can be pricey but well worth it. DanG is right, black and red label is poo on the tongue

 

[stallion11msu]

Quote:

crazy....i dunno why this stuff got me so spinny....i guess its only 43% but man i'm just all dazed....i was going to go to my hip hop dance class today too haha!!! but now i'm afraid of falling over at the bus stop haha....uuuuuuhhhhhh.......

Were you drinking alone?...rather were you getting drunk alone?

Regarding intoxication: more important than how much total alcohol by volume you consume is the state of your body at the time you consume the alcohol.

Good insight DanG. Very Zen.

 

[grinch]

vodka for life!



big hint: serve ice cold.

 

[DanG]

Yeah, vodka can be drinkable too. But these expensive vodkas you can buy (the best of them being Grey Goose) are basically a joke since vodka is really just something to get drunk on and not enjoy as a quality drink. Then again, American whiskey started the same way -- it was a way to make an easily-transportable product out of wheat that was large enough and spoilable enough to be expensive and difficult to send to East-coast markets. Now you can buy single-barrel bourbon for hundreds of dollars per bottle. Crazy!

 

[emelius]

well that's not exactly true

...

there are two (very) general types of vodka...first there's the ones chasin' after absolute zero like (you guessed it) Absolut...here the goal is nil...no taste...i believe these are of the type that you are referin' to...

the second type is Polish & its variants...here the taste is...if you will...floral...& is meant to be appreciated...not to sound snobby as i realize that you can mix a cheap vodka such as dark eyes with just 'bout anything to obtain what most of us are after, but if you want to try vodka on its own merits i strongly suggest you pick up somethin' Polish (& of course there's a few well known Russian labels)...

as for the original topic...ya half the proof to get the specified alcohol content...but do keep in mind fermentation & for Scotch the whole idea is how the taste is goin' to develop over time...what i'm gettin' @ is just how long had that bottle been sittin' there?

...but i don't wanna get started on Scotch

...well...ya i really do but not here

...

 

[aeberbach]

Be thankful you're in the USA. That 86 proof whisky you can buy is probably sold as 80 proof in Australia because local tax laws add punitive import duties to anything over 80 proof. The Bombay Sapphire or Beefeater gin you can buy is decent stuff - the watered-down 80 proof versions here are nothing special. If you want spirits the way the maker intended you have to go to a specialty store and pay through the nose - e.g. 700ml Lagavulin at $85. Needless to say the proper versions of spirits that are watered down for sale here are not available anywhere. Oh well, at least we have great beer and the world's best wine.

Doesn't proof have another meaning, related to ability to burn at room temperature if flame is applied? I know it usually translates to double the alcohol content by volume but I thought that was just a convenient coincidence.

 

[DanG]

Quote:

Originally posted by emelius there are two (very) general types of vodka...first there's the ones chasin' after absolute zero like (you guessed it) Absolut...here the goal is nil...no taste...i believe these are of the type that you are referin' to... the second type is Polish & its variants...here the taste is...if you will...floral...& is meant to be appreciated...not to sound snobby as i realize that you can mix a cheap vodka such as dark eyes with just 'bout anything to obtain what most of us are after, but if you want to try vodka on its own merits i strongly suggest you pick up somethin' Polish (& of course there's a few well known Russian labels)...

I was referring to the original purpose of vodka and the reason that it became the favorite drink of the Soviet Union (like gin in Britain and much of Europe in the 19th c. and earlier). Some vodkas can be quite good but I have yet to taste one that can have anywhere near the quality of a decent cognac or whiskey.

And I wasn't aware that whiskey ages in the bottle -- I thought that only cask-aging is what counts for fermented wheat alcohols. I know that wine ages in the bottle and that, of course, any alcohol can become bad after a long-enough period of time in glass so perhaps I'm mistaken.

When I was in Russia I had several different kinds of local vodka at my relatives' homes and some were really very good compared even to some of the higher-end labels I've had here (like Stoli, Grey Goose, and Ketel One).

 

[usc goose]

i used to live on grey goose. mmmm... tasty...

edit: oh yeah, the o-chemist in me wants to remind y'all that the azeotrope of ethanol and water is 96% ethanol. which is why everclear is only 190 proof. 200 proof is really, really hard to make.

edit #2: and the historian in me wants to say that iirc, proof came about because back in the day, to test whisky you'd pour it on gunpowder and see if it'd ignite. to pass this test the whisky would have to be about 50% alcohol. so 50% alcohol became 100% proof that the whisky was good.