Strongest Alcoholic Drinks
Alcohol drinking is common when you are attending a party or any social gathering. For some, drinking small amounts of alcohol helps them to digest their food or to relax.
However, many people drink alcohol for recreational purposes, to show off, or to be accepted by peers. Whether teenagers or adults, there is a high population of alcohol drinkers in society.
In this article, we are featuring various types of alcoholic beverages and other relevant topics such as alcoholism and its signs. Continue reading to find out more.
Overview of Alcohol
The alcohol we are referring to as drinking alcohol is ethanol, which is produced through the fermentation of sugar. In contrast, methanol, isopropyl alcohol, and other types are not drinkable, yet it is used for disinfection purposes. Nevertheless, ethanol can still be used for disinfection purposes.
Two Main Types of Alcoholic Beverages
There are two main categories of drinking alcohol: distilled and undistilled. Below is a further discussion about each type.
Undistilled Alcohol
It is also called fermented drinks, where they use yeast to convert sugar to ethanol. Some of the popular types under this category are wines and beers. The former can be made from grapes, while the latter from fermented grains, wheat, and barley.
Distilled Alcohol
When you let your fermented drinks undergo distillation, then the outcome of distillate will be your distilled alcoholic beverage. In terms of strength, this type is much stronger than its undistilled counterpart. Some of the popular examples of distilled alcohol are whiskey, gin, rum, brandy, vodka, absinthe, tequila, and Everclear.
If you will be drinking these distilled alcoholic beverages, be cautious because of its strong alcohol content.
Alcohol Concentration
Knowing the alcohol content of your drinks is important so that you would know how much you can drink. Typically, there are two methods of expressing the strength of your alcoholic drinks: Alcohol by volume (ABV) and Proof Number.
- Alcohol by Volume (ABV): The alcohol strength is expressed in percentage by volume. For instance, a 10% (v/v) 500mL red wine has a 50mL ethanol concentration.
- Proof Number: You can get the proof number by multiplying the volume percentage concentration by two. For instance, a 10% red wine will have a proof number of 20 (10% x 2 = 20).
Classification of Alcoholic Beverages Based on Concentration
A while ago, we have mentioned that there are two main types of alcoholic drinks, so here, we are going to enumerate its subtypes for each – undistilled and distilled alcohol.
Distilled Alcoholic Drinks
- Gin
This spirit is derived from juniper berries, where its alcohol strength is between 35% to 55% ABV.
- Brandy
It is a distilled wine where its alcohol strength is between 35% to 60%, and a popular example is Cognac (40% ABV).
- Whiskey
You get this spirit when you distill a fermented drink from grains, and its alcohol strength is between 40% to 50% ABV.
- Tequila
The usual alcohol strength of tequila is 40% ABV, and it is derived from the Mexican agave plant.
- Rum
When you distill a fermented drink from molasses or sugarcane, you get a rum with an average alcohol strength of 40% ABV. Nevertheless, some rums have higher alcohol concentrations which hit 75% ABV.
- Everclear
This spirit is a distilled fermented grain drink with an average alcohol concentration of 60% ABV. Also, its alcohol strength can vary between 75.5% to 95% ABV.
- Absinthe
This distilled alcoholic drink has a typical concentration between 40% to 90% ABV. Also, it is made from distilling different leaves and plants.
- Vodka
When you distill a fermented drink from potatoes or grain, you will get this liquor. Vodka has an average alcohol concentration of 40% ABV in the U.S.
Undistilled Alcohol Drinks
- Wine
It is one of the classic alcoholic drinks where you typically use grapes for its production. Most wines have an alcohol concentration between 10% to 14% ABV.
Also, we have the fortified wines where there is additional ethanol added to give it a stronger taste, and examples of this are Madeira, Marsala, Port, Vermouth, and Sherry. These wines have a higher ABV at 20%.
- Sake
It is the famous rice wine from the Japanese which has an alcohol concentration of 16% ABV.
- Hard Cider
This fermented apple extract has a 5% alcohol concentration by volume.
- Mead
This undistilled drink is made from combining fermented honey and purified water, where its average alcohol concentration is 10% to 14%.
- Beer
You get beer by fermenting sugarcane, molasses, malt, or barley. Its average alcohol concentration is around 4% to 6% ABV.
Top 10 Strong Alcoholic Beverages in the Market
- Spirytus Rektyfikowany
This Polish Vodka has 96% alcohol concentration by volume, so you need to be careful when drinking it.
- Everclear
It is just 1% lower than our top 1 strongest alcoholic drink. It is manufactured in the U.S. by Luxco. You need to be careful when drinking highly strong alcoholic drinks as it can numb your tongue or taste buds.
- Bruichladdich X4 + 1 Whiskey
It has an average alcohol content of 92% ABV, which is higher than the traditional concentration of most whiskeys.
- Pincer Vodka
It is the strongest Scotland Vodka today with 88.8% ABV alcohol content.
- Balkan
It is a Scandinavian beverage with an alcohol strength of 88%. It has a colorless and odorless state.
- Good ol’ Sailor Vodka
It is Swedish vodka with 85% ABV strength. Make sure to drink lightly when having this drink, so that you won’t suffer from the damaged liver.
- Sunset Rum
It is one of the known rums in the market, where its alcohol strength is at 84.5% ABV.
- Devil Springs Vodka
It is commonly used for your flaming shots and best fits with ginger ale. Also, it has an alcohol strength of 160 Proof.
- Bacardi
When mixing this with your daiquiris or Cuba Libre, make sure to have it in smaller volumes because of its quick spike. It has an alcohol content of 75.5% ABV.
- Absinthe
Rumors are saying that this drink has contents of hallucinogens, yet its main ingredient is artemisia absinthium. On average, its alcohol strength is between 45% to 85%.
Takeaways
Around 95,000 individuals in the U.S. have died due to alcoholism, while there are 9,967 death counts due to driving under the influence of alcohol. If you think you need professional help with your alcohol use disorder, then don’t hesitate to contact an addiction specialist or medical personnel.
Early prevention and intervention is the best cure for any substance addiction or alcoholism.