Jia Xie , Xiao-Fei Tian, Song-Gui He, Yun-Lu Wei, Bin Peng and Zhen-Qiang Wu
Apparently "formulated liquor" is a thing in China. And Russian vodka is made from ethylene. Are there no standards anymore? Anyway, these people are making a synthetic liquor and studying the intoxicating effect of ethanol + different congener profiles. I think it's both shady and fascinating.Abstract: To investigate the effects of fusel alcohols on the intoxicating degree of liquor products, formulated liquors (FLs) were prepared by blending 1-propanol, isobutanol, and isoamyl alcohol with ethanol, organic acids, and corresponding ethyl esters to simulate the formula of traditional Chinese liquors. The prepared FLs were submitted for evaluation of their intoxicating degree (ID).
The results showed that the fusel alcohols had a biphasic effect on the IDs of the FLs, depending on the comprehensive coordination of the characteristic minor components. The importance of the suitable ratio of alcohols/acids/esters (RAAE) on the IDs was also revealed. Under an optimal ratio level, the fusel alcohols exhibited negligible effects on the IDs of the FLs. Moreover, the ratio of isoamyl alcohol to isobutanol (IA/IB) showed a strong positive correlation to the IDs of the FLs.
This study lays a foundation for the potential application in producing low-ID liquor.
I think more importantly it can tell us that making the right ferments, in the right way, concentrating the right stuff and making good cuts actually feels better and is more healthy (or less unhealthy?). Even if dirty cuts might get you "wrecked", a complaint several of us have actually heard about good clean well crafted booze. It gets you drunk, but not fucked up, bro!
I'm just gonna snip some things I found interesting:
Whoa, holup, did not expect that. Ethyl acetate is good for my liver, heart, dieahbeetus, beer belly, and might make me less of a drunkard? Cool, another overproof Jamaican rum please! Also, maybe this is why Russians eat pickles with vodka?Studies have revealed the high possibility of fusel alcohols contributing to the intoxicating effect in certain liquor products [20]. Furthermore, other liquor components, including organic acids and esters, may mediate protective effects on human alcohol metabolism and may therefore attenuate the intoxicating effects.
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To quantify the intoxicating effect of liquor products, Wu et al. developed a method to evaluate the intoxicating degree (ID) using a mouse model [21]. The ID is a reliable index that closely reflects the quality of liquor products by integrating the contribution of multiple chemical components to the overall intoxicating effect.
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This finding indicated that the increase in both acids and esters could reduce the IDs of FLs. Similarly, previous studies have reported that moderate concentrations of acetic acid and acetate may mediate protective health effects by activating the hepatic AMPK, which induces the synthesis of certain long-lived proteins for cardiovascular protection [28,29], hyperglycemic effect [30], and fat oxidation [31,32]. Acetic acid and corresponding ethyl acetate are major components in FLs. Therefore, the increase in acids and esters in FLs could play a vital role in mitigating the drunkenness reaction.
oh, ok, that's why I'm getting drunk nowHowever, a contrasting result showed that the IDs of the FLs could increase when the acid and ester content increased
/sets down the Rum Fire
RAAE is Ratio of Alcohols Acids and Esters, and the least intoxicating ratio is 1:2:3 while the most is 1:1:1.5 (I think alcohols are in g/l and acids and esters are mg/100ml). Don't cut by taste or nose, cut for the optimum intoxicating effect! (and drink lots of Moutai because it's good for you)Liquor quality was considered to be determined by the characteristic components and their overall coordination. Therefore, the metabolic efficiency for liquor products containing an equivalent content of ethanol could be different in the human body. Other studies have suggested that top-brand liquor products such as Moutai from China would not harm the human liver, owing to a balanced composition of the minor compounds [33,34]. It could be concluded that liquor quality also depends on an integrated effect of the characteristic components. Thus, the proper RAAE may play a crucial role in the intoxicating effects of the liquor products.
Also, Chinese booze has a good bit of lactic acid and ethyl lactate.
Neat, with the right balance of acids and esters, fusel alcohols fuck you up less. The lowest intoxication was actually not the lowest fusel sample, it had 1.5 grams per liter. But with the worst balance of the other congeners it had the highest intoxicating effect, by a good bit.This result supported the previous findings that fusel alcohols were closely related to the intoxicating effects of alcoholic beverages [35–37]. On the other hand, this finding also indicated that a proper RAAE could diminish acute alcohol intoxication (AAI) or reduce the volatility of the IDs in FLs.
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In addition, a distinctly inverted “U” curve was observed, indicating that 1.5 g/L was the most
effective level at which fusel alcohols contributed to the increased ID under the pessimal RAAE. In contrast, a negligible “U” curve showed that 1.5 g/L was the most effective level at which fusel alcohols decreased the ID under the optimal RAAE
But fusel alcohol alone isn't very specific....
Neat, so cut the isoamyl, but you can let some isobutanol in. BecauseIn addition to affecting the liquor aroma and flavor, the proper IsoAmyl/IsoButanol ratio was also thought to contribute to the health-protective function of Chinese liquors. In this study, the results showed that the IDs of the FLs increased gradually with the increase in the IA/IB ratio from 0.25 to 4.5 (Figure 2A), and a strong correlation (R2 = 0.9790) between the ID and the IA/IB ratio was observed (Figure 2B). This finding indicated that the drunkenness reaction from the FLs could be aggravated with a high IA/IB ratio.
And if you're wondering how they measured intoxication, you'll just have to read the article. I will say they force fed their subjects shots and then did stuff like threw them in a pool to see how drunken their swimming was. If anybody has a pool we can try to replicate their findings?The oxidization rates of isoamyl alcohol and isovaleraldehyde were lower than those for isobutanol and isobutyraldehyde. Additionally, isovaleraldehyde was the most potent inhibitor of the oxidization of various mitochondrial substrates, including acetaldehyde [52]. The more severe intoxication resulting from isoamyl alcohol could be explained by the inhibition of the metabolism of ethanol and acetaldehyde.
Evaluating the Intoxicating Degree of Liquor Products.pdf- (638.1 KiB) Downloaded 51 times
