Proof

That it's 40% alchol.

Then what does this mean - Jack Daniels - 43% (86 proof)?

How did you get 40% alcohol from "80 proof"?

You divide the proof by two.

Won't that be too difficult? Give him a table! :-) Anders

BTW, once upon a time there was a sort of ignition test for spirits - if th spirit burned correctly it was termed 100 proof. That happened to correspond to 50% abv. I've been told. Maybe someone here knows the full story?

Divide by two!

That's the essence of the American (U.S.) system of proof as it relates to alcohol by volume. ABV is one half the stated "proof".

But proof has other meanings as well.

There is a british system of proof in which 175 proof equals

Dr H ( snipped-for-privacy@efn.org) posted this info on Wed, 9 May 2001:

The American proof system is given on a scale of 0-200, and is basically a number double the actual percent of alcohol by volume. The British proof system uses a scale of 0-175; the reason for the two different systems escapes me at the moment.

Here are the equivalents for some of the more common alcoholic strengths that I come across:

% alcohol Brit. Proof Amer. Proof

--------- ----------- -----------

and Anders Tørneskog ( snipped-for-privacy@c2i.net) pointed out the values of an important strength:

important because there was then available a 100 proof Springbank that was widely recognized as exceptional, and it came in two variations: a British version and an American version, each at 100 proof - 57% ABV and 50% ABV respectively. It has been so well regarded that subdivisions of the two main groups are also recognized - the single dark and double dark versions.

Andreas Gugau ( snipped-for-privacy@andreas-gugau.de) pinned down the exact meaning of "proof" as it was defined in law in the U.K. The Customs and Excise Act of 1952 defined spirits of proof strength as follows:

'Spirits shall be deemed to be at proof if the volume of the ethyl alcohol contained therein made up to the volume of the spirits with distilled water has a weight equal to that of twelve-thirteenths of a volume of distilled water equal to the volume of the spirits, the volume of each liquid being computed as at fifty-one degrees Fahrenheit'.

In other words. proof spirit meant that the spirit at a temperature of

There was originally an even more fun way of determining proof for a spirit and it helps to explain what "proof" means in the first place. Dr H ( snipped-for-privacy@efn.org) supplied us with this:

In the days before accurate hydrometers and thermometers the strength of a distilled spirit was tested by mixing some of the spirit with an equal part of gunpowder and then igniting the mixture. If the mixture burned with a steady flame it was considered "proven", or "proof spirit". If it fizzled and wouldn't stay ignited it was "underproof", and if it exploded it was "overproof".

and ces ( snipped-for-privacy@zetnet.co.uk) imagined what this process might look like,

Take your powder horn from your belt and drop a charge of black powder on the bar: make it into a nice little pyramid, while the bar man wonders what sort of kook you are. Then pour your so called "100 proof spirit" over the pile to soak it. Light it (and watch the bar man reach for the telephone)! If it explodes, wow, your dram was over proof, if it splutters and even goes out, it was below proof, and if it just burns with a steady flame, you are exactly on 100 proof.

Is it any wonder that the UK now uses ABV like other grown-ups?

The British proof system has mostly disappeared now. I don't know when it was last used on labels, but when you see a U.K bottle at 70 proof it's a safe bet that it's been on the shelf for a good while. Perhaps some reader will know. As European Union (E.U.) regulations have superceded the national differences we now see most european bottlings expressly state ABV, and most bottles seen in the U.S. will state both the ABV and the proof as it's calculated in the American System - simply twice the ABV.

Bart

Hello, Von.

Discussions like this one crop up in the group from time to time. Here's a link to a thread of a dozen or so posts in which the subject was done justice, IMO. It includes some history, some speculation, some confusion, some humour, some good information -- everything you need in a good whisky thread.

Or, simply put:

cheers.

bill

There is a Website with a Calculator to randomize Proof to %. Look at

Thats incorrect.

No, it is not incorrect: US proof is simply twice the % ABV, whereas British proof is a more complicated relationship. Presumably, you are talking about British proof when you say 80 proof is 45.71% ABV. In US proof, 45.71% ABV is

There are actually two different ways to measure proof... the US way and the right way (just kidding .... )

Yeah right...

ANYWAY the in the US 80 Proof is 40% (and a Quart is about the same size as a Liter and through is spelled thru ... but I digress.)

an excellent explanation can be found here...

Thank you Bart! I was just looking up this old posting ;-)

Andreas

Sorry Christian. In US, it's correct, 40%, in the UK it's incorrect...

Andreas

ROUGHLY. there isn't an actual exact correspondence, at least not in the UK where Scotch is made. I understand that the US definition IS 2:1

/\/\\/\/\/\//\/\

This newschanal is calling alt.drinks.scotch.whisky. I've never heard about american Scotch. Scotch is Scotch, when its destilled, matured (min 3 years) and bottled in Scotland. Amerikan Proof are so not interesting. Chers, Christian Gaier

"Everyone is entitled to his own opinion but not his own facts." Daniel Patrick Moynahan

Hardly. Just accept gentle correction and move on. Cheers, Ed BTW, it's "American" not "Amerikan".

This is a nice, informative link that explains the different proof systems fairly well:

Cheers, Ed

What an excellent page. Details I didn't know. Thanks.

Bart

Depends on how much you've had to drink. At some point "American" could be spelled "AMNwoicN". At least if you believe me IM logs.

No argument! ;-)