That water and alcohol interfere. How to properly dilute alcohol for internal consumption

It's no secret that today it is very easy to get poisoned by alcoholic beverages purchased in a store. Neither laws on mandatory certification nor product quality checks can save us. Somewhere at some stage of production or trade, an enterprising “slickster” appeared - and “write - it’s gone”!

The ideal option is not to drink alcohol at all. A good way to protect yourself is to purchase alcohol-containing drinks at an expensive price - of high quality and in trusted, reputable supermarkets. But what if both of these options are unacceptable for a person?

Then the only way out is to make vodka at home if you have proven quality. But in order to dilute alcohol, you also need certain knowledge and skills.

If a person knows correctly, then he can make at home not only primitive vodka, but also other drinks containing alcohol as a base. For example, 40% vodka with the addition of seasonings (cloves, vanillin, nutmeg), aged for half a month on oak bark, will turn into a cognac drink.

And if you dilute the alcohol with juice to 18%, you can get a very tasty drink reminiscent of port wine or vermouth. Make it sweeter and you get liqueur. If you dilute the alcohol with tarragon or a strong herbal decoction, you can enjoy the balm.

Before diluting alcohol, you need to thoroughly purify the water. Under no circumstances should you use tap water! It contains too many salts and other impurities, so the solution of alcohol and water may become cloudy. You can dilute alcohol with distilled water or boiled and cooled to 20 degrees. Water obtained by melting ice can also be considered distilled.

Activated carbon can also be used. Several tablets should be thrown into a jar of water, leave the mixture at 22 degrees for three hours, then strain through several layers of gauze.

Sometimes flavoring additives are added to purified water before diluting the alcohol. These can be acetic and citric acid, milk, flavorings, as well as sugar, glucose or honey. It should be remembered that these supplements should not be overused. For example, a tablespoon of acid per three liters of finished product is enough, and no more than 40 grams of honey or glucose.

The quality of the alcohol plays a major role in this process. Luxury class alcohols were recognized as the best, with medical and “highest purity” alcohols in second place.

Please remember before diluting alcohol that:

1. It is not water that is poured into alcohol, but alcohol into water;
2. dilution should be done at a temperature of 20 degrees;
3. diluted alcohol should be left for a week in the dark and cool (temperature not lower than 4 degrees);
4. aging only improves the taste of the drink;
5. the proportions for diluting alcohol can be found using Fertman’s table, but you can use the ratio 2:3;
6. the best option is to measure the strength of the resulting drink with a special device - an alcohol meter;
7. When the solution becomes cloudy, add activated carbon to it, settle and filter.

But the most important rule, which applies to all people dealing with alcoholic beverages, is that, in addition to quality, the quantity drunk is also of great importance! Don't forget about this...

Alcohol is a serious liquid. But drink it in its pure form dangerous, and even treating wounds with it or rubbing the skin can cause serious consequences in the form of burns. Still, it will be better for use if the alcohol is diluted, for example, to the state of vodka (40 degrees).

Moreover, it is advisable to do this competently. In this article we will look at the correct method of diluting alcohol with water, it is also called the “cold” method. This technology is used not only at home, but and in distilleries.

Preparing the ingredients

At first glance, diluting alcohol is the simplest thing. But no. There are many special points here, without which it is impossible to prepare good quality vodka. Currently, ethyl alcohol is found in categories:

• first grade (96%);
• highest purification (96.2%);
• extra class (96.5%);
• luxury (96.3%);
• anhydrous;
• medical.

The variety of species differs in the grain from which the product was originally obtained. Each of these types can be used to mix it with water, but the best is the Lux class; the highest purity alcohol is considered less suitable. The most important - don't confuse such deceptive names.

Water

The quality of the water that will be used in the process also plays an important role. Any reader understands that the water must be drinkable, clean and transparent. But no, that's not enough.

Water hardness plays a key role in dilution. It is desirable that the hardness values ​​be as low as possible, that is, the water should be soft.

To dilute alcohol at home, it will be more convenient to buy distilled water, and do not use regular, unpurified water from the tap. If you use low-quality water, the solution will not be clear or tasty.

