Why vodka 40 degrees is optimal. What is the strength of vodka and methods for determining it

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There are many myths surrounding the great Russian scientist Dmitri Mendeleev. Among them are those statements that he first saw his periodic table in a dream, and also that it was he who decided to assign a strength of 40 degrees to vodka. However, all this is nothing more than myths created, perhaps not without the participation of a brilliant scientist.

Most likely, there is no such Russian who would not have heard anything about the periodic system of elements. One way or another, everyone once encountered it, at least in school chemistry lessons. At the same time, almost everyone knows that a Russian scientist first saw the table he created in a dream.

At the beginning of 1869, Dmitri Mendeleev was very close to discovering one of the fundamental laws of nature - the periodic law of chemical elements. However, at the final stage of the work, everything went wrong. He could not arrange the known chemical elements in such a way that they reflected changes in their properties associated with an increase in atomic weight.

The tired scientist fell asleep at the table for a while and saw in a dream that table that he could not create in reality. Waking up, Mendeleev quickly recorded what he saw in a dream, studied the diagram and realized that this was exactly what he had been trying to come to over the past three days.

This story can be found in many reference books and magazines devoted to the history of science, and it can also be heard from school chemistry teachers. Millions of people believed and continue to believe in it, without even suspecting that this is nothing but a myth.

Let's start with the fact that Mendeleev never mentioned the "wonderful dream" either in his diary or in letters to his friends. However, there is information from his friend, a well-known geologist and professor at St. Petersburg University, Inostrantsev. Mendeleev once told him the following: "I dreamed about how I was compiling a table, but nothing worked out for me, then I woke up, made some notes and went back to sleep. The next morning I finalized the table, making only one minor correction." Later, Inostrantsev often told this story to his students, talking about "what a psychological effect intensive work has on the brain." Apparently, it was Inostrantsev and his students who were the first sources of the myth.

Mendeleev never confirmed this when working with other scientists or during contacts with the press. Moreover, some of his statements completely contradict the hypothesis that the table was created immediately. For example, answering a reporter's question about the origin of the table, the scientist noted that thought about it for 25 years. Colleagues recalled that Mendeleev worked on the table for several years, and there were a number of variations of it. By the way, the scientist continued to work on its improvement after the release of his periodic law.

However, Mendeleev was not the first scientist to propose such a table. In 1864, the German scientist Julius Lothar Meyer published his table of 28 elements arranged in six columns according to their valency.

An attempt to relate the properties of elements to their atomic weight was made in 1866 by the English chemist John Alexander Newlands, who also created the table. Although mistakes were later found in both tables, Mendeleev got to know them well, examples were always before his eyes.

But why then did Mendeleev tell Inostrantsev that he saw the final version of the table in a dream? If this conversation really took place (which is actually very doubtful), then perhaps the great chemist was joking, and Inostrantsev took everything at face value. Everyone who knew Mendeleev said that he had a very strange way of communicating, no one understood whether he was joking or talking seriously. If so, then it turns out that Inostrantsev is not the author of the myth, and Mendeleev himself created it.

Why is the myth so widespread? Maybe because for many people who have nothing to do with science, the real ways of building scientific theories are unknown, as a rule. They do not know what a scientist must do in order to "get a discovery." However, everyone has heard of prophetic dreams. For an ignorant person, this order of things seems more natural, and, accordingly, it is easier to believe in it.

Another widely held myth is that many believe that it was Dmitry Mendeleev who set the standard for the strength of Russian vodka - forty degrees (allegedly in his doctoral dissertation "Discourse on the combination of alcohol and water" it was noted that such a percentage of alcohol is the least harmful to the human body). However, one of the inscriptions in the Vodka Museum in St. Petersburg says that Mendeleev considered 38% vodka to be ideal, but this number was rounded up to 40 to simplify the calculation of the alcohol tax. In addition, this myth is widely used for advertising purposes.

For example, the Russian Standard vodka label says that the vodka "meets the highest quality standards of Russian vodka, approved by a commission of the royal government headed by D.I. Mendeleev in 1894."

However, this is nothing more than a myth. Firstly, in Mendeleev's dissertation there is no mention of working with an alcohol 40-degree solution. The researcher studied higher concentrations of alcohol - from 70 degrees and above. Moreover, there are no published works by Mendeleev related to methods of diluting alcohol in vodka production. Secondly, the 40-degree standard was established in Russia in 1843, when Mendeleev was only 9 years old. It was submitted to the government without the participation of any scientists or excise commissions.

This standard was created because then the tax on alcohol was calculated based on its strength. Therefore, the strength of the drink in each case had to be measured, and the measurement scale had to be very accurate. In addition, it turned out that on the way from the producer of vodka to its final consumer, it fell into the hands of speculators who diluted it and sold it as undiluted.

In order to prevent this from happening, as well as to simplify the procedure for levying taxes, the government issued a decree (of course, without asking the opinion of the schoolboy Mendeleev) that the strength of vodka reaching the consumer should be at least 40 degrees. Otherwise, those who committed an unlawful act were threatened with criminal liability. Due to the fact that in Russia under Nicholas the First, criminals were treated very harshly, in less than a year, only 40-degree vodka was present in all shops and entertainment establishments.

As for the "vodka commission", it was actually created at the suggestion of S.Yu. Witte not in 1894, but in 1895. Mendeleev once spoke at a meeting of this commission, saying a few words about the excise, however, without mentioning anything about "forty degrees." And the year 1894 on the label of "Russian Standard" apparently appeared after an article by the historian Pokhlebkin, who wrote that "Mendeleev, 30 years after writing his dissertation, decided to join the commission." The producers of the "Russian Standard" simply added the metaphorical 30 to 1864 and got 1894.

All this is an ordinary myth, which, nevertheless, does not take away the laurels from Mendeleev as one of the most brilliant chemists in the history of mankind.

Many people, especially those living in Russia, have come across such a drink as vodka, and of course, most have wondered how many degrees of alcohol it contains. Here the answer is simple, you might think - 40 degrees and no more and no less, but as specialists from one of the largest online magazines about alcoholic beverages "SamogonMan", we will tell you in all seriousness: the ratio of alcohol can vary from 40 to 56 degrees, depending on place of production and taste preferences.

Note! Vodka belongs to the category of strong alcohol drinks and its abuse can lead to alcoholism!

In the article you will find answers to all your questions about the degree measure of vodka, why exactly 40 is a number so strongly embedded in the minds, and also a lot of interesting. The information is collected from all over the Internet, which saves you a lot of time searching for an answer to such an important question.

How many degrees are in vodka? Turnovers, degrees and GOST

What are the ingredients of vodka?

One of the most important components is alcohol, which is obtained by processing wheat grains or other cereals, as well as potatoes.
The crushed mixture of raw materials is boiled, after which yeast is added, which promotes fermentation. Then all this mass is placed in a special apparatus for further processing. Thus, purified alcohol is obtained
But it is very difficult to obtain a 100% alcohol solution, but rather impossible, since impurities will still be present (albeit in small quantities).

Next, a certain amount of water is added to the resulting substance and re-purification is carried out using activated carbon. To make vodka aromatic and more palatable, a small amount of citric acid, glucose, honey, orange, lemon and other fruit zest, milk powder and much more are also added, depending on the recipe.

Different manufacturers have their own technology, including the choice of water will be different for each. You can use distilled or boiled, but alcohol is poorly soluble in them. Tap water can contain a large amount of salts, as a result of which the vodka will not be transparent, but whitish.

To achieve softness of water, it is pumped through filters with sand, put into treatment with cation exchanger and other installations. It is forbidden to use muddy water, with an extraneous smell and taste.

How many degrees of alcohol are in vodka

As you know, alcohol is one of the necessary components contained in this alcoholic drink. When buying vodka, we often pay attention to the degrees that are indicated on the label in the form of a number and with a small circle next to (above). How many degrees are in vodka? Traditional vodka has a strength of 40°–45°. This is the best option from those that were previously proposed. A 40-degree alcoholic drink does not burn the stomach.

Some manufacturers began to designate the strength of the alcoholic beverage as a percentage. Therefore, when calculating the weight as a percentage, indicate the number of degrees (for example, 40 °), and when calculating the volume - the percentage (for example, "fortress 16-18% vol." or "alcohol 18% vol.").

How to get 40-degree vodka? To do this, mix 90-degree alcohol in an amount of 100 ml with 130 ml of water. You get the following ratio: 1 part of alcohol to 1.3 of water. Optional ingredients, such as glucose, have almost no effect on the strength of the drink.

