Pure Alcohol

[Armadio]

I'm looking to make a liquor that requires pure alcohol - which I'm struggling to buy in the UK.

I can obviously substitute with vodka, but would rather try and get the pure stuff if possible!!

Apparently the alcohol from a chemist isn't appropriate / drinkable?

Is my best bet waiting for a trip to Europe where it's more readily for sale??

Thanks in advance EDF.

[KidKruger]

Dangerous game there my man.

[Seabag]

Very dangerous game

Hence why alcohol production is restricted and licenced

[Louisa]

The closest you'll get in this country is 'Abelour' single malt scotch whisky. It's 120 proof. It will blow your socks off, but at least it's drinkable and not something awful from the black market.

Louisa.

[Loz]

Try a local Polish supermarket and ask for Polish Pure Spirit - you can get it up to 95% ABV. Or try online.

Though as others have said... tread carefully with this sort of stuff.

[rendelharris]

Louisa Wrote:

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> The closest you'll get in this country is

> 'Abelour' single malt scotch whisky. It's 120

> proof. It will blow your socks off, but at least

> it's drinkable and not something awful from the

> black market.

>

> Louisa.

Aye, Abelour Scotch A'Bundah, 120 proof - but that's "only" 59% alcohol, nowhere near the pure alcohol you're asking for and not suitable for rebrewing. As the others have said, think long and hard about what you're doing, self-poisoning very very easy with what you're planning.

[Armadio]

Thanks so much for all the replies - it is to make a Basil Liqueur. In Italy it's made with 00 pure, and I just wondered if I could get that or an equivalent here (or maybe I do need to resort to Vodka?)

I will indeed try with caution.

Thank you.

[malumbu]

Vodka is essentially pure alcohol and water. The higher strength stuff will be 50%. Polish spirit is essentially vodka but may be stronger. You could freeze it, remove the ice, and you will have something stronger. It's called fractional distillation.

Alcohol is not paticularly nice without flavouring - malted barley, hops, can suger, juniper berries, compounds from wood, fruits (fermented grapes for example).

Alcohol has a duty on it to raise revenues and discourage heavy drinking. Alcohols used for other purposes will have an even higher duty and will have nasties put in it to make you puke. Methylated spirits.

As the alcohol content nears 100% you start getting nasties carrying over in the process (distillation) one being methanol that can make you blind. Distillation cannot produce 100% pure alcohol and some nasties are put in to remove the last couple of percent of water. So don't break into a laboratory and steal either their industrial methylated spirits or pure alcohol.

As a chemistry graduate many of us set up stills to distill various crap that we had fermented. Tne product was great but nobody would drink it as they didn't trust us. And it was illegal. Wasn't worth the time and effort but rights of passage.

[Saffron]

I agree, don't break into a lab. That's just stupid. However, labs do use pure ethnol. There are no "nasties" added, as that would corrupt experiments that rely on its purity of course!

High quality vodka is probably your most reliable option.

[dirac]

Saffron Wrote:

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> I agree, don't break into a lab. That's just

> stupid. However, labs do use pure ethnol. There

> are no "nasties" added, as that would corrupt

> experiments that rely on its purity of course!

>

> High quality vodka is probably your most reliable

> option.

Depends on the purity of the ethanol to be honest. We use it all the time in the lab to clean BK7/fused silica lenses, silver mirrors etc which is 99.9% pure, but then we also have two types of less pure for general cleaning like glassware and tables etc. Same goes for methanol (don't drink that though!). You'd need to see the (sealed) bottle to know cus labs can be well slack at just topping things up and mixing them up.

[malumbu]

I was thinking pyradine to remove the water but that is added to put people of drining the stuff.

Anyway its been a long time since I was in the lab and I thought that to remove the final percent or two of water something had to be used that would still be present in trace quantities. Aternatively I could be getting mixed up with IMS which is full of nasties.

But this was a time when none of us wore gloves and handled benzene and chlorinated solvents without a care...

Not good days.

[Sue]

malumbu Wrote:

-------------------------------------------

>

> But this was a time when none of us wore gloves

> and handled benzene and chlorinated solvents

> without a care...

>

> Not good days.

When I was at school we got to roll mercury around the physics lab benches :(

[TheCat]

Get a truck to stop a train carrying the stuff, then you and Jesse Pinkman can siphon some off into a tank buried in the ground....