Additional components

If you decide to turn alcohol into vodka, then the following ingredients are added to improve its taste:

• acetic and citric acid;
• sugar;
• honey;
• glucose;
• flavorings.

The use of such auxiliary ingredients is not such an important task. However, many people like it. It's all a matter of taste, as they say.

We dilute

To correctly understand the dilution scheme, let’s break everything down point by point. All points are equally important and it is not recommended to neglect them.

1. Important! When we dilute alcohol, it is into it(read alcohol) is added to water, but not in a different way!
2. By mixing alcohol with water by eye (without certain proportions), you will not get vodka, but, to put it mildly, a simple swill. It is necessary to observe the proportion, the optimal one (which Mendeleev came to) is 2:3. To mix, take 2 parts alcohol and 3 parts water. But it is always wiser to mix not the volumes of liquids, but their weights; this will lead to a more accurate calculation of the strength of the future drink. Also, to bring vodka to 40 degrees, a good helper when diluting will be Fertman table.
3. Shake the mixture already in a closed bottle, after turning it over.

Cleaning

To improve the quality properties of the prepared vodka, add 3-4 tablets of activated carbon to it and wait 2-3 hours at a temperature of 22C. Afterwards everything is passed through 2-3 layers of gauze.

Improving the taste

As we already said, ingredients such as honey, sugar, glucose, citrus fruit juice soften the taste alcoholic drink. There are no longer any specific proportions for adding them. It all depends on your taste preferences, but don’t overdo it, because your vodka can turn into a tincture.

We endure

Well, the alcohol has been diluted, what next? It is not advisable to use it right away, but it is better to give it to him stand up for at least seven days. By this time, all chemical processes have stopped, and the prepared drink will acquire good taste.

For such a procedure, it is best to use a dark, cool room (possibly a cellar). After the allotted week, the vodka is poured into smaller containers, the preparation technology is completed.

What if there is no time to defend?

It happens when you need vodka urgently. and there is no time to endure it. In such circumstances, a recipe for quickly diluting alcohol, in which the resulting drink will have a more or less pleasant taste, comes in handy.

You need:

• 0.5 cups of freshly squeezed orange or lemon juice;
• 1 glass of alcohol;
• water – 1.5 cups.

Easy to cook! Mix the ingredients and shake vigorously and cool. With this method, the juice plays the main role; it will drown out the unpleasant taste of alcohol, and the vitamin C contained in the juice will help prevent the consequences of a hangover the next day.

Concluding the article, I would like to say that drinking diluted alcohol is not harmful, but we should not forget about reasonable doses that do not cause loss of health to the body.

The process of mixing the main ingredients, of which there are only two - alcohol and vodka, is quite simple. This method of making vodka is called the “cold” method, it is used both at home and in industrial production. So that the end result does not disappoint, but pleases you with the quality and strength of the product, you need to know how to properly organize the mixing process. So let's begin.

Alcohol requirements

The main ingredient in homemade vodka is purified ethyl alcohol. In its pure form, its strength can reach 96.5% (Extra class product), but it is best to use Luxury alcohol with a strength percentage of 96.3. It is also permissible to use an alcoholic alcohol-containing product of the highest purity of 96.2%, but the quality of the resulting vodka will be an order of magnitude lower.

The “right” water is important

Particular attention should be paid to water, because when making homemade vodka, a completely justified question arises: what kind of water to dilute the alcohol with?
It cannot be diluted with ordinary tap water, otherwise the alcohol will become cloudy when interacting with it. It is necessary to use special, that is, purified water, popularly called “corrected”. Basic requirements for water: it should have no color, no smell, no taste, and be crystal clear.

You can, of course, take tap water, first let it settle and purify it through a household filter. But it’s best to use distilled water, which is sold in a pharmacy, to dilute alcohol, or, alternatively, buy children’s drinking water in a supermarket.

Proportions of a quality product

In order for the final product to be good enough and meet the strength requirements, it is necessary to strictly observe the proportions when mixing the main ingredients.
If the correct ratio of alcohol and water is violated, you may end up with a low-quality alcoholic product, or more precisely, low-alcohol water.

