Proof Test Question

[whiskeyagonzo]

I have a bottle of OWA and a bottle of W12. They were opened on the same day. The other day I poured some OWA and noticed quite a bit of bubbles and they seemed to take quite a while to dissipate. I remember reading somewhere that the quicker the bubbles dissipate, the higher proof. Or at least that was an early test method people would use to make sure they were not getting ripped off. Anyway, I grabbed my W12 and shook it and the OWA simultaneously. The W12 bubbles dissipated nearly twice as fast. So is my memory of reading that factual and if it is does anyone have a reason to why the W12 bubbles would dissipate faster than OWA? Thanks in advance.

[smknjoe]

That sounds like something I heard on that Moonshiners show.

I would guess that what you experienced was because OWA is more viscous than W12. It takes longer for bubbles to dissipate from syrup than it does water.

[whiskeyagonzo]

You may be into something there. That jogged my memory and what I read may have been about unaged spirits. It was a long time ago and I'm not as sharp as I used to be ;-)

[tmckenzie]

Telling proof by the bubbles, or as it is said, does it hold a bead is indeed how some moonshiners proofed whiskey. It does not work. Beads are caused by good oils in the whiskey. As still proof went up, beads went away. Your whiskey that the beads flashed off of slower should have a better taste. As is may have been off the still at a lower proof.

[OscarV]

They are called beads not bubbles.

The faster they disappear the lower the proof.

"Does it bead?" asked the potential buyer of the quart of 'shine wanting to know if it has a good alcohol content.

[TheNovaMan]

Shake a bottle of water and a bottle of liquor. The bubbles don't look the same.