Alcohol tincture

annbeck62

Sometimes I use grain alcohol and dilute it with pure water when making tinctures. This morning I was mixing the alcohol and water (both were room temp) in a glass and noticed the mixture got very warm. I've never had this happen before and can't even begin to guess what caused this. Any ideas?

Torey

I'm not enough of a chemist to understand why this would only be applicable sometimes but here is a brief explanation of what is occurring.

https://www.whisky.com/information/knowledge/production/background-knowledge/alcohol-and-water.html

annbeck62

@torey thank you for the link. I never realized it's an actual thing. I guess I never noticed it before. Live and learn....

marjstratton

Interesting. I have taken a lot of chemistry but don't remember this. Guess that's why mixed drinks are served over ice.

jowitt.europe

@torey thank you for the link. The article also explains my problem, that some alcohol gets cloudy, or even very white when mixed with water. However, I never noticed that it became warm or hot. There is always something new to learn.

JennyT Upstate South Carolina

I find this so fascinating. Thanks for sharing the article @torey. I always liked chemistry in school, though it did end up going over my head.😊

Cornelius

That is interesting. Hydrogen bonds are pretty cool to study from a chemistry perspective. They are the reason that belly flops hurt lol.

nicksamanda11

Very cool