Also D.I. Mendeleev developed the ideal proportion of high-quality vodka with an acceptable strength (40-42%) - two parts of alcohol to three parts of purified water. It is important that portions are measured not by volume (ml), but by weight (g), this will help to more accurately calculate the strength of the drink.

How to improve the taste of vodka
To give a more pleasant taste and smell, the following components can be added to homemade vodka:

• sugar or honey;
• glucose;
• citric acid;
• orange peels;
• food essences and flavors.

Poorly diluted alcohol can be easily distinguished from vodka; after drinking it, the mouth feels dry and has an unpleasant taste. In industry, and in everyday life, to make diluted alcohol (vodka) more soft, food glycerin (5 mg per liter of product) or glucose (20 mg per liter of vodka) is used as an additive.

What you need to know

For the best quality homemade vodka obtained by mixing the correct proportions of alcohol and water, there are several important points to consider:

• alcohol is always poured into prepared water, and never vice versa. Experts in homemade alcohol preparations confirm the fact that the quality of the resulting product directly depends on the mixing process;
• after dilution, be sure to shake the liquid in a closed container, turning it upside down;
• the quality of the drink improves if the prepared vodka is placed in the refrigerator for a day;
• When mixing 200 ml of alcohol and 300 ml of water, the final product will not have a volume of 500 ml.

Vodka, a famous and already legendary drink, belongs to strong alcohol. There is no need to say what kind of trouble regular abuse of this alcohol leads to. There has been a full-scale battle against alcoholism for a long time. Conversations are held, restrictions are introduced, large fines are imposed, and excise taxes are increased. Now the average cost of standard, even cheap and budget vodka starts from 200-250 rubles.

Everyone knows that the main ingredients that make up vodka alcohol are alcohol and water. So, it can be made at home? This is a completely doable task; you just need to know how to properly dilute the alcohol to make vodka. It is also necessary to take into account the mixing technology itself and the conditions for choosing components. And you can easily perform all the necessary actions yourself.

At home, you can dilute alcohol with water and get good homemade vodka

The strength of vodka is a rather mysterious thing. By the way, it has been established that a person does not feel the difference in alcohol strength in the range of 40-48%. For this reason, manufacturers stopped at 40%, so as not to waste unnecessary raw materials and effort. Mendeleev determined the standard strength, describing his research in his doctoral dissertation in 1864.

Obtaining a vodka drink by diluting pure alcohol is called the “cold method”. This method is often used in many distilleries.

There are a huge number of varieties of vodka in the world, among them there are drinks of lower strength (for example, in the European Union the standard strength of vodka is 37%). And in Russia there is an established standard of 40%. Manufacturers adhere to this level. It is believed that it is at this strength that alcohol is drunk well and smoothly.

If you consume pure alcohol (96%), it will be absorbed much later, when digestive juices dilute it to the required level. Consequently, intoxication will not occur immediately and will be more powerful. The strongest vodka is known in the world. This is the brainchild of the Scottish company Pincer Shanghai-Strength. It is made from grain alcohol, which has undergone multi-stage thorough purification and flavored with thistle extract.

The main and important ingredient of any alcohol is ethyl alcohol.

This vodka from Scotland has an ABV of 88.8%. This number was not chosen by chance, because the alcohol is intended for export to China, where the number 8 is considered lucky. By the way, despite such a high strength, this alcohol is drunk surprisingly delicately and pleasantly.

Homemade vodka production is practically no different from factory production. But this method also has advantages - after all, all processes are done under personal control. This means there will be confidence that the output will be a good and high-quality product. Numerous additives can be added to homemade vodka to improve taste and perception.

Preparing the ingredients

The cold method is a proven and proven technology for vodka production.. And quite economical. The result of all manipulations is a food product of excellent quality with its famous intoxicating effect.

The main and important step in making your own vodka from alcohol is the order in which all the ingredients are combined. As well as their preparation for the process.

Choosing alcohol

To make homemade vodka, special attention should be paid to the selection of the main component – ​​ethanol. You can choose from the following categories of alcohols:

1. Extra: 96.5%.
2. Lux: 96.3%.
3. Highest purity: 96.2%.
4. First grade: 96%.
5. Medical.
6. Anhydrous.

Of course, the best and ideal option is Extra or Luxury alcohol. And the worst (it should be used only as a last resort) is highly purified ethanol. Despite its name “highest purification”, this alcohol contains a fairly high level of fusel oils and toxic components.

