OK, I write this as someone who regularly drinks high-proof spirits, including cask strength/barrel proof whiskies. To an experienced drinker such as I, there is definitely a difference in burn that is correlated with, but not determined by, ABV.
Here are the facts as I see them:
• Pure ethanol doesn’t really “burn.” Vodka doesn’t really burn. Thus, one could say that ABV has nothing to do with burn, yet it clearly does.
• Brown spirits tend to have burn, whereas truly white spirits (vodka and gin) seem not to have it.
• Some alcoholic beverages “burn” more than others, and the burn is correlated with alcohol by volume (ABV). To wit, there is a low ABV threshold beyond which any burn is impossible. 0% ABV, 0% burn. No one ever says beer or wine “burns.” Nevertheless, some higher-proof spirits can burn less than lower-proof spirits. Example: I’m sipping a Four Roses barrel-proof bourbon (58% ABV) with very little burn with no water added, yet I also have a Henry McKenna Bottled-in-Bond bourbon (50%) with a distinct burn to it (it’s still awesome).
Based on the above facts, my preliminary conclusion is that there is some substance created in the production of brown spirits that tends to vary positively with ABV that causes “burn.” I’ve never seen any kind of scientific investigation as to what such a substance may be. Thus I ask you, Dopers!
One of the ways I (very roughly) estimate the strength of my homebrewed cider is from the warm sensation at the back of my throat after drinking it.
Not sure it’s necessarily the same phenomenon as the ‘burn’ you get from spirits, but I can perceive a ‘warmth’ sensation from drinks as low as 3%.
That’s why I said at the outset, “OK, I write this as someone who regularly drinks high-proof spirits, including cask strength/barrel proof whiskies.” Someone who isn’t used to drinking straight brown spirits could cough and gag on anything at 40% ABV. That says nothing about the “burn” relative to other spirits, though.
In the case of brown spirits (and maybe wine and other stuff) it could be tannins - from the oak in the case of wooded maturing, or from the fruit itself in the case of cider (or both for wines).
But I’ve experienced this burning with clear spirits such as gin and white rum (I hardly ever drink vodka, so I can’t comment on that). I think it’s got to be the alcohol that is the primary factor here - perhaps augmented by other substances in the mixture such as tannins.
Thanks! It’s tricky though: how is it that spirits at the same ABV can have differing levels of burn, or even a spirit of higher ABV has a lower burn than a spirit with a lower ABV? There has to be some reason for this.
I’ve wondered this myself. I very rarely drink, but I’ve found that whiskey burns my throat like hell and makes my eyes water, while vodka of the same percentage doesn’t burn (although it does taste awful to me).
About 6 years ago, the mouth wash world was rocked by the news that ethanol in mouth wash increased the risk of cancer. The theory was that ethanol helped the mouth wash penetrate into the flesh, taking with it the antiseptics like carbolic acid, which may be carcinogenic. That means the ethanol acted to turn the membrane permeable to the more toxic hydrocarbons.
Since then HPV has also been blamed for a rise in oral and throat cancers too.
From what my homebrewer friends tell me, what you taste mostly isn’t the ethanol but the fusel alcohols. These are other types of alcohol that occur along with the ethanol in small amounts depending on the fermentation process. Things like lagers and vodkas are fermented in such a way as to minimize the fusel content, so you get a lot less alcohol mouthfeel relative to the actual ethanol content than you do with things like ales and whiskeys that have more fusels.
Alcohol is a very good solvent, so can and does contain chemicals and stuff in solution. The brown ones would seem to contain different substances then the clear, and as suggested stuff from the barrel wood that the were aged in.
Another possible factor, since it’s just not alcohol, but mostly a mixture of water + alcohol (and dissolved chemicals.) As the drink becomes more diluted it is possible for some of those items that are dissolved to come out of solution which might cause a burn when the drink mixes with the moisture in the mouth and throat. One drink in particular, absinth, uses this effect of stuff come out of solution due to dilution as part of it’s normal way of consuming it.
The color of the spirit makes little difference to me. Bad gin and bad whisky both burn, while the higher quality versions of both are much smoother at the same or even higher proof. I don’t like vodka, but what little I’ve experienced seems to confirm my suspicion: Cheaper liquors burn, pricier ones don’t. Not sure why, but it’s the main reason I stay away from rotgut liquor. I don’t drink often enough to make a $7 bottle of turpentine look like a good deal.
Yeah, I myself (and I’ve drunk/drink my fair share of spirits) experience burn solely based on the proof of the liquid, from what I can tell. I have never noticed brown liquor burning more or less than clear liquor. There may be more aftertaste or “length” from a brown spirit, but the burn seems the same to me. ETA: That said the fusel alcohol explanation does make some sense, as now that I think about it, I’ve experienced what Dr Cube mentions. The really, really cheap vodka and gin (like the stuff that comes in plastic bottles) tends to have a wicked burn to it. So I’m guessing impurities and more fusel alcohols might be the culprit.
I also find that cheap vodka has a burn to it. There must be some specific substances at work, I mainly drink vodka, but I don’t recall a burn from rum or tequila, but certain whiskeys definitely have that burn.
Distilleries as well use charcoal to “mellow” their whisky: Jack Daniel, George Dickel, and at least some Heaven Hill stuff. But do they know what the charcoal is actually doing to the whisky and what it might be removing? I’ve never actually seen anything in print to that effect.
My guess would be that it’s the effect of alcohol combined with the congener byproduct from distilling, (which includes fusel alcohols and tannins, among other things), that cause the burning sensation. Different liquors have different congeners both in content and amount and this could account for the variance.
Generally, darker liquors have more congeners than clear liquors and subsequently more people would say whiskey and the like “burn” more. Congeners are also responsible for giving the alcohol flavour and character so that’s why clear liquors generally have little or delicate flavouring.
Higher quality liquor are usually “clean” distilled, meaning they remove a lot of the impurities left by congeners. Less congeners acting with the ethanol usually means less burn.
My understanding is the charcoal acts as a filter to remove congener impurities, thereby making it less harsh and more mellow. The flipside to this is that they are also removing the unique flavouring agent of the whisky. The once harsh congeners evolve over time to make the alchohol smooth and give it that ethereal quality of a well-aged whiskey or wine.
I’ve also heard of people pouring cheap vodka through a charcoal filter to remove impurities and make it smoother. I’m not sure if it works, but the logic is sound and have no trouble believing it.
The “burn” sensation of alcohol happens because it lowers the bodies temperature threshhold for pain/heat enough that the body’s normal temperature feels like fire. Think of it kind of like the thermostat on a central air system. Only instead of turning on the AC when it gets too hot, these nerves send pain messages.
Not too sure how helpful or relevant that is since I don’t drink at all (don’t like the taste of alcohol), but the best science is built from bits and pieces of many disciplines.
Sure, but congeners are just the other stuff that’s not alcohol. There may be some difference in the burn feeling based on the specific substances and not just the amount of those substances.
It’s a well known ‘factoid’ that filtering vodka improves the flavor, or rather reduces the flavor that comes from anything but alcohol, but even highly filtered vodkas produce some ‘burn’ just from the alcohol. On top of that people will respond differently to any of these substances.
In regard to rum and tequila the sweetness may be masking a ‘burn’.
I can’t tolerate too much alcohol these days, I wish I could do more research on this subject.
