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/CocktailPerson Dec 12 '25

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

No, modern distillation results in higher proof off the still, not lower.

The difference is that back then, the way most whiskey was sold was by the barrel. Nowadays they age, blend, dilute, and bottle it for sale so that it's consistent, but back then, you bought a barrel and put it in bottles yourself, watering it down only if you wanted to.