Extra and Lux ​​are ideal for vodka; Alpha alcohol is much more difficult to obtain, but it is considered the best

Choosing water

The choice of water should also be approached seriously, because these components will dilute the alcohol base. The water ingredient can be selected from two options:

1. Filtered.
2. Distilled.

If you use filtered, ordinary water, the final result may not be satisfactory. Here, much will depend on the hardness and the presence of various suspensions and mineral composition. But even when working with distillate, the results will not be the best. After all, such water does not contain minerals that will actively react with alcohol. What to do?

To make homemade vodka, you cannot use tap water that has not undergone any purification at all. The end result will be hopelessly flawed.

Boiled. In such water, by the way, as in distilled water, almost all bacteria are destroyed. There is also a big drawback in those components that help dissolve alcohol. Boiled water, like distilled water, can be used when making vodka, but only as a last resort.

Useful tips for diluting alcohol with water

Tap. Water “from the local housing and communal services” is oversaturated with impurities and various suspensions. Plus, it can also be too tough. But it can be cleaned. It is better to do this according to the following instructions:

1. Run through a good household filter. At the same time, salts, heavy metals and chlorine will be removed from the water.
2. Pour filtered water into bottles and place in the freezer.
3. When almost half the volume of liquid freezes, you should take it out and pour the water into the sink - it is not needed.
4. The remaining ice thaws and melt water is formed, which can be used to dilute alcohol.

Bottled. This option is not bad, especially if you buy soft water with a minimum salt content. Therefore, when purchasing, pay attention to its sediment and transparency.

Additional Ingredients

This step is optional; various additives are needed only when you want to give homemade vodka a certain refined and interesting taste, a specific aroma. The classic method of preparing homemade vodka involves glucose (in addition to the main components). You can purchase it ready-made, or you can make it yourself using the following instructions:

1. Mix water and sugar in equal proportions.
2. To completely dissolve the sugar crystals, the liquid is slowly heated.
3. Foam may form when heated; it must be removed carefully.
4. Once the sugar has completely dissolved, the glucose is ready.

You can also use ingredients such as:

• sugar;
• milk;
• aromatic essences;
• natural good honey;
• citric or acetic acid;
• citrus juice (preferably orange or lemon).

The use of such additives depends on purely individual preferences. If you want bitter and scalding vodka, the alcohol is diluted with water without including other ingredients. Well, otherwise, you can safely experiment, choosing the taste of the final product for yourself.

In what proportion should alcohol be diluted with water for vodka?

More than a century ago, the optimal proportion of diluting alcohol with water to obtain vodka was discovered. Two parts alcohol base is diluted with three parts water. One mass fraction was used per unit of measurement. That is, to obtain 1 kg of vodka product, 0.4 kg of alcohol base should be diluted with 0.6 kg of the selected water. The output will be about a liter of vodka, ready to drink.

One of the homemade vodka recipes

But there are some nuances here; you should know that alcohol is poured into water, and not vice versa. Moreover, the alcohol base must be added slowly and carefully. Strength control can be done using an alcohol meter.

When diluting alcohol with water, you need to know that you should only add alcohol to water, and not vice versa. Moreover, the finished mixture can no longer be diluted with water.

When diluting with alcohol, you should remember that all basic ingredients must be heated to +20-22⁰C. If you skip this step, it will be difficult to “adjust” to the required strength. The final drink may differ in temperature by more than 1-2% (for each temperature unit).

