Vivian Marlowe
Alcohol by volume (ABV) is a standard method used to measure the percentage of alcohol in a beverage. The other measurement is proof, which is a historical measure that varies from country to country. In the United States, proof is defined as twice the percentage of ABV, so a drink with 40% ABV is 80 proof. In the United Kingdom, the concept of proof originated, but the country now uses ABV instead of proof. The use of proof as a measure of alcohol content is now mostly historical and linguistic.
Differences between Alcohol Percent and Proof
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Definition | Alcohol percent is the percentage of alcohol in the overall liquid. Proof is a traditional measurement of alcohol content that is twice the ABV in the US and varies internationally. |
| History | The term "proof" dates back to 16th-century England when liquor was tested by burning it and later by testing its ability to soak gunpowder. |
| Current Usage | Most countries now use ABV instead of proof. The US uses both, with ABV mandated by law. |
| Calculation | ABV is calculated as the percentage of pure ethanol in a given volume of the beverage. Proof is calculated as twice the ABV in the US, 1.75 times ABV in the UK, and the same as ABV in France. |
| Purpose | ABV is used to accurately measure alcohol content and promote responsible drinking. Proof is used for historical context and marketing purposes. |
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What You'll Learn
The gunpowder method
The specific steps of the gunpowder method are as follows:
- Place a pellet of gunpowder into the beverage you want to test for alcohol content.
- Attempt to ignite the wet gunpowder.
- If the gunpowder burns, the spirit is labelled "above proof" or "proof spirit", indicating a high alcohol content.
- If the gunpowder does not burn, the beverage is labelled "under proof", indicating a lower alcohol content.
While the gunpowder method was an improvement over the burn-or-no-burn test, it had its limitations. In 1816, England adopted more scientifically precise measurements based on density and gravity, and the gunpowder test was phased out. Over time, the UK and other countries moved towards labelling beverages with the percentage of alcohol by volume (ABV), providing a standard, intuitive way to indicate alcohol content.
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ABV vs proof
The term "proof" in relation to alcohol content has a long history. It dates back to 16th-century England, when the government would tax "proof spirits", or liquor containing a certain higher amount of alcohol. The name "proof" comes from a simple test to determine the alcohol content: alcohol was poured over gunpowder, and if the gunpowder could still burn, the spirit was rated as "proof". This test was used because potassium nitrate, a chemical in gunpowder, is significantly more soluble in water than in alcohol.
Over time, more scientific methods for measuring alcohol content were developed, and the laws changed to regulate alcohol in terms of alcohol by volume (ABV) instead of proof. Today, ABV is the standard measure of alcohol content internationally. It is a relatively intuitive measure: it is the percentage of alcohol in the overall liquid.
However, the term "proof" has stuck around, especially in the United States, where it is defined as twice the percentage of ABV. For example, a drink with 40% ABV is 80 proof. The use of proof is also permitted in the United States alongside ABV on labels. In the United Kingdom, where the concept of proof originated, the ABV system was adopted in 1980, replacing the previous system of proof.
It is worth noting that the method of measuring alcohol content by proof has varied over time and across different countries. For instance, in the United Kingdom, proof was defined as 1.75 times the percentage of ABV, so a drink with 40% ABV would be considered 70 proof. In France, a simpler scale was developed by scientist Joseph-Louis Gay-Lussac in 1824, where 100% ABV equals 100 proof and 100% water by volume is 0 proof, so the ABV and proof numbers are the same.
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The definition of proof
The definition of "proof" in the context of alcohol content has a historical basis. The term dates back to 16th-century England, when the British government would tax "proof spirits", or liquor with a higher alcohol content, at a higher rate. One of the earliest methods for testing the alcohol content of liquor was the gunpowder method, where gunpowder was soaked in the spirit, and if it could still burn, the spirit was rated as "proof". This method relied on the fact that potassium nitrate, a chemical in gunpowder, is more soluble in water than in alcohol. This test was less variable than a simple burn-or-no-burn test, but factors like the grain size of gunpowder and the time it soaked in the spirit made true reproducibility difficult.
Over time, more scientific methods for measuring alcohol content were developed, such as measuring specific density and specific gravity. The laws changed, and alcohol was regulated in terms of alcohol by volume (ABV) instead of proof. However, the term "proof" stuck around and was redefined to be exactly double the ABV. For example, a drink with 40% ABV is 80 proof. This redefinition was not consistent across countries, and the UK defined proof as 1.75 times the ABV.