[TheArtfulDogger]

Years ago is as told that to remove the blue from methylated spirits you can filter it through s slice of white bread....

Apparently it works but still sends you blind regardless .....

[JohnL]

Sue Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> malumbu Wrote:

> -------------------------------------------

> >

> > But this was a time when none of us wore gloves

> > and handled benzene and chlorinated solvents

> > without a care...

> >

> > Not good days.

>

>

> When I was at school we got to roll mercury around

> the physics lab benches :(

We did that too - and in Uni we used to throw the beta ray source about (how is our generation still alive :) )

[Loz]

TheArtfulDogger Wrote:

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> Years ago is as told that to remove the blue from methylated spirits you can filter it through s

> slice of white bread....

>

> Apparently it works but still sends you blind regardless .....

That's because the blue colour is a dye, but the thing that sends you blind is the methanol, which is colourless.

[Seabag]

I'm begining to think Fox & Dogger went to the same school

Good name for a virtual pub that

The Fox & Dogger, run by landlady Louisa

[Jeremy]

If you're feeling adventurous, you could try re-distilling vodka to increase the strength!

[DulwichFox]

TheArtfulDogger Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Years ago is as told that to remove the blue from

> methylated spirits you can filter it through s

> slice of white bread....

>

> Apparently it works but still sends you blind

> regardless .....

Often people mixed the meths with other substances, using some form of ethanol. A red biddy was red wine and meths while a red Lizzie was meths mixed with Lisbon wine. Most meths drinkers were very poor.

There seems to have been lot of compulsion assisted with drinking methylated spirits. Because it is a purple color the meths drinker had a distinctive look with purple lips.

.. Meths was therefore filtered through half a loaf bread to remove the dye..

Foxy..

[uncleglen]

Just soak the basil in vodka- but don't get any of that dodgy cheap vodka. You've got too much time on your hands to be sodding about with this sort of thing.

[TheArtfulDogger]

Seabag Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> I'm begining to think Fox & Dogger went to the

> same school

>

> Good name for a virtual pub that

>

> The Fox & Dogger, run by landlady Louisa

Yessir , it's where we go when the Britexit Arms closes for last orders, open all night and serves a lovely cocktail called blue mothers pride...

Did i see you there last night with a pint of homemade gin in your hand?

[Loz]

DulwichFox Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> TheArtfulDogger Wrote:

> --------------------------------------------------

> -----

> > Years ago is as told that to remove the blue

> from

> > methylated spirits you can filter it through s

> > slice of white bread....

> >

> > Apparently it works but still sends you blind

> > regardless .....

>

>

> Often people mixed the meths with other

> substances, using some form of ethanol. A red

> biddy was red wine and meths while a red Lizzie

> was meths mixed with Lisbon wine. Most meths

> drinkers were very poor.

A fun EDF game is to find the website Foxy copy-and-pastes his latest 'insight' from.

Today: http://www.amymittelman.com/methylated-spirits/

[DulwichFox]

Loz..

I worked in Whitechaple in the early 70's.. A pub in Commercial Street The Commercial ??

Was frequented at that time with down and outs who whould attmpt to get a seat inside. They were thrown out

for trying to drink meths in the form of Red lizzie.

I believe there where old chalk boards with Red Lizzie at 2d on the menu as an historic gesture.

I could of written the article myself.. If I had of done .. it would of been said I was talking crap.

Knob..

DulwichFox

[Loz]

DulwichFox Wrote:

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> I could of written the article myself.. If I had

> of done .. it would of been said I was talking crap.

Because cut and pasting crap was a much better solution.

[numbers]

Sue Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> malumbu Wrote:

> -------------------------------------------

> >

> > But this was a time when none of us wore gloves

> > and handled benzene and chlorinated solvents

> > without a care...

> >

> > Not good days.

>

>

> When I was at school we got to roll mercury around

> the physics lab benches :(

same here!!

bunsen burners & bangs, the science 'corridor' used to stink with all the crazy experiments going on. The biology lab was scary as you never knew what plant was going to suddenly move. now that I think about it, it was all very harry potter.

anyway, OP I hope you just bought your own basil liqueur rather than home made. I can only imagine that it tastes like alcoholic pesto? no?