What alcohol is used in the manufacture of vodka

Alcohol is a liquid that has combustible properties. In 100% of the total volume, ethanol is 96.6%, which is why it is called ethyl. Rectified (which has been redistilled to remove impurities from the alcohol) ethyl alcohol is mixed with water to prepare this product.

The quality of ethyl alcohol depends on how purified it is: first grade - 96%, highest purification - 96.2%, luxury - 96.3%, and extra reaches 96.5%. There is also medical alcohol.

Quality standards (GOST)

How many degrees are in vodka? The standards provide for the production of vodka using five types of purified (rectified) alcohol: "Higher Purification", "Lux", "Extra", "Alpha" and "Super". The last two of the above are the highest quality alcohols.
Their production has been established not so long ago, but has already found its application in the manufacture of elite vodka drinks (“Premium” class). "Lux", "Alpha" and "Super" are made exclusively from grains.
In the manufacture of alcohols of the "Extra" and "Higher Purification" types, it is possible to use other raw materials, for example, potatoes or beet sugar. Some medical-related businesses may use rubbing alcohol. The finished vodka product should not contain furfural.

Storage of alcohol terms is not limited. But at the same time it is necessary to comply with the conditions. Vodka drinks must be produced strictly in accordance with the requirements of standards, instructions, in accordance with sanitary standards. How many degrees are in vodka? The strength of the drink must be at least 37.5%. The amount of toxic substances and radionuclides should not exceed the permissible level. Alcohol can only be used purified.

The use of vodka drinks

You do not need to drink such a drink if you do not want to spoil the taste. But if this option does not suit you, then you can take a glass of plain water. In no case should you drink vodka from plastic (disposable) cups, since in the manufacture of dishes for one-time use, substances are used that are harmful to health, but contribute to the strength of this item. A glass filled with an alcoholic drink releases poisons that will accumulate and negatively affect your body.

Rice vodka (sake): degrees

Rice vodka - how many degrees are in this unusual drink? Rice vodka, or "sake", is Japanese vodka. Rice is used in the manufacture of large, containing a large amount of starch.
But still, it is not entirely appropriate to call this drink vodka, since there is no distillation process during preparation, but it must be in the preparation of such a product.
That is why it is also called rice wine, the technology of which is based on fermentation, not fermentation. Sake is also equated with beer, rum, liquor, and even compared with weak moonshine.

How many degrees are in sake - rice vodka? Sake is distinguished by its lightness and low alcohol content compared to other types of vodka drinks. Its strength ranges from 14.5% to 20%, sometimes reaching 25% (depending on the type of sake and its aging). If rice vodka is only cooked, then its strength will be no more than 15%. Exposure helps to increase the fortress to 20% or more, but in the birthplace of sake - Japan - they often dilute it to get no more than 16 degrees. This is what the vodka / sake ratio looks like: 40 ° to 16 °, which is why this drink cannot be called vodka .

Degrees of aqua regia

Royal vodka - how many degrees are in this drink? And is she so "royal"? The pretentious name of this substance does not mean at all that only aristocrats can afford to use it. Such a liquid is intended for completely different purposes.

Royal vodka is a mixture of hydrochloric acid and nitric acid (volume ratio 3 to 1). It has a yellowish color, a pronounced smell of chlorine and nitrogen. Such a substance is one of the strongest oxidizing agents; it can dissolve any metals, including gold and platinum. But such properties of aqua regia disappear if the substance has not been closed for a long time (the chlorine has weathered).

How many degrees in american vodka

The ingredients in this product will be the same as in similar production in different countries. Most American distillers in the manufacture of vodka achieve softness of water by boiling and distilling.

How many degrees of alcohol are in the vodka Americans drink? Strong alcoholic drinks in America, including vodka, are famous for their variety and high quality. The strength of American vodka is quite high. Such brands are especially popular: "44 ° North latitude", "Smirnoff" (50 °), "Wolfschmidt", "Black Eagle" and many others.

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What strength does vodka have, what percentage of alcohol is in it?

The most popular alcoholic drink, vodka, has a high alcohol content. This product quickly entered the lives of many people and firmly entrenched in it. Nevertheless, some to this day cannot figure out the measure of the strength of a transparent alcoholic drink.

What is vodka? This is not an easy mixture of ethyl alcohol and water, as is commonly believed in everyday life. In addition to these two irreplaceable ingredients, other components are often included in the composition of a pleasure drink.

What is the strength of the intoxicated

The composition of vodka may include:

lemon acid;
sugar;
extract from various plants and natural flavors such as pine cones, birch buds, etc.;
powdered milk;
vinegar.

These additives do not affect how much alcohol will be in the finished product. Honey and sugar mainly play the role of spices required to give the drink a mild taste.

The set and the required proportion of additional ingredients are determined by the manufacturer. Often the variety and name of vodka depends on this. So, on store shelves you can find vodka with the name “special”, “selected”, “crystal”, etc. But, no matter what additives the manufacturer experiments with, the main components of the “little white” are rectified food alcohol and water. Their ratio, or rather the way of visualizing this ratio, sometimes introduces some of the citizens into a stupor: the first bottle says 40 °, the second 40%, and the third 40% vol. Which is better?

Production of Russian vodka to the masses

The production of Russian vodka to the masses first began in the fifteenth century. At that time, the technology for producing food ethanol from grain raw materials was very different from the methods that are used now. The principles were the same, but the main difference lay in the imperfection of technological processes. The resulting product had a low degree of purification from impurities. The most popular filtration method at that time was charcoal cleaning, which helped to remove fusel oils, but did not affect how much alcohol remained in alcohol.

The culture of drinking hard liquor was also radically different. Until 1885, there was no retail trade in alcohol at all. Alcohol was poured and sold in whole cups - containers with a volume of about a quarter liter. Therefore, the “little white” fortress was designated by parts of the volume. That is, of the total volume of liquid, 40% was occupied by alcohol.

Discovery of Mendeleev

After 1885, new trends came to Russia from the West, among them the retail sale of wine and products containing ethyl alcohol. In parallel, in 1895, D. I. Mendeleev scientifically proved that in order to compose a mixture of water and ethanol that is optimal in terms of properties and characteristics, it is necessary to use not a volume measure, but a mass measure. Therefore, out of one hundred percent of the total mass of the liquid, 40 should be occupied by alcohol. Since then, in the USSR it was customary to designate the strength of alcohol in degrees.

The difference in the ways of indicating the strength of alcoholic beverages ultimately leads different buyers to ask the same question: "How much alcohol is in one bottle of vodka?"

Percentage or degrees

What is the most correct designation of the strength of alcoholic beverages? In degrees or percentages? After a scientific study conducted by D. I. Mendeleev, a clear rule was introduced in Russia and the USSR, stating that it should be indicated how much alcohol is in alcoholic products based on the weight fractions of the substance. And to make it clearer to people, the degree of fortress was expressed by a degree (a small circle placed at the top, to the right of the number), which with all its appearance made it clear that when pure (96.6 °) alcohol was diluted with water, it was units of mass that were involved.

Thus, on containers with Russian-made alcohol until the 70s, the following designations of the fortress could be found:

45 ° - the strongest vodka, rarely found on sale;
40 ° - the most common "white";
35°, 30° - low-strength vodka;
20, 14 or less degrees - other alcoholic beverages, including beer, wine, gin, etc.
Homemade beer that anyone can make.

Percent sign

What about the percent sign? How can you explain its appearance on bottles of alcohol that are sold in Russia now? Expressing the ethanol content in strong drinks using a percentage is a Western trend that has come to us.

It must be emphasized that this method is somewhat incorrect, since nowhere is it indicated from what this percentage is calculated - from mass, or from volume.
And how many ordinary people have gone astray in this way? A lot of. Indeed, of all consumers of alcoholic beverages, only a few truly understand degrees and percentages.

Recently, to clarify the situation, the index “about” is placed next to the% sign, if necessary. That is, now "forty-degree water", obtained by mixing the volume fractions of water and alcohol, has the designation 40% vol. Foreign manufacturers decided to do the same and stick stickers with the inscription 40% Vol. It must be admitted that this form of recording is no longer misleading, since the additional prefix “about” or “Vol” makes it clear that in the manufacture of vodka, the optimal ratio of alcohol and water was achieved by measuring the required volumes.

old fret

To the question "How many degrees in ordinary vodka?" many will answer - 40. Is this correct or not? That's right, if you use the traditional system, where each "degree" is equal to a hundredth of pure 100% alcohol.
And it is wrong, if we take into account the old Western European system, in which 0.005715 of the total volume of pure food ethanol is taken as a “degree” of fortress.
Therefore, you can show how much alcohol is in a drink through the usual system (40% vol), or through the outdated one (70 ° Br. Proof).

