Alcohols are a fairly large group of chemicals, but in common parlance this concept is often referred to as ethanol (aka ethyl alcohol), which is a colorless liquid with disinfectant and bactericidal properties. Ethanol is widely used for the preparation of alcoholic beverages (mainly vodka), medicine, perfumery, electronics and other industries.
The quality of alcohol depends on the feedstock and the degree of purification. For the manufacture of food ethanol, raw materials rich in carbohydrates are used: wheat, rye, oats, corn, potatoes, sugar beets, various fruits, molasses (black molasses). Elite brands of alcohol must be made from wheat and rye, and the addition of potatoes, beets or molasses reduces the quality.
Brands of ethyl alcohol for vodka
According to GOST R 51652-2000 “Rectified ethyl alcohol from food raw materials. Specifications “depending on the degree of purification, ethanol is divided into:
- first grade alcohol – for the production of alcoholic products is not used;
- alcohol of the highest purity – made from a mixture of grain, potatoes, sugar beets, molasses (in any proportions). It undergoes minimal filtration from fusel oils and impurities. It is used to make tinctures, liqueurs and vodka of the economy segment;
- “Basis” – is made from grain and potatoes in any proportions, but the content of potato starch in the feedstock cannot be more than 60%. Vodka of the middle price segment is made from this alcohol;
- “Extra” – is made from the same raw materials as “Basis”. Due to better cleaning, it has a lower content of methanol and esters. This alcohol is also used to make mid-price vodka;
- “Lux” – made from grain and potatoes in any proportions, but the content of potato starch cannot be more than 35%. Alcohol passes through several degrees of filtration. Premium segment vodka is made from it;
- “Alpha” – It is made exclusively from grain raw materials (wheat or rye). This alcohol contains the least impurities, it is used to produce super-premium vodka.
Despite the fact that, according to GOST, alcohol should not have a pronounced taste, each type of vodka has its own, unique taste and smell. Almost any vodka is a blend (mixture) of several alcohols of different classes diluted with water. Unfortunately, manufacturers usually do not provide information on the percentage of one or another type of alcohol in vodka.
A consumer who knows the differences between grades of food ethanol will understand that if the label says “high purity alcohol”, then we are talking about the worst vodka, even if its price is not the lowest.
Types of alcohol
Depending on the stage of production, the following types of alcohol are distinguished:
- raw alcohol;
- rectified alcohol;
- drinking ethyl alcohol.
Raw alcohol with a strength of about 88% is obtained by distillation (distillation) of fermented raw materials. In fact, this is ordinary moonshine. It contains a large amount of fusel oils and other impurities.
For purification, raw alcohol is subjected to rectification. The boiling points of impurities contained in the distillate differ from the boiling point of pure ethanol. Impurities that boil at low temperatures are called head impurities, and at high temperatures they are called tail impurities. For their separation, high (up to several meters) distillation columns are used. During this process, the concentration of harmful substances can be minimized, and the strength of alcohol can be increased up to 96 degrees.
For the production of drinking ethyl alcohol, the rectified product is diluted with distilled water so that the strength of the resulting liquid is 95%.
The alcohol obtained as a result of rectification is called drinking only because it is used for the production of alcoholic beverages and medicines. Drinking pure alcohol is not recommended, as it burns the mucous membranes.
Medical alcohol, the purity of which is considered by many to be the standard, is the appropriately diluted rectified ethanol.
Varieties of alcohol
Foreign classification. Depending on the raw material, the main varieties of edible alcohol are distinguished:
- wine (fruit);
- grain;
- potato.
Wine alcohol is the basis for the manufacture of different types of brandy, in particular cognac. In addition to grapes, alcohol can be produced from other fruits. So, calvados is a distillate from fermented apples, slivovitz is from plums, tequila is from agave.
Grain distillates: wheat, rye, barley, corn – are used to make whiskey.
Due to hydrocyanic acid and a high concentration of harmful impurities, pure potato alcohol is prohibited for the production of alcoholic beverages in Russia and most EU countries.
These varieties can be called alcohol only with a stretch, since rectification is not used to obtain them. The quality is improved by multi-stage distillation (often double or triple) with separation into fractions.