Table for determining the strength level

To dilute and control the strength of the resulting drink, you can use already existing summary plates. See how to dilute alcohol with water to make vodka, the table below shows how much water should be used to obtain the optimal result:

After	Ethanol level before dilution process
	95%	90%	85%	80%	75%	70%	65%	60%	55%
90%	6,40
85%	13,30	6,60
80%	20,90	13,80	6,80
75%	29,50	21,80	14,50	7,20
70%	39,10	31,00	23,10	15,40	7,60
65%	50,10	41,40	33,00	24,70	16,40	8,20
60%	67,90	53,70	44,50	35,40	26,50	17,60	8,80
55%	78,00	67,80	57,90	48,10	38,30	28,60	19,00	9,50
50%	96,00	84,70	73,90	63,00	52,40	41,70	31,30	20,50	10,40
45%	117,20	105,30	93,30	81,20	69,50	57,80	46,00	34,50	22,90
40%	144,40	130,80	117,30	104,00	90,80	77,60	64,50	51,40	38,50
35%	178,70	163,30	148,00	132,90	117,80	102,80	87,90	73,10	58,30
30%	221,10	206,20	188,60	171,10	153,60	136,00	118,90	101,70	84,50
25%	278,10	266,10	245,20	224,30	203,50	182,80	162,20	141,70	121,20
20%	382,00	355,80	329,80	304,00	278,30	252,60	227,00	201,40	176,00
15%	540,00	505,30	471,00	436,90	402,80	368,80	334,90	301,10	267,30

Addition: the numbers indicated in the cells indicate the dose of water (in ml) per 100 ml of ethanol.

If this table is too difficult to understand, use another, simpler formula for dilution. It is as follows: one liter of alcohol must be poured into 1.4 liters of water. The output will be good and strong vodka with the usual 40%.

Follow up

As soon as the alcohol is diluted with water to the required strength, the finished vodka must be further purified and sent for settling. Filter it using a paper or fabric filter. To improve the quality of the finished alcohol, activated carbon is used.

It is added to the finished drink in the amount of 4-5 tablets per 500 ml of vodka and left for 3-4 hours. The liquid should be kept at a temperature of +22⁰С. Then the alcohol is filtered again (in this case it is better to use thick fabric).

Adding Additional Ingredients

After completing all the operations of diluting the alcohol and purifying it, it is time to add exquisite flavors to the finished vodka. This is done by including additives. The number of additional inclusions will depend on the volume of vodka received and the selected ingredient. For example:

• 30-40 ml of aromatic additives is enough (per 1 liter of vodka);
• honey should be added in a proportion of 1x10, where 10 parts is vodka;
• Fewer additives with sourness should be included: 5-10 ml per 1 liter of product.

Final events

Now all that remains is to give the homemade vodka time to “catch up”. To do this, place the resulting liquid in a dark and cold place and leave it there for 8-10 days at a temperature of no more than +4⁰C. During this time, the diluted alcohol will actively react with all the additional ingredients and gradually become saturated with the expected taste.

As soon as the aging time is over, the alcoholic product is carefully poured into bottles and sealed very tightly. This must be done to prevent the evaporation of alcohol and the subsequent decrease in the degree of alcohol. By the way, the finished alcoholic drink will be noticeably reduced in volume. This will happen due to the active reaction of ethanol with additives, due to which new bonds are created, which reduce the volume of liquid.

Why, exactly, is alcohol diluted? Most often in order to prepare an alcoholic drink.

Why is alcohol diluted?

Of course, it is also bred in production. But the question of how to pour alcohol into water or vice versa most often arises when preparing alcohol at home. It can be anything, it doesn’t have to be vodka. Various liqueurs and tinctures are prepared based on alcohol. But before you dilute alcohol with water, you need to be well prepared and familiarize yourself with certain rules. Otherwise they won’t turn out to be of very good quality.

How to dilute alcohol with water

This process does not involve any complicated procedures. You just need to do everything right. How to dilute alcohol with water? To do this, you only need alcohol itself (96%) and water. It is not recommended to take liquid from the tap. It is also better to immediately exclude boiled water. It is best to purchase it at the store before diluting alcohol with water. It should be well chilled, but not frozen. So what should you pour? Alcohol into water or vice versa? What do technologists say? It is necessary to pour alcohol into the water in a thin stream.

Why is this so? If you do the opposite, then when the strength decreases, the solution heats up greatly, and all toxins and other harmful substances are released.

