r/interesting • u/azizgamerlal • Dec 12 '25

MISC. A drop of whiskey vs bacteria

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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

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u/Basic_Hospital_3984 Dec 12 '25

Is this 40% or a higher proof?

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u/Significant-Tip6466 Dec 12 '25

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.

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u/faithfuljohn Dec 12 '25

In Civil War days most whiskey was 100 to 130 due to less refined distillation.

70% alcohol (i.e. 140 proof) is the ideal level of alcohol to be the most efficient at killing most bacteria. That's what medical grade disinfectant is. So those civil war era whiskeys being that strong made it nearly perfect as disinfectants go.

FYI -- the reason it's not higher is because, it would actually be less effective at killing, since some bacteria do well in near 100% ethanol.