The designation of the strength of alcoholic beverages and substances through Proof-degrees is an outdated technique that was popular in Western Europe. Nevertheless, now on sale you can still find bottles with an alcoholic liquid, the main characteristic of which is calculated in the old, “inflated” way. There are instances with a double designation, for example, 40% vol (70 ° Br. Proof). Here you can see that the old wording is located next to the new one and is enclosed in brackets.

Why are the degrees "inflated" in the old system?

There are two explanations for this:

Foreign manufacturers simply do not take into account the contraction, or otherwise the compression of alcohol.
According to foreign producers, wine and vodka products, or rather, how much ethanol they contain, should be evaluated not by blend, but by the characteristics and components included in this blend.

Equally, the way the concentration of ethyl alcohol in the drink is indicated does not decide anything and does not affect how much alcohol the finished product will have. To achieve the optimal ratio of alcohol and water, so that the molecules of both substances completely diffuse with each other, is quite difficult. Even the vodka of the most eminent and expensive brand is far from perfect at the molecular level. Various manufacturers of "fire water" strive to bring the composition of their product closer to the ideal. But this is not easy to do, otherwise, if you combine half a liter of water with the same volume of pure alcohol, you get a liter of vodka.

Vodka is a strong alcoholic drink that has earned popular recognition. It is customary to use it on holidays, big celebrations, in the circle of a noisy cheerful company. Pleasure goes well and is gently perceived by the body, if after every glass you drink, you have something to eat.

Perfect for this purpose:

salted pickled mushrooms;
salted herring with onions;
smoked meats and other meat dishes;
boiled potatoes.

What is combined with

In general, "little white" goes well with many dishes, both with the first and second ones. There are no unequivocal recommendations here, because each person has an individual taste. How much alcohol is in the typical vodka we are so used to drinking? Several answers can be given to this question: 40°, 40%, 40% vol, 70° Br. proof. It’s probably not worth worrying about degrees and percentages, arguing which formulation is more accurate, since they all display approximately the same value. In addition, there is no need to think about the strength of alcohol, sitting at the festive table.

In any case, you should always remember that vodka is a good product if consumed in moderation.

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Features of Russian vodka

According to statistics, about 55% of the total population of Russia periodically consume this primordially Russian drink. The higher the degree of vodka, the better it is. In Russia, it is customary to drink vodka in its pure form, while in other countries cocktails with vodka are preferable, the degree of which is an order of magnitude lower.

It's no secret that unscrupulous producers of strong alcoholic beverages use a surrogate instead of pure alcohol, so there are a lot of fakes on store shelves, and how many underground counters exist? Fortunately, the requirements for the quality of the drink have recently been established so as not to let the real poison go into the sale.

Drink strength

Speaking of the strength of a clear liquid, it can range from 40 to 56 degrees, it all depends on the chemical composition. The degree of the drink determines the percentage of ethyl alcohol, everything else is filtered water. To improve the taste, fruits, milk, honey, etc. are added to the drink. All components must be listed in the composition.

Alcohol with an ethyl alcohol content of 40% is considered safe for humans. It is this amount that does not burn the gastric mucosa and helps to avoid intoxication of the body. But do not forget that the state of a person directly depends on the amount of alcohol consumed, you cannot compare one glass and one liter, the effect will be significantly different.

The quality of ethyl alcohol is the main indicator of the strength of the little white. In its pure form, alcohol has a strength of 96 degrees. After thorough cleaning, its strength becomes 96.2-96.3 degrees. It is ethyl alcohol that is considered an ideal component for the manufacture of strong alcohol. It is possible to use medical alcohol, but this is extremely rare.

Vodka Options

The standard for what the strength of vodka should be is quite difficult to determine. Much depends on which class the drink belongs to:

Extra.
Suite.
Super.
Alpha.

But one main requirement is applied to each of these classes: the strength of a given alcohol of any class should not be lower than 37.5 degrees. Otherwise, it will no longer be vodka, but a drink of dubious content.

Depending on the name, vodka has a different density. For example, Finlandia vodka with a strength of 40 degrees has a density of 951 kg / m 3. The same Finland, but with a strength of 50.5 degrees, will have a different density. Of course, most lovers of strong drinks do not pay attention to this indicator. But for those who care about their well-being, the density of the drink plays an important role. It is on this that the degree and speed of intoxication, as well as the state of the body after the feast, depend.

Features of making vodka

As you know, the finished alcoholic drink contains more than half of ethyl alcohol, the rest is water and flavorings. Activated charcoal may be added for cleaning.

Modern vodka producers use various methods for distilling ethyl alcohol. The most popular and effective are cleaning methods using silver ions, black silicon or laser irradiation. After this procedure, the degree of the drink remains unchanged, but the quality of the drink increases, on which the level of a person’s morning hangover directly depends.

Externally, vodka is a clear liquid that does not have any sediment. In fact, many chemical elements can be found in the composition of vodka. The following components may affect the quality of the drink:

Percentage of ethyl alcohol.
The content of fusel vapors and aldehydes, which may be completely absent in high-quality vodka.
The presence of alkali.
The content of the ethers.

The container into which the finished product is poured also has standard volumes. The most common are glass containers with a volume of 330, 500, 700, 1000 milliliters.

Good vodka - does it exist?

As you know, the cost of a transparent substance consists of its quality, strength and production technology. How many degrees should vodka have? The stronger the vodka, the better it is. The most popular is vodka with an ethyl alcohol content of 40 percent, although the strength can vary up to 56 degrees. Vodka Finlandia 101 has a strength of 50.5 degrees. This characterizes it as a high-quality elite drink.

Despite its considerable cost, Finland is in demand among foodies who like to drink, not get drunk. Finlandia 101 is made with the addition of the purest artesian water from a Finnish spring. Such water does not need additional purification, which improves its taste. Despite its increased strength, Finlandia has a mild sweetish taste. Vodka is popular in many countries of the world, has many positive characteristics.

Vodka Finlandia 101 is made from high-quality barley, which gives the drink a unique deep taste, complemented by high strength. It is Finlandia 101 brand vodka that is considered the best drink for creating cocktails or drinking it in its pure form with ice. Finland has a good reputation among spirits lovers, which it received immediately after the appearance of the first batch in 1970.

Evaluation of the quality of the drink

If the goal of your feast is to have a good and fun time, and wake up in the morning as if nothing had happened, then you must be sure of the quality of the drink you are drinking. There are the following criteria for evaluating strong alcohol:

quality drink

In order to be sure of the quality of a strong alcoholic drink, it is recommended to purchase it in a specialized store where product quality is closely monitored. As a rule, such stores work only with trusted suppliers and can fully vouch for the quality of the drinks they sell. Everyone can guess how much such a drink will cost.

Of course, the cost of a little white in special stores will differ significantly from those where you can stumble upon a surrogate. But before buying vodka, decide for yourself what result you want to get. The production of good vodka is a costly undertaking, and therefore the final cost is quite high.

The use of alcohol of any strength and density does not have the slightest positive effect on the human body. Rather, on the contrary, the nervous system is destroyed, the liver decomposes, brain activity noticeably deteriorates. Even the most elite alcohol, made according to all necessary standards, can cause irreparable harm to health. No matter how much you drink, your body will still receive a share of the poison. Excessive alcohol consumption negatively affects the entire human body, whether it is a cheap drink or a quality Finland.

Do not forget that the frequent use of alcohol is highly addictive, which is quite difficult to get rid of.

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Counterfeit detection rules

Since it is very difficult to prepare alcoholic products that clearly comply with generally accepted standards, many "craftsmen" actively sell illegal low-quality strong alcoholic beverages. It is one thing if the buyer deliberately takes such a risk, and quite another when the swill is passed off as an elite drink at high prices. In order not to lose, it is important to know not only the weight of the purchased liquid, but also other equally important quality indicators.

Appearance. When buying strong alcoholic drinks, it is important to pay attention not only to its weight, but also to its appearance, which will also tell a lot to the buyer. The liquid must be transparent, the presence of a cloudy color and sediment in a quality drink is impossible. Therefore, in the presence of such characteristics, it is urgent to return the purchase still sealed and not to doubt its low grade.

