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Saw this label today as I was brewing and wondered what the "9% proof spirits" mean? Pretty sure it doesn't mean 9%abv but what DOES it mean?
Your help, as always, is much appreciated.
Your help, as always, is much appreciated.
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label explanation
Means it was around 4.4% alcohol by volume. This is how labeling was waaaaaay back!!
Cheers,
Don
Originally posted by pcollins View PostSaw this label today as I was brewing and wondered what the "9% proof spirits" mean? Pretty sure it doesn't mean 9%abv but what DOES it mean?
Your help, as always, is much appreciated. -
That was my suspicion but what is the math, science or reason behind it?Comment
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It varies whether you are in the UK or the US. In the UK, it was based on specific gravity, but in the US around the middle of the 19th century, it was specified as a percent ABV. So in the UK 100% alcohol works out to 175 proof, in the US, it's 200 proof.Originally posted by pcollins View Post
From: http://www.dcs.ed.ac.uk/home/jhb/whisky/swa/chap6.html
The math came about because 100 degrees proof worked out to 57.15%, which is close to 4/7. So to calculate the proof of your whiskey, multiply the percent by 7/4. For example, Scotch whiskey at 40% ABV is 40 X 7/4 = 70 Proof (using the UK formula).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 51°F. weighed exactly twelve- thirteenths of a volume of distilled water equal to the volume of the spirit. It was, in fact. a mixture of spirit and water of a strength of 57.1% of spirit by volume and 42.9% of water.
The story goes that the 57.15% was the minimum concentration of alcohol that would allow gunpowder to burn when soaked in the spirit, thus "proving" the strength of the spirit (and, of course, requiring a higher tax rate). But they switched over to specific gravity a couple centuries ago. All this changed in 1980. Wikipedia has a good article on it.
Regards,
Mike SharpLast edited by rdcpro; 11-18-2016, 09:50 AM.Comment
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