What to do next

The solution must settle. Minimum period - 2 days. But it's better to wait a week. It is necessary to defend the diluted alcohol in a dark place. The bottle should be filled up to the neck so that the oxidation process does not begin. Another important point when diluting alcohol with water: if you pour water into alcohol, the solution will most likely acquire a cloudy color, and it will smell exactly like alcohol, not vodka.

Dilution of alcohol from the point of view of chemists

If a person is at least a little familiar with this science, then the question of whether to pour alcohol into water or vice versa will not even occur to him. After all, any chemist knows that it is the soluble agent that needs to be poured into the solvent, and not vice versa. This reduces the amount of heat generated. It is always acid that is poured into water. And even lithium and potassium are thrown into water, rather than poured over them with liquid.

Since alcohol is one of the strongest oxidizing agents, when it is added to water the solution will heat up. And this will lead to the formation of peroxide, carbonic and acetic acids and various poisons, which cause a wild hangover. You also need to remember to shake the container with the solution periodically. Then the elements will interact better. If the procedure is carried out correctly, a minimal amount of harmful components will remain in the solution.

But again, we must not forget about standing in a cool, dark place. During this time, all components will mix, and the resulting gases will evaporate.

Correct proportions

How much water to add to alcohol? It is believed that the inventor of vodka is Mendeleev. It’s worth emulating his calculations. The ideal proportion is 2:3. It is 2 parts alcohol and 3 parts water. This ratio is considered ideal.

But the proportions in which to dilute alcohol with water is a personal matter for everyone. Not everyone is satisfied with the strength of 40 o. Some people prefer a sixty-degree drink, but for others, 38 is too much. Therefore, it all depends on what kind of strength you need to achieve in the end.

Do I need to shake it?

Scientists do not say that the solution needs to be shaken. After all, if the procedure is carried out correctly, then the alcohol will dissolve perfectly. But if the composition of alcohol is not the most ideal, then when shaken, all harmful substances will disintegrate into gas and water.

What to pour - alcohol into water or vice versa, we figured it out. The main thing is to take into account some nuances. Another important point in this process is water quality. A lot depends on her too.

What should the water be like?

First of all, when diluting alcohol, the water should not be hard. That is, the content of magnesium and calcium in it should be minimal. Hard water can cause the drink to become cloudy in color, and its taste will change for the worse.

Tap water. It is better not to use it in this case. Firstly, its hardness is simply off the charts, and secondly, it contains a very high chlorine content. This will also negatively affect the quality of the drink.

But if you still have to use just such water, then it must be properly prepared. In order for the chlorine to evaporate from it, it must be allowed to stand for at least several hours. Afterwards, the water needs to be brought to a boil and cooled. Next, it is advisable to use a filter for cleaning. Only after this can the water be used.

Spring water

You can often hear that spring water is the ideal option for diluting alcohol. But this is not entirely true. Of course, spring water most often has excellent taste, but how hard it is can only be determined in a special laboratory.

In addition, its quality also strongly depends on natural conditions: time of year, precipitation. So this kind of water is also not the best option. For testing, you can dilute a small amount of alcohol and look at the result. If the solution remains clear and the taste is acceptable, then you can continue to use this water.

Water from the store

This is exactly what qualified specialists advise. Here you can be sure of both the composition and the rigidity. After all, all this is indicated on the label. All that remains is to find water whose hardness does not exceed 1 mEq/l. It is worth noting that there are many such products on the shelves of modern supermarkets. If the exact hardness is not indicated on the bottle, then you need to pay attention to the amount of calcium (no more than 10 mg/l) and magnesium (no more than 8 mg/l).

Distilled water

At first glance, this is an ideal option. Since there are no impurities, the solution will definitely not become cloudy. But there are also some nuances here. You need to decide what the solution will be used for in the future. If a tincture or liqueur with a pronounced taste is prepared based on it, then distilled water is an excellent option. This liquid has no taste. Therefore, the properties of herbs or berries in the drink will be fully revealed.

But if you need to make vodka, then this liquid is completely unsuitable. And the reason is the same - it has no taste. It is believed that the taste of vodka directly depends on the taste of water. After all, alcohol, whatever it is, has the same taste as liquid. Before diluting alcohol with water, you must take all safety measures and under no circumstances carry out this procedure near an open fire.