The main criteria for assessing quality

Smell. If outwardly the liquid does not cause additional questions, it is allowed to open the bottle. It is very important to pour the first glass and conduct a little experiment. You just need to smell the liquid. The presence of the smell of denatured alcohol eloquently indicates the quality of the product, while the aroma of acetone suggests disturbing thoughts about buying dubious alcoholic products.
Weight. The amount of alcoholic liquid must fully correspond to the capacity of the glass container. The difference, as a rule, is visible to the naked eye, so if there is such a defect, the bottle can not even be opened, but carried back to the store and demanded consumer protection. It is possible that alcohol was poured "underground", and drinking it is dangerous for health and one's own life. Also, the liquid can be weighed, but for this you need to know what the tare weight is, since it is it that needs to be subtracted from the value obtained on the scales.
Cold check. Not only experienced alcoholics know about this method of verification, this useful information is also available to the average person. If an unopened bottle is placed in the refrigerator and allowed to freeze, then burnt alcohol is distinguished by the appearance of crystals in the liquid. This indicates the presence of questionable impurities and a large amount of water. A high-quality and certified product does not freeze, and the alcohol liquid only cools.
Ignite. A high-quality alcoholic drink always burns, a low-quality one may not even be set on fire. It is in this way that strong alcoholic drinks are tested in bars and restaurants, so why not make a similar experiment in a comfortable home environment. If the liquid flared up like gasoline, then this indicates that a large amount of impurities, combustible substances that are dangerous to the health of the drinking person are concentrated in its chemical composition.

Alcoholic drinks are best purchased in certified stores that are licensed to trade.

And in general, it is recommended to purchase alcoholic beverages only in certified stores that have the right to sell alcohol. As a rule, in such establishments there is a clear quality control, checking products from different suppliers, and a guarantee for the product being sold. Such products cost a little more, but the buyer buys a clear confidence in his health the next morning after a mass celebration. Otherwise, you can end up in a hospital bed or not wake up at all, dying in a dream from alcohol intoxication. So it’s better to overpay for quality, especially since the low price should already alert you. It is important to remember what the process of making alcoholic beverages is and not to deliberately underestimate its cost to calm your soul before buying.

It is important to always remember that any strong alcoholic drink, even of the highest quality, is definitely harmful to health, especially if it is used systematically. A person must know when to stop, otherwise you can die from an elite alcoholic drink.

As practice shows, as you get used to ethyl alcohol, the degree of strength increases markedly, and the quality of the drink itself is rapidly falling. Even medical alcohol diluted with unfiltered water is used. It is advisable to avoid such dubious experiments, especially since their own health and the health of caring people can suffer from them.
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Why is vodka 40 degrees?

This question was usually answered to me that the scientist Mendeleev experimentally found out the optimal dilution of alcohol with water. 60% water and 40% alcohol. This, they say, is the optimal combination for drinking. I was always tormented by the question, why is this the optimal combination for drinking?
Alcohol is tastier or something when it is diluted with water, then why not just mix it with jam - it will turn out even tastier. What does optimal mean? What is this optimality?
But the people answering me, without exception, raised their fingers up and claimed that Mendeleev was right, that he, Mendeleev, knew better, he was a scientific chemist, he somehow checked something there and it turned out that vodka should be 40 degrees .

I lived with this nonsense, lived, very rarely drank vodka, but this question tormented me, as an inquisitive person. I didn't want to calm down. And it turns out that in Russia, and throughout the world, people drink vodka at 40 degrees, and not 30 or 60, just because Mendeleev said so. Did they drink the wrong vodka before Mendeleev?

History of vodka

And now, reading another book by my favorite culinary historian William Vasilyevich Pokhlebkin, “The History of Vodka”, I find that the question of forty-degree vodka is a rather old topic, and Mendeleev’s merit is in another, he simply scientifically substantiated what was discovered before him.

Alcohol Purification

The point is this. Grain alcohol has quite a lot of bad impurities, namely some bad oils that are dissolved in it. After distillation of alcohol, it is actively cleaned from various elements harmful to humans.

Purification of raw alcohol has been one of the main hobbies of landlords in Russia for several centuries. After all, alcohol was driven at home and vodka was also made at home. Remember from the movie "Ivan Vasilyevich Changes His Profession" the question of Ivan the Terrible: "Did the housekeeper make vodka?"
Apparently, at Ivan the Terrible, alcohol was driven from millet by the housekeeper, and she also cleaned the alcohol from impurities and clogged the impurities with various additives, or insisted on something. And the housekeeper diluted the alcohol with water to make it easier to drink. Remember another such phrase was: "pure as a tear."
It's a matter of good alcohol purification. Whatever they did, so that the alcohol would become pure, pure, and whatever it smelled disgusting from it, this also interfered with drinking, so that the taste would not be so repulsive.

Ideal Proportion

So the landowners even competed among themselves who would come up with a stronger system for purifying alcohol. And then they fed each other. And if someone found some unusual solution, then they shared it with each other.

So it was in these experiments with the purification of alcohol that it was possible to find out that almost complete purification of alcohol from impurities, from oils that are not even visible to the naked eye, they are so dissolved in alcohol, and so complete purification is possible only if you clean not pure alcohol, but diluted with water. And it is in the proportion of 40% alcohol and 60% water.
With such proportions, alcohol begins, when filtered through charcoal, to give off the most non-releasing oils.
If there is at least 1% more alcohol than water, the return slows down sharply and it will not be possible to completely clean the alcohol. And at 40% - cleaning leads to almost zero content of harmful oils in diluted alcohol and the alcohol will not smell and the unpleasant aftertaste will disappear.

The merit of Mendeleev

The merit of Mendeleev is that he was able to calculate exactly how much of these oils remain in alcohol after cleaning it in proportion with water 40 to 60.

Vodka, according to Pokhlebkin, should not smell and should not have a taste, it should only burn. If there is a taste and smell in vodka, then not all oils have been removed. The high cost of vodka is not associated with distillation, but with the purification of vodka.

So it turns out that if vodka smells of fuselage or it has an unpleasant aftertaste when drinking, then the alcohol was poorly purified, and the proportion of 40 to 60 was observed only in order to follow traditions. Vodka is 40 degrees because this is the only condition for the possibility of completely cleaning vodka from fuselage, this is the only condition for the purity of vodka.

7×7-journal.ru

Fortress of vodka

Speaking by the dry definitions of GOST, vodka is an alcoholic drink made from rectified alcohol and prepared water as the main components and several additional ingredients that determine the taste. The strength depends on a certain ratio of the main components of the drink. Considering that rectified alcohol cannot be stronger than 96 degrees, the strength of the vodka obtained from it is necessarily lower than this value, and its quantitative expression depends on the percentage of water and other components in the resulting drink, ready for consumption. A prerequisite for the preparation of vodka is the treatment of the resulting water-alcohol solution with special adsorbents that reduce the amount of harmful impurities.

According to GOST R 51355-99, the strength of vodka can be 40-45, 50 and 56% with or without the addition of flavoring additives.

GOST R 51355-99

Domestic and foreign producers have several designations for the strength of vodka, expressed in various units:

Degrees, where the basis is the number of parts by weight of alcohol in the finished drink.
Percentages, when the volumetric content of ingredients is selected to determine the strength and at the same time the clarification “vol.” (those same “turns”), showing that it is the volumetric parts of alcohol and water that are taken into account.

The domestic designation of the strength of alcoholic beverages in degrees is recognized as the most accurate, taking into account the specific gravity of not only alcohol and water, but also all components of the finished drink. Taking into account that the specific gravity of 1 liter of finished vodka with a strength of 40 ° is 953 grams, by simple calculations it can be established that such a drink contains 572 g of water and 381 g of grain ethyl alcohol.

If the strength is determined in volume units, that the same amount of vodka will contain only 318 g of alcohol and already 635 g of water, i.e. the real strength of such vodka will be, taking into account the contracting of alcohol, only 35 °. The strength of a real drink can be even lower, since the degree of purification of alcohols is not taken into account when determining the volume fraction.

Why is vodka 40 degrees

There are many opinions, based on reliable facts and multiple legends, why vodka should have a strength of exactly 40 degrees.

You should not believe the widespread belief that such a composition was invented by the great Russian scientist D.I. Mendeleev. Long before his birth, the strength of alcoholic beverages in Rus' was checked using the simplest annealing, when the alcohol contained in the solution was simply burned out of the total volume of the liquid. If exactly half of the original volume of the test drink remained, then it was called a polugar and had a strength of about 38 degrees. In the future, the bureaucracy rounded this figure to 40° to simplify tax calculations.

