Alcohol Proof and Alcohol by Volume and

Alcohol by Weight
ORIGINS OF ALCOHOL PROOF
In the early 1700s, people measured the alcohol content of
distilled beverages by using gunpowder.
They would prove the beverage acceptable by pouring some
on gunpowder and lighting it.
When it burned steadily with a blue flame, it was 100 degrees
proof and equaled 57.15 ethanol. If it did not burn, it was
underproof. And if it burned too quickly it was overproof.

United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom, 100 alcohol proof equals 57.1% ethanol by

volume. The gunpowder test is the origin of this definition of proof.

United States

In the United States, alcohol proof is double the percentage of

alcohol contained in a solution. The solution is 60 degrees
Fahrenheit or 15.6 degrees Celsius. Thus, 150 proof would be 75%
alcohol and 100 proof would be 50% alcohol.

France

In France, alcohol content is in degrees Gay-Lussac (GL). A

technician tests the solution with a hydrometer a hydrometer. Then
the person expresses alcohol strength as parts of alcohol per 100
parts of the mixture. Thus, a spirit with 40% alcohol by volume
equals 40 degrees GL.
International

Internationally, the International Organization of Legal Metrology

recommends how to measure alcohol strength. The person
measuring it then expresses the results a percentage of alcohol by
weight (ABW).

Alternatively, the technician measures the volume of alcohol

distilled and expresses it as a percentage of alcohol by volume
(ABV). The person performs the measurement at 20 degrees Celsius
or 68 degrees Fahrenheit. Dividing ABW by 0.79 converts it to ABV.

https://www.alcoholproblemsandsolutions.org/alcohol-proof-and-
alcohol-by-volume-definitions-and-explanations/

Hydrometer

-an instrument for determining the specific gravity of a liquid (such as

battery acid or an alcohol solution) and hence its strength

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hydrometer