what percent alcohol is whiskey
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This is What Alcohol Content Tells you About Whisky
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As with all Whisky drinking matters, preference is a matter of the heart, nose and tongue. But perhaps one of our finest laws is that Whisky must have a minimum alcohol content of 40% ABV (alcohol by volume). Although some Whiskies bottled at higher than 40% are considered more precious, many drinkers favour the lower alcohol percentage for its more accessible palate.
You’re also likely to pay more tax on Whisky stronger than 40% ABV, which is worth noting before going completely wild.
In actual fact, after a Whisky has been distilled and aged, its ABV is usually much higher than 40 or 43%, meaning that most bottles on shop shelves have been watered down slightly.
After distillation, a Scotch Whisky can be anywhere between 60-75% ABV, with American Whiskey rocketing right into the 90% region.
Before being placed in casks, Scotch is usually diluted to around 63.5% ABV (68% for grain); welcome to the stage cask strength Whisky.
The basics of Whisky dilluting
Arguably, cask strength Whisky gives licence to the drinker to dilute their own drams, but in-house distillation which will be sold at around 40% ABV, should also capture the Whisky’s optimum flavor profile.
For aspiring mixologists, cask strength Whiskies include Aberlour’s 69.1%, Bruichladdich’s undiluted 70-72% and Port Charlotte’s bottling around the same ABV mark.
When diluting a Whisky, a distillery has to take into consideration the angel’s share of alcohol which has been lost to evaporation during the ageing process. This is usually between 0.5 and 1% every year, so with every year of ageing, a Whisky will lose a little of its alcohol.
Dull but true; measuring the ABV of a Whisky is also a practical issue to help the producers. Back in 1970 Scottish malt Whisky would still tend towards 63%, whilst Irish Whiskey was around the 71% mark. By making a uniform standard, casks are easier to pass around between different blenders.
Not to mention that if you dilute a Whisky, you get more from one cask. During WWI the maximum bottling strength was temporarily brought down to 37.2%.
Single Malt Whisky bottling can have various ABVs, as they will often include various Whiskies from the same distillery. Each cask in each distillery has its own microclimate, so getting an across the board ABV into one bottle is easier said than done.
Chillfiltered? It must be 46% ABV
Chillfiltration is a trend hailed by some and cursed by others, and it results in 46% ABV. Ardbeg and Bruichladdich are among its fans.
Whisky can often go cloudy due to dissolved materials in the nectar including solid flavour carriers, charred charcoal, sherry sediment and wax-like lentils. The cloudiness usually becomes evident when it is diluted or cooled, and by cooling the Whisky to 4 degrees centigrade, the perpetrating substances can easily be extracted using multi-layered paper. Clever stuff.
Does alcohol content influence Whisky flavour?
At higher proofs, you will be able to taste hearty bitter spices in your Whisky, complemented by mellow notes such as almond, vanilla and the odd smack of smoky lapsang souchong. Not to mention your classic woody pines and resins, as well as a few floral and fruity pangs.
Lower proofs tend to showcase sugary qualities, but it’s worth remembering that the higher the proof of the alcohol, often the more sugar in the spirit. So if you like sugar, you’re onto a winner with Whisky in general
Dilution after bottling can reduce some of the sugar flavours and does have a bit of a risk of producing soapy off-notes.
Timing is everything with dilution. Prior to cask filling, dilution is likely to produce a sweeter, smouldering, clean-cut oaky spirit with a bitter twist. Dilution after bottling can reduce some of the sugar flavours and does have a bit of a risk of producing soapy off-notes; hence why Scotch on the rocks is generally deemed a terrible idea.
It is.
How many calories does Whisky have?
As well as having a much higher ABV, Spirits like Whisky are often served with sugary mixers which can mean drinking far more calories than you realize.
Distilled Spirits are pretty much “zero carb”, meaning that their calories come from alcohol, not sugars. How many calories are we talking about? On average, about 65 calories per 30 ml (1 oz.) shot of Whiskey, Gin and the likes.
Of course, if you start messing around with mixers like cherry coke, grenadine syrup and sugared sprigs; the calorie count of your drink will change considerably.
Tips for reducing your unit and calorie intake from Whisky
If your mind is still set on mixed drinks, we recommend going for something simple, like Highball – a delicious Whisky cocktail made just with soda and lemon.
Besides, you can get this boozy refreshment in a can. Haiball, Flaviar’s Hard seltzer for Whisky lovers with low ABV, contains zero sugar, zero carbs, and 100% amazing flavor. A perfect alternative to enjoying Scotch, and you are less likely to munch away on a bag of potato chips.
The Alcohol Content of Scotch Whisky
How much is enough?
Scotch whisky is usually bottled at 40% or 43% abv. But you can also find 46%, 57% and all the numbers between, and sometimes even stronger stuff. Why these differences? What’s the background?
The law states that whisky must have a minimum alcohol content of 40%. That’s the bottom limit. Since alcohol taxes are relatively high in many countries, only selected, more precious bottles surpass this 40% – 43% limit.
Especially in the low-price range customers compare prices without paying attention to the alcohol content. However, for an 0.7 or 0.75 litre bottle with 43% you have to pay some ten cents of alcohol tax more than for one with 40%. That’s a noticeable disadvantage on the market for sellers. That’s why the standard bottlings are usually bottled at 40%.
In duty-free shops the alcohol content plays a minor role since there’s no alcohol tax. Producers just have to pay a little more for the additional raw whisky. For the majority of connoisseurs, 43% seem to offer the ideal taste experience. Many 1 litre bottles and older single malts are bottled at this strength. However, the abolition of duty-free in the European Union led to many 1 litre bottles also being bottled at 40%. This saves the taxes within the Union in the so-called travel value.
2. History
Before industrial measuring was introduced, determining the alcohol content was difficult. Buyers used a trick. They mixed whisky with gunpowder and ignited it. If the flame was bright, the whisky was “proof“, i.e. the alcohol content was right.
If the flame was bluish and weak, it was “under proof“. If the mixture exploded, it was “over proof“. Later it was discovered that the proof point is around 57% abv.
The British adjusted their alcohol scale around this point (57% = 100 proof). 3% abv correspond to 5 proof. The Glenfarclas 105 therefore has 60% abv. Please don’t confuse American proof with British proof. The American proof figure is always double the abv.: 100 proof = 50%. Bourbons are often bottled above this strength. It used to be the precondition for the quality label ‘bottled in bond’, which has survived in some bottlings until today.