Very many "connoisseurs" of strong alcohol claim that the most pleasant taste sensations arise when drinking drinks with a strength of 45 degrees, and that is why so many varieties of tequila, whiskey or cognac have such a strength. But it is worth noting that these are, in principle, other drinks made not by mixing rectified alcohol and water, but by distilling mash in a distillation cube, similar to moonshine well-known to everyone. The taste and aroma of drinks of this kind depends on the type of feedstock, the degree of purification and the presence of flavoring additives.

D.I Mendeleev, in his dissertation on the properties of water-alcohol solutions, found out that when alcohol and water are mixed in various proportions, a chemical reaction occurs in which the final volume of the resulting liquid will be less than the initial volume of the mixed ingredients. The scientist found that when mixing 1000 g of water and 850 g of alcohol, the same 40-degree vodka is obtained with a minimal decrease in the total volume of the resulting liquid.

This ratio of alcohol and water in vodka is accepted due to the least burning effect on the mucous membranes of the alimentary tract and the acceptable effect of a water-alcohol solution on the human cardiovascular and nervous system.

Is it only 40 degrees?

The fact that there are many varieties of alcoholic distillates with a strength above 40 about no one raises the slightest doubt, but whether there is vodka with strength indicators different from this “magic” figure.

It has already been mentioned somewhat earlier that alcoholic beverages with a strength of 40-45, 50 and 56 degrees can be called vodka, which is confirmed by the presence of a certain range of vodkas with strength indicators other than 40 o.

Fortress 45°

Some of the elite varieties produced by domestic enterprises have a strength of 45 degrees. Most of the vodkas are under the Sibirskaya brand, some, especially the export versions of Stolichnaya, Kizlyarskaya Aged, and many other distillery products. Premium 45% vodkas are made from luxury spirits and contain additional softening or flavoring additives.

Vodka "Siberian"

Particular attention in the process of their manufacture is paid to the additional preparation of water extracted from special sources (read about the technology for making vodka). And if in the manufacture of imported alcoholic beverages in most cases boiled or practically distilled water is used, then Russian vodkas are characterized by the use of especially soft natural water, which has a unique taste.

Fortress 50°

Since the fifties of the twentieth century, limited batches of Leningradskaya or Stolichnaya vodka with a strength of 50 - 55 o were produced in the Soviet Union, intended mainly for distribution in a network serving foreign tourists or in separate stores for a limited contingent of citizens (more on the production of vodka in the USSR).

Vodka Absolute

After the monopoly on the production of alcoholic beverages was lifted, private producers began to receive separate varieties of fifty-degree vodka made from high-quality alcohol and specially prepared soft water. Often, in the manufacture of vodka with a strength of 50 o, special flavoring additives were used to reduce the negative impact on the organoleptic indicators of an increased alcohol content.

Do not lag behind domestic producers and their foreign counterparts. Ukrainian vodka "Nemirov Strong", Swedish "Absolut" and "Finland" from the country of Suomi occupy a worthy place on the festive tables. Despite the increased strength, the use of these drinks in small quantities does not cause discomfort.

Fortress 60° and 70°

Koskenkorva Vodka 60%

If you strictly follow the standards, then by definition there is no vodka stronger than 56 degrees. There are similar drinks - gin, whiskey, liqueurs, rum, but the technology of their production is more similar to the production of well-known moonshine, the strength of which after double - triple distillation can also reach 70 degrees.

Rasputin Vodka 70%

Absinthe is also among the champions among strong alcoholic drinks in the world, where alcohol sometimes accounts for 75-85%. In its pure form, it is used by rare gourmets, most often various cocktails are made on the basis of absinthe.

The strongest vodka in the world

Since ancient times, Scotland has been considered the birthplace of the strongest alcoholic beverages. Nowhere else is there a beer with a strength of 41 degrees (more about the strength of beer) and the strongest strong whiskey, which is almost pure, about 92%, alcohol, aged in special oak barrels.

Pincer Shanghai Strength 88.8

Scottish Pincer Shanghai Strength, made from grain alcohol, which has undergone multi-stage purification and flavored with thistle extract, has a strength of 88.8 o. The number 88.8 is no coincidence. The product is mainly for the Chinese market, and the number 8 is considered lucky in China. Despite its strength, the drink has a unique mild taste and is pleasant to drink thanks to a precisely selected recipe.

The softest vodka

Of all the variety of manufacturers and products, it is very difficult to single out the softest. Sometimes the products of famous brands are worse than the unknown product of a small distillery.

Softness is determined mainly by the quality and degree of purification of alcohol. The quality of the activated carbon in the purification column plays a special role. The better and “younger” the coal, the softer the taste passing through it during the production process.

How many degrees according to the standard

Vodka of industrial production can have a fortress according to domestic GOST from 40 to 56 degrees, and according to foreign requirements - not less than 37.5 degrees. Everything else, if it refers to alcoholic beverages, but has no right to be called vodka.

The optimal ratio of the amount of alcohol and water is considered to be 1 to 1.176 mass units.
Approximately at this ratio, the density of the finished solution is about 950 kg/m 3 .
And although the density is not indicated on the label, this indicator directly affects the speed of intoxication and the magnitude of the subsequent hangover.

Regardless of how many degrees there will be in the drink you drink, you must always remember that any alcohol in large quantities will bring irreparable harm to health and vodka, even the highest quality, is no exception to this rule.

http://luxgradus.ru/krepost-vodki.html

What percentage of alcohol?

Fortress is the main characteristic of vodka. According to domestic GOST regulations, the strength of vodka should not be less than 37.5%. As for exotic foreign vodkas, the strength requirements may be quite different.

For example, the strength of Japanese rice vodka sake can be 14%, 20% and 25% - it all depends on the brand of vodka and its aging. Expensive varieties of sake are stronger, and budget brands of this vodka contain no more than 15% alcohol.

Why exactly 40 degrees?

In 1895, the Russian chemist D. I. Mendeleev established the most correct ratio of water and alcohol for the production of vodka, which is 40% of the mass of alcohol in the total mass of the drink.

Alcohol, which contains 40% ethyl alcohol, is the safest for the human body. A mixture of alcohol and water in this ratio does not injure the gastric mucosa and is not toxic. Although, of course, much depends on the amount of alcohol taken.

Degrees or percentages

After the appearance of the treatise by D. I. Mendeleev, the designation of the strength of vodka began to mean the weight fractions of a substance (alcohol) in an aqueous solution of a drink. The degree of fortress was indicated by a "degree" - a circle at the top to the right of the numerical value.

Today, following the world's accepted methods of indicating strength, many manufacturers use "% vol.", Denoting the volume fraction of alcohol in alcohol. Previously, "%" was used for designation, which was not entirely correct, because it was not clear whether volume or weight fractions were meant.

The additional prefix "about" ("Vol" on imported alcohol), which appeared not very long ago, indicates that the ratios are indicated in volumes.

What else is a fortress?

American varieties of vodka are widely known in the world. Brands "Smirnoff", "Black Eagle", "44 ° North latitude" and others have a strength, as a rule, not lower than 50 °, and the taste of these drinks is distinguished by depth and excellent quality.

A few more examples of famous brands of vodka of different strengths:

Vodka 45% vol. Domestic elite varieties of vodka "Sibirskaya", export "Stolichnaya" "Kizlyar seasoned". These brands are distinguished by the use of especially soft natural water.

Vodka 50% vol. This category includes Swedish vodka "Absolute", Ukrainian "Nemirov Strong", Finnish "Finlyandiya". Vodka of these brands, despite the increased strength, does not cause discomfort.

How to measure the degree in vodka?

The strength is most conveniently determined using alcoholometer, which measures the amount of ethanol in a solution. It will show the most accurate result precisely when determining the strength of vodka, since foreign components present in wine, cognac or liquor will affect the measurement accuracy (density reading).

The degree can also be determined by calculating the density. This requires electronic scales, which are usually used for dosing products in the kitchen. To determine the strength, you need to do the following procedures:

Measure the weight of an empty container, such as a 500 ml bottle.
Pour exactly 500 ml of vodka into it and weigh it again.
After determining the ratio of mass to volume, determine the density in g / ml.
Determine the density and composition of the water-alcohol mixture from the reference book or from the table below (the density will correspond to the alcohol content by volume).

Density table of aqueous solutions of ethyl alcohol at +15⁰С

There is also a way to determine the strength of vodka depending on the freezing temperature. The method is not very reliable, since the dependence is non-linear, and it is not easy to accurately determine the freezing point. Using reference tables of the alcohol content in the solution, depending on the freezing point, you can approximately determine the strength of vodka.

