A question about reducing the alcohol in a spirit to make a liqueur

[bernardsmith]

If I have say, a liter of spirit at 70% ABV (140 p) and I add 1 liter of water, the spirit will be reduced to 35%. If that liter includes say, 300 g of sugar (same 1 liter volume) does the added sugar do anything to the ABV? Is the liqueur still 35%? I imagine it is, but I am uncertain. Thanks.

 

[doug293cz]

No, the sugar does not affect the ABV. However, it will affect the reading on a proof hydrometer, because the SG is affected. A proof hydrometer only reads correctly if the solution contains only water and ethanol. Add a significant amount of a third component, and all bets are off with the hydrometer.

Brew on

 

[Cheshire Cat]

Don’t dilute the spirit, add flavouring. I make flavoured gins I.e Sloe, Damson, Rhubarb and Raspberry. The juice from the fruit will reduce the alcohol level but also add flavour unlike water.

 

[bernardsmith]

Thanks, Doug293cz. This was my working assumption and since I could not use the proof hydrometer to measure the proof or gravity and I could only go by basic calcs based on water dilutions... I was uncertain
Cheshire Cat, Really important point to consider, but in this case I am sweetening a spirit to which I added cinnamon sticks to create a sorta kinda fireball vodka. The problem is that because cinnamon comes from the woody part of the tree and not the fruit, I have essentially no sugars other than honey or sucrose or fructose that I might add without displacing the flavors from the cinnamon. But as I say, your point is well-taken, considering the last liqueur I made was apple, and I used apples to flavor the alcohol , albeit with some sugar added to extract more if the juice from the apples. And by the by, I make my spirits from a by-product from my hard cheese making - whey. Wine from whey can taste like a muscatel wine. You might add lactase tabs to the whey to up the gravity by about 20 points - or not. I add about 2 lbs of sugar to every gallon, and make a 65-70 % ABV spirit at about 400 ml from each gallon of this waste product.