Comments | lord_semjaza: The technically illegal is often the most fun...

lord_semjaza

The technically illegal is often the most fun...

Oct 23, 2007 13:36

Because various family members have spent some time in Poland, I've managed to get my hands on a truly wonderful spirit.

Spirytus, in short. Polish rectified spirits, illegal for non-medical use in most of Europe, and clocking in at a distinctly impressive 96% pure ethanol. Admittedly, it does contain water, but only because it's impossible to ( Read more... )

Comments 16

spooky_miss October 23 2007, 17:27:27 UTC

mix it with orange juice (everything tastes good with orange juice :D )
and you will probably fall over in your kitchen after drinking that, so you might not be going anywhere, heheh!

lord_semjaza October 24 2007, 18:30:22 UTC

Orange juice was my first thought as well. The danger of not making it out at all is why I put it in a hipflask and drink it en route, that way I've got no choice. ;)

halluciphy October 23 2007, 20:36:23 UTC

Good luck to you. I tried to drink something that was 88% once, and it wouldn't stay down more than ten seconds. Not that I felt sick, or that I decided it was a bad idea... just every time I tried to ingest some, my body rejected it.

rssefuirosu October 28 2007, 18:38:40 UTC

Psst, AMC 2000 for Stardust if you're up for it.

lord_semjaza October 29 2007, 15:37:17 UTC

Would if I could, but I'm still basically immobile and laid up. Well, less ill, but more immobile, thanks to me managing to b0rk my ankle in a display of tardery. ;)

rssefuirosu October 29 2007, 16:24:14 UTC

Aha. I'd send some love'n'light healing but

a) fraternising with the opposition is okay, actively helping is not
b) love'n'light isn't really my bag anyway ;)

A note of caution miss_whiplash October 30 2007, 20:38:49 UTC

This is roughly equivalent to what is sold in the UK as absolute ethanol. If I recall correctly the lethal dose is somewhere in the region of 13ml. That's roughly the same volume as a cap of mouthwash. BEWARE of making the assumption that you can calculate from 96% by volume to give you the obvious value in the more familiar percent proof, they are two different measures. 100 percent proof is the composition of a mixture of ethanol diluted with water that will just allow gunpowder to ignite. Absolute ethanol is far stronger than 100% proof, more like 200%.

Additionally there is another factor, mixing 50ml of ethanol with 50ml water gives you a total volume of more like 80ml than 100ml. What you see after dilution may look like less than it really is!

Re: A note of caution lord_semjaza October 30 2007, 20:46:52 UTC

Hrm, it's something I've had a bottle of before, and the prospect of drinking it in any other way than 'horribly diluted' fills me with unease. ;)

But yes, the guy who sold me the first bottle strongly advised me against drinking it neat since the heat inside your mouth is sufficient to make the ethanol evaporate, and my experiences with directly inhaling alcohol vapour have been without exception... interesting. The concern's appreciated, and I certainly intend to treat it with a certain amount of care. (And a rather larger amount of fear, if that counts?)