By the way, many people ask how much a liter of vodka weighs in kilograms? So, the weight of one liter of vodka at a temperature of +20ºС is 0.953 kg(953 g).

https://kaksamogon.ru/vodka/skolko-gradusov.html

Note! Vodka belongs to the category of strong alcohol drinks and its abuse can lead to alcoholism!

How many degrees are in vodka? Turnovers, degrees and GOST

What are the ingredients of vodka?

One of the most important components is alcohol, which is obtained by processing wheat grains or other cereals, as well as potatoes.
The crushed mixture of raw materials is boiled, after which yeast is added, which promotes fermentation. Then all this mass is placed in a special apparatus for further processing. Thus, purified alcohol is obtained
But it is very difficult to obtain a 100% alcohol solution, but rather impossible, since impurities will still be present (albeit in small quantities).

Different manufacturers have their own technology, including the choice of water will be different for each. You can use distilled or boiled, but alcohol is poorly soluble in them. Tap water can contain a large amount of salts, as a result of which the vodka will not be transparent, but whitish.

How many degrees of alcohol are in vodka

Some manufacturers began to designate the strength of the alcoholic beverage as a percentage. Therefore, when calculating the weight as a percentage, indicate the number of degrees (for example, 40 °), and when calculating the volume - the percentage (for example, "fortress 16-18% vol." or "alcohol 18% vol.").

What alcohol is used in the manufacture of vodka

The quality of ethyl alcohol depends on how purified it is: first grade - 96%, highest purification - 96.2%, luxury - 96.3%, and extra reaches 96.5%. There is also medical alcohol.

Quality standards (GOST)

How many degrees are in vodka? The standards provide for the production of vodka using five types of purified (rectified) alcohol: "Higher Purification", "Lux", "Extra", "Alpha" and "Super". The last two of the above are the highest quality alcohols.
Their production has been established not so long ago, but has already found its application in the manufacture of elite vodka drinks (“Premium” class). "Lux", "Alpha" and "Super" are made exclusively from grains.
In the manufacture of alcohols of the "Extra" and "Higher Purification" types, it is possible to use other raw materials, for example, potatoes or beet sugar. Some medical-related businesses may use rubbing alcohol. The finished vodka product should not contain furfural.

The use of vodka drinks

Rice vodka (sake): degrees

Rice vodka - how many degrees are in this unusual drink? Rice vodka, or "sake", is Japanese vodka. Rice is used in the manufacture of large, containing a large amount of starch.
But still, it is not entirely appropriate to call this drink vodka, since there is no distillation process during preparation, but it must be in the preparation of such a product.
That is why it is also called rice wine, the technology of which is based on fermentation, not fermentation. Sake is also equated with beer, rum, liquor, and even compared with weak moonshine.

Degrees of aqua regia

Royal vodka - how many degrees are in this drink? And is she so "royal"? The pretentious name of this substance does not mean at all that only aristocrats can afford to use it. Such a liquid is intended for completely different purposes.

How many degrees in american vodka

How many degrees of alcohol are in the vodka Americans drink? Strong alcoholic drinks in America, including vodka, are famous for their variety and high quality. The strength of American vodka is quite high. Such brands are especially popular: "44 ° North latitude", "Smirnoff" (50 °), "Wolfschmidt", "Black Eagle" and many others.

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What strength does vodka have, what percentage of alcohol is in it?

The most popular alcoholic drink, vodka, has a high alcohol content. This product quickly entered the lives of many people and firmly entrenched in it. Nevertheless, some to this day cannot figure out the measure of the strength of a transparent alcoholic drink.

What is the strength of the intoxicated

The composition of vodka may include:

lemon acid;
sugar;
extract from various plants and natural flavors such as pine cones, birch buds, etc.;
powdered milk;
vinegar.

These additives do not affect how much alcohol will be in the finished product. Honey and sugar mainly play the role of spices required to give the drink a mild taste.

Production of Russian vodka to the masses

The culture of drinking hard liquor was also radically different. Until 1885, there was no retail trade in alcohol at all. Alcohol was poured and sold in whole cups - containers with a volume of about a quarter liter. Therefore, the “little white” fortress was designated by parts of the volume. That is, of the total volume of liquid, 40% was occupied by alcohol.

Discovery of Mendeleev

The difference in the ways of indicating the strength of alcoholic beverages ultimately leads different buyers to ask the same question: "How much alcohol is in one bottle of vodka?"

Percentage or degrees

Thus, on containers with Russian-made alcohol until the 70s, the following designations of the fortress could be found:

45 ° - the strongest vodka, rarely found on sale;
40 ° - the most common "white";
35°, 30° - low-strength vodka;
20, 14 or less degrees - other alcoholic beverages, including beer, wine, gin, etc.
that anyone can cook.

Percent sign

It must be emphasized that this method is somewhat incorrect, since nowhere is it indicated from what this percentage is calculated - from mass, or from volume.
And how many ordinary people have gone astray in this way? A lot of. Indeed, of all consumers of alcoholic beverages, only a few truly understand degrees and percentages.

old fret

To the question "How many degrees in ordinary vodka?" many will answer - 40. Is this correct or not? That's right, if you use the traditional system, where each "degree" is equal to a hundredth of pure 100% alcohol.
And it is wrong, if we take into account the old Western European system, in which 0.005715 of the total volume of pure food ethanol is taken as a “degree” of fortress.
Therefore, you can show how much alcohol is in a drink through the usual system (40% vol), or through the outdated one (70 ° Br. Proof).

Why are the degrees "inflated" in the old system?

There are two explanations for this:

Foreign manufacturers simply do not take into account the contraction, or otherwise the compression of alcohol.
According to foreign producers, wine and vodka products, or rather, how much ethanol they contain, should be evaluated not by blend, but by the characteristics and components included in this blend.

Vodka is a strong alcoholic drink that has earned popular recognition. It is customary to use it on holidays, big celebrations, in the circle of a noisy cheerful company. Pleasure goes well and is gently perceived by the body, if after every glass you drink, you have something to eat.

Perfect for this purpose:

salted pickled mushrooms;
salted herring with onions;
smoked meats and other meat dishes;
boiled potatoes.

What is combined with

In any case, you should always remember that vodka is a good product if consumed in moderation.

alcoholism.com

Features of Russian vodka

According to statistics, about 55% of the total population of Russia periodically consume this primordially Russian drink. The higher the degree of vodka, the better it is. In Russia, it is customary to drink vodka in its pure form, while in other countries cocktails with vodka are preferable, the degree of which is an order of magnitude lower.

Drink strength

Alcohol with an ethyl alcohol content of 40% is considered safe for humans. It is this amount that does not burn the gastric mucosa and helps to avoid intoxication of the body. But do not forget that the state of a person directly depends on the amount of alcohol consumed, you cannot compare one glass and one liter, the effect will be significantly different.

Vodka Options

The standard for what the strength of vodka should be is quite difficult to determine. Much depends on which class the drink belongs to:

Extra.
Suite.
Super.
Alpha.

But one main requirement is applied to each of these classes: the strength of a given alcohol of any class should not be lower than 37.5 degrees. Otherwise, it will no longer be vodka, but a drink of dubious content.

Features of making vodka

As you know, the finished alcoholic drink contains more than half of ethyl alcohol, the rest is water and flavorings. Activated charcoal may be added for cleaning.

Modern vodka producers use various methods for distilling ethyl alcohol. The most popular and effective are cleaning methods using silver ions, black silicon or laser irradiation. After this procedure, the degree of the drink remains unchanged, but the quality of the drink increases, on which the level of a person’s morning hangover directly depends.

Percentage of ethyl alcohol.
The content of fusel vapors and aldehydes, which may be completely absent in high-quality vodka.
The presence of alkali.
The content of the ethers.

The container into which the finished product is poured also has standard volumes. The most common are glass containers with a volume of 330, 500, 700, 1000 milliliters.

Good vodka - does it exist?

Despite its considerable cost, Finland is in demand among foodies who like to drink, not get drunk. Finlandia 101 is made with the addition of the purest artesian water from a Finnish spring. Such water does not need additional purification, which improves its taste. Despite its increased strength, Finlandia has a mild sweetish taste. Vodka is popular in many countries of the world, has many positive characteristics.

