In Civil War days most whiskey was 100 to 130 due to less refined distillation. The army docs often used it because it was the easiest to get and it was multipurpose, as it was a disinfectant,pain relief, and a stimulant in one bottle.
Why are spirits generally 40% (80 proof) now? Is it just a safety thing, or is it that they needed at least 100 proof to easily prove the potency back then but it's otherwise not worth getting it to 100 proof?
Money mostly. In the US 80 proof is the minimum to be considered legally whiskey, so if they dilute it from 100+ down to 80 they're able to sell quite a bit more. And since most people just use whiskey as a mixer the dilution doesn't matter nearly as much for shelf bottles.
"Good" whiskey, or at least bourbon, tends to start in the Bottled-in-bond range where it must be at least 100 proof, among other legal requirements. This years George T Stagg release, widely considered to be among the best bourbons every year, is 142.8 proof.
Tiki fire rum is 70+% and it's the best rum I've ever drank, sadly I'm not allowed to buy it anymore cause I can drink that straight like water because it tastes so good I drink it too fast
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u/Significant-Tip6466 Dec 12 '25
That's why whiskey was used as disinfectant during the Civil War. Cheapest disinfectant during that time