Tag: Absolute alcohol

Chemists agree that producing truly 100% pure alcohol is a practical impossibility. This is because even the highest purity 'absolute alcohol' is slightly hygroscopic, meaning it readily absorbs atmospheric water.

While the strongest consumer-grade spirits like Everclear reach approximately 95-96% ABV, achieving a true 100% alcohol by volume requires specialized lab and industrial techniques. This nearly water-free substance, known as absolute ethanol, is extremely toxic, highly flammable, and is not intended for human consumption.

Fact: The highest commercially available ethanol is not 100%, and even a lab-prepared absolute ethanol cannot stay perfectly pure. This leads many to question, is any alcohol 100 percent? The answer is a surprising and definitive no, due to fundamental chemical properties.

While standard spirits hover around 40% ABV, 100% alcohol, known as absolute alcohol or anhydrous ethanol, is a highly purified form of ethanol with virtually no water content. It is never intended for human consumption due to extreme potency and the industrial processes used to create it. This specialized substance serves critical roles in scientific and industrial applications where water is an impurity.

Ethanol, the intoxicating compound in alcoholic beverages, boils at $173.1^{\circ} \text{F}$ ($78.4^{\circ} \text{C}$) while water boils at $212^{\circ} \text{F}$ ($100^{\circ} \text{C}$), a fact that allows distillers to create stronger spirits. This process of repeated distillation, known as rectification, is what creates the drinks considered the purest alcohol, such as Everclear and Spirytus Rektyfikowany.

In the United States, a 200 proof rating signifies 100% alcohol by volume (ABV), based on a simple doubling of the alcohol percentage. This level of purity, also known as absolute ethanol, is a highly volatile substance rarely available for direct consumer purchase due to its nature and flammability.