Evaluation of the quality of the drink

quality drink

The use of alcohol of any strength and density does not have the slightest positive effect on the human body. Rather, on the contrary, the nervous system is destroyed, the liver decomposes, brain activity noticeably deteriorates. Even the most elite alcohol, made according to all necessary standards, can cause irreparable harm to health. No matter how much you drink, your body will still receive a share of the poison. Excessive alcohol consumption negatively affects the entire human body, whether it is a cheap drink or a quality Finland.

Do not forget that the frequent use of alcohol is highly addictive, which is quite difficult to get rid of.

stopalcolife.ru

Counterfeit detection rules

Since it is very difficult to prepare alcoholic products that clearly comply with generally accepted standards, many "craftsmen" actively sell illegal low-quality strong alcoholic beverages. It is one thing if the buyer deliberately takes such a risk, and quite another when the swill is passed off as an elite drink at high prices. In order not to lose, it is important to know not only the weight of the purchased liquid, but also other equally important quality indicators.

The main criteria for assessing quality

Smell. If outwardly the liquid does not cause additional questions, it is allowed to open the bottle. It is very important to pour the first glass and conduct a little experiment. You just need to smell the liquid. The presence of the smell of denatured alcohol eloquently indicates the quality of the product, while the aroma of acetone suggests disturbing thoughts about buying dubious alcoholic products.
Weight. The amount of alcoholic liquid must fully correspond to the capacity of the glass container. The difference, as a rule, is visible to the naked eye, so if there is such a defect, the bottle can not even be opened, but carried back to the store and demanded consumer protection. It is possible that alcohol was poured "underground", and drinking it is dangerous for health and one's own life. Also, the liquid can be weighed, but for this you need to know what the tare weight is, since it is it that needs to be subtracted from the value obtained on the scales.
Cold check. Not only experienced alcoholics know about this method of verification, this useful information is also available to the average person. If an unopened bottle is placed in the refrigerator and allowed to freeze, then burnt alcohol is distinguished by the appearance of crystals in the liquid. This indicates the presence of questionable impurities and a large amount of water. A high-quality and certified product does not freeze, and the alcohol liquid only cools.
Ignite. A high-quality alcoholic drink always burns, a low-quality one may not even be set on fire. It is in this way that strong alcoholic drinks are tested in bars and restaurants, so why not make a similar experiment in a comfortable home environment. If the liquid flared up like gasoline, then this indicates that a large amount of impurities, combustible substances that are dangerous to the health of the drinking person are concentrated in its chemical composition.

Alcoholic drinks are best purchased in certified stores that are licensed to trade.

It is important to always remember that any strong alcoholic drink, even of the highest quality, is definitely harmful to health, especially if it is used systematically. A person must know when to stop, otherwise you can die from an elite alcoholic drink.

Why is vodka 40 degrees?

This question was usually answered to me that the scientist Mendeleev experimentally found out the optimal dilution of alcohol with water. 60% water and 40% alcohol. This, they say, is the optimal combination for drinking. I was always tormented by the question, why is this the optimal combination for drinking?
Alcohol is tastier or something when it is diluted with water, then why not just mix it with jam - it will turn out even tastier. What does optimal mean? What is this optimality?
But the people answering me, without exception, raised their fingers up and claimed that Mendeleev was right, that he, Mendeleev, knew better, he was a scientific chemist, he somehow checked something there and it turned out that vodka should be 40 degrees .

I lived with this nonsense, lived, very rarely drank vodka, but this question tormented me, as an inquisitive person. I didn't want to calm down. And it turns out that in Russia, and throughout the world, people drink vodka at 40 degrees, and not 30 or 60, just because Mendeleev said so. Did they drink the wrong vodka before Mendeleev?

History of vodka

Alcohol Purification

Purification of raw alcohol has been one of the main hobbies of landlords in Russia for several centuries. After all, alcohol was driven at home and vodka was also made at home. Remember from the movie "Ivan Vasilyevich Changes His Profession" the question of Ivan the Terrible: "Did the housekeeper make vodka?"
Apparently, at Ivan the Terrible, alcohol was driven from millet by the housekeeper, and she also cleaned the alcohol from impurities and clogged the impurities with various additives, or insisted on something. And the housekeeper diluted the alcohol with water to make it easier to drink. Remember another such phrase was: "pure as a tear."
It's a matter of good alcohol purification. Whatever they did, so that the alcohol would become pure, pure, and whatever it smelled disgusting from it, this also interfered with drinking, so that the taste would not be so repulsive.

Ideal Proportion

So it was in these experiments with the purification of alcohol that it was possible to find out that almost complete purification of alcohol from impurities, from oils that are not even visible to the naked eye, they are so dissolved in alcohol, and so complete purification is possible only if you clean not pure alcohol, but diluted with water. And it is in the proportion of 40% alcohol and 60% water.
With such proportions, alcohol begins, when filtered through charcoal, to give off the most non-releasing oils.
If there is at least 1% more alcohol than water, the return slows down sharply and it will not be possible to completely clean the alcohol. And at 40% - cleaning leads to almost zero content of harmful oils in diluted alcohol and the alcohol will not smell and the unpleasant aftertaste will disappear.

The merit of Mendeleev

The merit of Mendeleev is that he was able to calculate exactly how much of these oils remain in alcohol after cleaning it in proportion with water 40 to 60.

So it turns out that if vodka smells of fuselage or it has an unpleasant aftertaste when drinking, then the alcohol was poorly purified, and the proportion of 40 to 60 was observed only in order to follow traditions. Vodka is 40 degrees because this is the only condition for the possibility of completely cleaning vodka from fuselage, this is the only condition for the purity of vodka.

7×7-journal.ru

Fortress of vodka

Speaking by the dry definitions of GOST, vodka is an alcoholic drink made from rectified alcohol and prepared water as the main components and several additional ingredients that determine the taste. The strength depends on a certain ratio of the main components of the drink. Considering that rectified alcohol cannot be stronger than 96 degrees, the strength of the vodka obtained from it is necessarily lower than this value, and its quantitative expression depends on the percentage of water and other components in the resulting drink, ready for consumption. A prerequisite for the preparation of vodka is the treatment of the resulting water-alcohol solution with special adsorbents that reduce the amount of harmful impurities.

According to GOST R 51355-99, the strength of vodka can be 40-45, 50 and 56% with or without the addition of flavoring additives.

GOST R 51355-99

Domestic and foreign producers have several designations for the strength of vodka, expressed in various units:

Degrees, where the basis is the number of parts by weight of alcohol in the finished drink.
Percentages, when the volumetric content of ingredients is selected to determine the strength and at the same time the clarification “vol.” (those same “turns”), showing that it is the volumetric parts of alcohol and water that are taken into account.

Why is vodka 40 degrees

There are many opinions, based on reliable facts and multiple legends, why vodka should have a strength of exactly 40 degrees.

Is it only 40 degrees?

Fortress 45°

Vodka "Siberian"

Fortress 50°

Vodka Absolute

Fortress 60° and 70°

Koskenkorva Vodka 60%

Rasputin Vodka 70%

The strongest vodka in the world

Pincer Shanghai Strength 88.8

The softest vodka

Of all the variety of manufacturers and products, it is very difficult to single out the softest. Sometimes the products of famous brands are worse than the unknown product of a small distillery.

How many degrees according to the standard

The optimal ratio of the amount of alcohol and water is considered to be 1 to 1.176 mass units.
Approximately at this ratio, the density of the finished solution is about 950 kg/m 3 .
And although the density is not indicated on the label, this indicator directly affects the speed of intoxication and the magnitude of the subsequent hangover.

http://luxgradus.ru/krepost-vodki.html

What percentage of alcohol?

Why exactly 40 degrees?

In 1895, the Russian chemist D. I. Mendeleev established the most correct ratio of water and alcohol for the production of vodka, which is 40% of the mass of alcohol in the total mass of the drink.

Degrees or percentages

The additional prefix "about" ("Vol" on imported alcohol), which appeared not very long ago, indicates that the ratios are indicated in volumes.

What else is a fortress?

A few more examples of famous brands of vodka of different strengths:

Vodka 45% vol. Domestic elite varieties of vodka "Sibirskaya", export "Stolichnaya" "Kizlyar seasoned". These brands are distinguished by the use of especially soft natural water.

Vodka 50% vol. This category includes Swedish vodka "Absolute", Ukrainian "Nemirov Strong", Finnish "Finlyandiya". Vodka of these brands, despite the increased strength, does not cause discomfort.

How to measure the degree in vodka?

