How does alcohol percentage work?

Question

Okay, so on a bottle of vodka, it'll say something like alc/vol 40%. Now, does this mean that the whole bottle contains 40%? Or does it mean that there is 40% per shot?

Because I have seen smirnoff bottles is many sizes, and they are all 40%. there was a really big bottle, and a bottle the size of a single shot. Now according to my current logic, and based on the fact that they are both 40%, the single-shot sized bottle would have 40%, and would be massive alcoholisized. And the big sized bottle, also being 40%, would have to take many shots to get you drunk.

Uhm... I' probably just confusing myself, and I'm wondering how the percentage system works.

That doesn't make any sense... so you're saying that if you take a tiny sip of it, it's the same as drinkiing the whole 40oz bottle???

Answer 1

What it's telling you is that the liquid in the bottle is 40% alcohol and 60% not alcohol.

That means if you pour a shot, 40% of the liquid in your shot glass is alcohol, and the remaining 60% of the liquid in your shot glass isn't.

Answer 2

How Do Alcohol Percentages Work

Answer 3

Had you had a few drinks before writing this perhaps??

I'm not great at maths myself, but 40% is 40% and that's that. So, if you have a bottle of spirits before you containing 40%, then a single shot poured from that bottle will also contain 40%.

I wonder if you might benefit from a class in basic mathematics. If you are curious about this sort of thing, I think you would really enjoy it.

Answer 4

Are you confusing 40 ounces with 40%. No matter how much you drink 40% of the volume will be alcohol. If you drink a 1 ounce shot, 40% of that is alchol. If you drink a quart bottle, then 40% of that is alcohol. By the way, in case you didn't know, the alcohol percentage is always have of the proof rating.

Answer 5

It's just like anything else. If a small can of soup has 30% sodium, the large can has the same. The percentage has nothing to do with how much is in the container. Rather, it has to do with the amount in the mixture. There would be 40% alcohol no matter what the amount of liquid is. If you had a shot, 40% would be alcohol. If you had a mug of it, 40% of that mug would be alcohol.

EDITED TO ADD:
Picture a large pie and a very small pie. If I ate half of the large pie, I'd be a stuffed PIG. If I ate half of the small pie, I wouln't even be phased. Do you understand that analogy?

Answer 6

Look at it this way:

take a $1 bill.....40% of $1 is 40¢
now take a $100 bill.....40% of $100 is $40

or

making a glass of lemonade:
if you have to mix 4 teaspoons of mix to 10 ounces of water, then to get 100 ounces of lemonade you would have to mix in 40 teaspoons to get the same flavor.

it's still the same percentage regardless of the size of the bottle. alc/vol 40 is talking about the entire bottle.

Answer 7

its all based on vollume...40% of the big bottle is alcohol 40% of the small is alcohol. think of why the big bottle is so much more expensive. 40% of 1 liter is alot more than 40% of 1.5 oz.

1 beer = 1 glass of wine= 1 1oz shot of booze

Answer 8

it means that its 40 percent alcohol. Like if you have a big glass and a small glass, and fill it with alc/vol 35, then of each glass, 35 percent is alcohol, and the other 65 is not. the higher the number the less you have to drink to get drunk. grain alcohol, like everclear is like 95 percent alcohol, a couple shots and your out

Answer 9

its the same thing.
Think fractions 2/5 of any amount is 40%

Answer 10

percent is percent OF A GIVEN VOLUME. So if you drink 100ml of something that is 40%, then 40ml is alcohol. If you drink a small amount, like 10ml, 40% of it is 4ml of alcohol.

see?