In the United States, alcohol content is legally mandated to be specified as an ABV percentage. Bottled spirits may also optionally state the proof, defined as twice the ABV. The simplest proof scale is the one used in France, where 100% ABV equals 100 proof, and 100% water by volume is 0 proof, so the ABV and proof numbers are the same.
Today, the use of proof as a measure of alcohol content is mostly historical and linguistic, and spirits must carry a label stating their ABV. The ABV system has replaced the proof system in many parts of the world, and it is now the standard method for measuring alcohol content internationally.
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How proof scales vary
The proof system varies from country to country. The term "proof" originates from 16th-century England, where the government would tax "proof spirits" at higher rates. To determine whether a liquor was a "proof spirit", the English would soak a gun pellet in the liquor and attempt to light it on fire. If the wet pellet ignited, the liquor was "proof".
In the United States, a spirit's proof is defined as double its ABV. For example, a whiskey that is 50% ABV is considered 100-proof whiskey. The US system was established in 1848, when the government declared that any bottle with 50% ABV would be defined as "100 proof" for taxation purposes. The simplest proof scale is the one used in France, developed by French scientist Joseph-Louis Gay-Lussac in 1824. Gay-Lussac took 100% ABV to equal 100 proof and 100% water by volume to be 0 proof, meaning that the ABV percentage number is the same as the proof number. So, for example, a liquor with 60% ABV in France would be 60 degrees proof. In Great Britain, the same 60% ABV liquor would be 113.6 proof, and in the US, it would be 120 proof.
Most countries, including the United Kingdom, use the European scale developed by the International Organization of Legal Metrology (OIML). This method, also known as the ABV standard, is essentially the same as the Gay-Lussac scale, except there is no conversion to proof necessary. So, a liquor containing 60% ABV would be labelled as 60% ABV.
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The history of proof
The history of using "proof" as a measure of alcohol content goes back to 16th-century England. At the time, the government taxed "proof spirits", or liquor with a certain higher amount of alcohol, at a higher rate. To test the alcohol content, a basic burn-or-no-burn test was used, where a liquid that ignited was considered "above proof", and one that did not was "under proof". A liquid just alcoholic enough to maintain combustion was defined as 100 proof.
Another early method for testing alcohol content was the gunpowder method, which was more accurate and less influenced by temperature than the burn-or-no-burn test. This method involved soaking gunpowder in a spirit and attempting to light it. If the gunpowder could still burn, the spirit was rated "'above proof'. The story goes that soldiers in the British Royal Navy would use this method to test the strength of their rum.
In 1816, England standardised its threshold for a proof spirit, defining it as a liquor with an alcohol level 12/13 the weight of an equal volume of distilled water at 11°C (51°F), which corresponds to about 57% ABV. This standard was incorporated into Great Britain's 1952 Customs and Excise Tax. However, the proofing system in England was confusing, and when the alcohol industry took hold in the US, they took a different approach by defining proof as twice the ABV. In 1848, the US government established this as the standard for measuring alcohol content.
Today, liquor is sold in most locations with labels that state its percentage alcohol by volume (ABV), and the use of proof as a measure of alcohol content is now mostly historical and linguistic. ABV is now the standard internationally, although proof is still permitted on labels in some countries, such as the US, and is more commonly used than ABV in journalism and informal settings.
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Frequently asked questions
Alcohol by volume (ABV) is the percentage of alcohol in a liquid, whereas proof is a traditional measurement of alcohol content that varies from country to country.
The term "proof" comes from the 16th century when the British government would tax "proof spirits", or liquor with a higher alcohol content, at a higher rate. One test for whether a spirit was "proof" was to soak gunpowder in it and see if it could still burn.
In the US, proof is defined as twice the ABV. For example, a drink with 40% ABV is 80 proof. In the UK, the ABV system is now used instead of proof.
ABV is the number of millimetres (ml) of pure ethanol in 100 ml of fluid. It is usually measured at a temperature of 20°C or 60°F (16°C).
The simplest proof scale was developed by French scientist Joseph-Louis Gay-Lussac in 1824. He defined 100% ABV as 100 proof and 100% water by volume as 0 proof, so the ABV and proof numbers were the same.
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