Topic: 97 percent proof and up

[loveitspicy]

97 Percent  Proof and Up

[Peripatetic Phil]

Must be about the same strength that Joe Fusniak, former Polish airman, used to distil from potatoes !

[Micky Tikka]

Now that would have been great to set a light the Christmas pud

[chewytikka]

WOW Rich...hic ;D ;D

[mr.mojorisin]

typical glaswegian weekend swally

[livo]

As an experienced distiller there are a few things worth pointing out.

If you drink it at over 50% you'll be doing permanent damage to your soft cell structure where ever it touches, so you'd need to be diluting it at least 50/50 with water or something else.

At 97%, which it probably isn't because 96% is about the best you can possibly hope for from a still, it doesn't matter whether it's made from glutinous rice, pure cane sugar, molasses or potatoes. It is as near to pure ethanol as you can get (without chemical water reduction) and will have absolutely no flavour characteristic from anything it was made from.  It was no doubt made with a reflux still which produces high percentage with no flavour.  If you want flavour you need to use a pot still.  The mere fact that it is high % does not mean it is all quality gear.  Distillation is a procedure of fractioning and the first and last off the boil is pure rubbish being heads and tails. Only the middle cut or heart cut is worth keeping.  If you got a headache it is too much heads. At that strength it would contain no tails.

I agree it is cheap by comparison to bottled booze, but I can produce the same thing here in my shed for about AU $3.00 per litre so about 7 pommy quid per gallon and that is hearts only.  Malt Whiskey comes in at about twice that and sour mash corn whisky (moonshine, although I hate the term) somewhere in the middle.

Alcohol is dead easy. that's why they made scare campaigns, AND TAX THE CHITE OUT OF US.

[Peripatetic Phil]

Very informative, Livo; thank you.  But one question, if I may ?  When you write :

If you drink it at over 50% you'll be doing permanent damage to your soft cell structure where ever it touches, so you'd need to be diluting it at least 50/50 with water or something else.

what of spirits such as Pussers or Woods Rum, both of which are 100 proof or 4/7 ABV (=57%) or "As we get it", cask-strength whisky that can come in at well over 100 proof ?  All of these are intended to be drunk as-is (i.e., undiluted).

** Phil.

[Graeme]

Now that's a good informative post Livo :-)

[Sverige]

Interesting! rich you should take up model rocketry because you have some good cheap rocket fuel there. I guess Livo is right though, there won't be a lot of flavour, but if you just want to mix it into a soft drink cocktail then it'll be good enough.

Livo (or anyone) who easy is it to homebrew something which tastes like a decent scotch whisky, and how much cheaper is it than buying from the shops?

[livo]

Interesting! rich you should take up model rocketry because you have some good cheap rocket fuel there. I guess Livo is right though, there won't be a lot of flavour, but if you just want to mix it into a soft drink cocktail then it'll be good enough.

Livo (or anyone) who easy is it to homebrew something which tastes like a decent scotch whisky, and how much cheaper is it than buying from the shops?

It is simple and Malt Whiskey can be made for about Aus $7.00 / litre.  Sour mash corn for about Aus $5.00 / litre, and that is at 40% ABV.  Check out a site called Home Distiller.  It is an American site but has plenty of membership from Europe, NZ and Aus.  It is a great site for learning how to do it and there are some real gurus on the subject there. I made my own equipment from regular plumbing materials but you must not use leaded solder.  Safety is a big deal and there are hazards but Methanol Poisoning and blindness aren't among them if you do it safely.  I've recently got my 78 year old father producing his own.

Phil, I agree that it is possible to drink 50% and over (that's what Over Proof is, as in OP Rum) and there are products which are sold at those strengths. I've had little sips of 60% and up to 75% when it is coming from the output tube to enable the making of cuts, but it is not a widely recommended practice. You are meant to water it down to taste test for cuts anyway. I'm fairly sure that if one was to consume regular quantities of cask strength single malt they would end up with some pretty nasty mouth and throat issues.