Measure the weight of an empty container, such as a 500 ml bottle.
Pour exactly 500 ml of vodka into it and weigh it again.
After determining the ratio of mass to volume, determine the density in g / ml.
Determine the density and composition of the water-alcohol mixture from the reference book or from the table below (the density will correspond to the alcohol content by volume).

Density table of aqueous solutions of ethyl alcohol at +15⁰С

By the way, many people ask how much a liter of vodka weighs in kilograms? So, the weight of one liter of vodka at a temperature of +20ºС is 0.953 kg(953 g).

https://kaksamogon.ru/vodka/skolko-gradusov.html

I apologize in advance for the banality of everyone who has a chemical education, or studied chemistry well at school, or simply knows the answer. I can’t really boast of my knowledge of chemistry, at school it somehow basically passed me by, and in my later life I had a minimum of touch with it.

But yesterday my old friend Jan, who had a chemical university as his first higher education institution, was visiting us, and it was he who asked us the question in the title. And we have no idea! Gathered, you know, only the humanities (actually, Jan somehow got here, because he graduated from his native psychology faculty of Lomonosov Moscow State University with the second highest).

No, I, of course, remembered that Dmitry Mendeleev had a direct relationship with the figure "40 degrees"; he seems to have carried out some research on the instructions of the tsarist government, and even brought out this very fortress. "And what kind of research?" Yang asked with a sly smile. Once again, I painfully strained my brain - well, I didn’t come up with anything smarter than to say: they say, the great chemist took their favorite drink “from the people” (it’s not clear how: well, I probably bought it in a tavern) - yes, and measured its strength with with clever chemical experiments. Then he solemnly declared: bah! people, it turns out, drink forty degrees!

The guests were somehow not inspired by my answer (something seemed doubtful to them), but Jan neighed merrily. After that, from the heights of his chemical, although received God knows when, education, he explained the truth. It turns out, friends: everything was as I said - only exactly the opposite!

Yes, the tsarist government ordered a chemist to study vodka - we heard that. But they didn’t think - why the hell? What is there to explore, if vodka has been traded so well since the 17th century? And there was, Yang explained, a purely commercial order and commercial interest. The royal satraps were very interested in finding out the OPTIMAL mixture of alcohol and water. In what sense is it optimal?

Here Yang once again shocked the audience by talking about the "volume curve". Since no one had any idea what it was, he popularly explained: chemists know that if you mix dissimilar liquids, then the resulting volume of the mixture will not be equal to the sum of the volumes of the two original liquids! Roughly speaking: if you mix 1 liter of water and 1 liter of alcohol, then the mixture will take not 2 liters, but LESS (or more - I won’t say for sure). Moreover: the volume of the mixture itself, depending on the change in the initial fractions of liquids, changes non-linearly! (probably, all this is school wisdom, but, by God, I heard all this for the first time).

Actually, the old man Mendeleev was asked to describe this very "volume curve" with a mixture of different proportions of alcohol and water. (“After all, this is chemistry,” as Yang poetically said. “The science of magical transformations!” All the girls at the table, including my wife, were subdued). Moreover, they asked Mendeleev about this not at all out of "purely scientific interest." The client was interested At what ratio of water and alcohol will the mixture have the largest volume?.

Such meanness shocked everyone in the audience, including me, who was practically a non-drinker. "So Mendeleev found out that the largest volume is achieved at 40 degrees," Yang concluded. That is, at 40 degrees in "half a liter" - exactly half a liter; and at, say, 38 - in a bottle LESS. And at 44 - also LESS!

That is, we are talking about a purely commercial benefit, "benefit for the seller": by mixing water with alcohol so that it is 40 degrees, he will receive the largest number of bottles! Only and everything.

Yang finished us off with another. “But, if you look not commercially, but from the point of view of consumer properties, then, of course, 40 is, on the contrary, the most suboptimal option, and this has long been proven. degrees - like some cognacs and whiskeys - also "go" much "softer".

Beloved - because the other is not sold to him. Commercially unprofitable. Thanks to Dmitri Mendeleev, our great chemist!

Before the disappearance of the Iron Curtain, many foreigners quite seriously considered vodka one of the national symbols of Russia. And, of course, there is some truth in this. Russian vodka in its modern version (subject to certain standards and proportions) was invented in Russia by Dmitri Mendeleev. Everyone who studied the biography of the great chemist in educational institutions knows this. However, in the question of who invented vodka, not everything is as simple as it seems at first glance.

origin of name

The word "vodka" in Russian is like a diminutive of "water": water, vodka, vodka, vodka. This is important for knowing what is the specificity of the alcoholic beverage itself, which consists mostly of water as a chemical substance.

background

Of course, in the debate about who invented vodka, priority was given to the Russian scientist. But it is not so. Yes, there is a Mendeleev dissertation on how to properly combine alcohol with water, but in it the scientist does not try to determine the optimal strength of the drink. Mendeleev himself, biographers say, did not drink vodka, preferring dry wine. And vodka existed even before his birth. Who Invented Vodka? According to some sources, the process of distillation of the product was invented in the Arab countries, from where the recipes of the devices themselves were taken out by the Crusaders. In Europe, distillation was carried out by medieval alchemists and monks.

In Rus'

Until the 14th century, kvass, birch, mead, beer, wine and some others were considered the most popular drinks in Rus'. That allows us to talk about the presence of certain technological processes for their production in Rus'. Who Invented Vodka? At the end of the 14th century, the first one was brought to Moscow (1386). It was called "aqua vita", which literally means "living water". The vodka was "presented" to the court, but - apparently - did not please. The possibility of its use as a medicine was recognized, but only in the form diluted with water. In those days, vodka was made from wheat or rye, barley and was called "bread wine". At the beginning of the 15th century, a monk from the Chudov Monastery (Moscow Kremlin) creates the first recipe for Russian vodka using special distilling equipment. So this clergyman can rightly be called the author of a qualitatively new drink "Russian vodka". Which, by the way, was confirmed by the International Arbitration in 1982.

Mendeleev

When asked who invented vodka in Russia, the most common answer is Mendeleev. It was he who in 1865 defended his dissertation, which tells about the study of the combination of alcohol with water and their proportions. It is believed that the scientist proposed the ideal combination of alcohol and water - 40 percent (more precisely, 38, and the figure was rounded for ease of calculation). However, according to some reports, Mendeleev was not at all interested in solutions of such a strength, intended for the production of vodka. And many data on this concentration range were quoted from the work of a colleague, the English chemist Gilpin (the scientist himself studied much more concentrated solutions). But be that as it may, already in 1894 the Russian government patented this type of drink, containing 40 parts of ethyl alcohol, under the name "Moscow Special". A carbon filter was used to clean it.

Why is vodka 40 degrees?

But the famous forty-degree ratio (more precisely, 38.5) is indeed optimal from the point of view of chemistry and biology. It is known that with an increase in strength above 45, protein coagulation begins. This is also associated with damage to the mucous membrane of the stomach and pharynx. Also at 40 degrees the most ideal combination of alcohol and water. Roughly speaking, alcohol molecules are completely surrounded by water molecules. Despite this, vodkas from various manufacturers in our time range from 38 to 54 degrees.

How to make vodka?

The recipe for vodka from water and alcohol is quite simple, but there are a number of subtleties. Here are some rules that allow you to get a pleasant taste and the right consistency at home.

Water must be taken purified, soft. From the tap - not good (due to salts, vodka may have a white color). Also distilled is not suitable. The best is bottled.

Alcohol - ethyl, grain origin. We measure the fortress with an alcohol meter to find out the proportions of mixing. Medical alcohol will work too.

Glucose and sugar, various additives (for example, lemon zest) can sometimes be used to improve softness and taste. Sugar is best taken lumpy.

The ratio of alcohol 95 percent and water to obtain vodka 40 degrees must be taken in proportion to 1 to 1.44. Next - we measure the components, pour water into alcohol, add glucose, sugar, lemon. We mix. We give the solution to brew so that the reaction of the interaction of the elements occurs.

To be sure, we pass through filters to remove impurities. Charcoal tablets are suitable for these purposes.

After purification, we pour the resulting drink into glass bottles. It is not recommended to pour into plastic: during long-term storage, harmful substances pass from it. Then vodka can be consumed (of course, in reasonable quantities).

Some people prefer to use double-cleaned moonshine as a base, diluting it with water to the desired consistency (measured with an alcohol meter). This option also makes sense, especially for lovers of home-brewing. It is only necessary to take into account that such vodka may have an unpleasant fusel flavor, which is also removed by cleaning the product.