Let’s Talk About ABV and Proof.

Alcohol By Volume is the term used to define the amount of pure alcohol or ethanol in a spirit or alcoholic beverage.

The alcohol percentage of a given alcoholic beverage is always followed by ABV, which means that in a 750 ml bottle of whiskey, for example, 40% of that 750 ml is pure alcohol (40% ABV).

Over the centuries, various methods have been used to determine the alcohol content of a spirit. From rubbing the spirit between the hands to see if it would evaporate or not, to lighting a piece of spirit-soaked cloth with gunpowder and trying to set it on fire to prove the alcohol content. In the past, the British government would tax extra based on the spirit’s alcohol content, this is why the term 'proof' was used to indicate the actual amount of alcohol present in it.

Today, the alcohol content is measured using a hydrometer, and there are three standardized proofing systems used worldwide. The ever confusing British specific gravity system, standardized in 1952. The American approach, which simply doubles the ABV of a beverage to determine its proof. For instance, a 40% ABV beverage is 80 proof. And the very simple and easy Joseph Louis Gay-Lussac or GL system, where the French scientist states the abv equals to the proof, 40%abv or 40GL equals 40 proof.