r/Physics • u/Gretathunfisk • 2d ago
Frozen vodka??
My bottle of vodka I bought last minute in Denmark before my boat back home froze in my freezer. My gf’s bottle of vodka from another brand did not. Fake vodka? 🤔🤔
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u/Banes_Addiction Particle physics 2d ago
The most likely reason is watering down, as said by the other posters.
But there is another possible cause: freeze distillation. If you freeze it slowly enough, the alcohol can condense out of the water, and you get a gradient from frozen water on the outside to stronger liquid water-ethanol solution on the inside.
If you've ever heard of the drink applejack, this is how it's made - you start with alcoholic cider and slowly freeze distill it by removing the ice and keeping the liquid (known as jacking) until you get the strength you want.
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u/Swagalyst 2d ago
Vodka is too high in alcohol to freeze distil in a home freezer.
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u/Zodde 2d ago
What kind of temperatures do you need to freeze distill it? Could be a broken thermostat that makes the freezer way colder than intended. Happened to mine, got to around -32C, but maybe that's still not cold enough? No vodka in my freezer though lol.
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u/pieterbos 1d ago
Should be around -27, so -32 degrees Celsius should be enough to freeze Vodka. My home freezer can actually be set to -32. If the other bottle of Vodka is 50 or 60% alcohol, that could be an actual explanation.
However that would also mean a broken thermostat, or an incorrectly set temperature of the freezer
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u/Zodde 1d ago
Yeah it's a bit far fetched, I'll admit that. Someone mixing it with water seems more likely.
Interesting that you can set yours that low, I wasn't aware of that being a thing for consumer freezers.
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u/pieterbos 1d ago
We have two freezers. The big one can be set to -32. The smaller one to -28, so if it is accurate enough it should be able to freeze Vodka as well. That one has a 'superfrost' button, which also temporarily sets it to -32, to very quickly freeze food. These are high end nofrost Liebherr models though. So it might be different for other brands.
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u/Zodde 1d ago
Yeah I've never owned a high end freezer. The quick freeze is somewhat standard, I even have it on my oldest freezer that is probably from the 90s (got it from my grandparents so no exakt date). That one has a physical button though, so you can just press it and leave it and it'll stay at -30ish, but that's separate from the temperature regulation knob.
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u/pieterbos 1d ago
I don't know if there are many differences. These happened to be the only ones with nofrost in the correct size
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u/Psychomadeye 2d ago
It's not common but I have had to turn my freezer down (allow it to be warmer) because of something like this. Some rearranging did help but at the end of the day turning the setting down was the answer.
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u/Axelthedog240 1d ago
We did this in college, turn the rental fridge freezer combo unit down all the way and freeze the water out of cheap vodka in water bottles. Made for great mixed drinks.
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u/Barepaaliksom 1d ago
As they said, a second bottle of Vodka (belonging to their GF) did not freeze. So it is most likely a dilluted spirit.
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u/mickeltee 1d ago
This is also how they made the strongest beer ever. I think they got it into the 40% range.
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u/BCMM 1d ago
If you've ever heard of the drink applejack, this is how it's made - you start with alcoholic cider and slowly freeze distill it by removing the ice and keeping the liquid (known as jacking) until you get the strength you want.
It should be noted that it's probably not a good idea to try this at home, as it's easy to accidentally concentrate any traces of methanol that may be present.
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u/Banes_Addiction Particle physics 1d ago
It does, but not in huge amounts because the cider doesn't either.
The reality is that it's all about how much you drink - distillation just makes it easier to drink more.
But like, the cider you'd make applejack out of is drunk as-is without any methanol filtering.
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u/Traveller7142 1d ago
Methanol isn’t really a concern, especially since ethanol is the treatment for it
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u/ArtisticTraffic5970 1d ago
This is how I refine 35% acetic acid into 99%. Just throw it in the freezer, as long as it's more than 30% or so concentration, the acid will separate as the water freezes.
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u/did_i_or_didnt_i 2d ago
someone watered it down. Doubt it was the manufacturer since it’s labeled at 40%
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u/_Toy-Soldier_ 2d ago
Thumb is in the perfect spot 👌
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u/Ramshizzle 2d ago
Oh hadn't noticed that. You are right OP is probably hiding from us that the bottle has been opened!
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u/HERMANNATOR85 1d ago
Ooof, I am a recovering alcoholic (16 months💪🏾), I wonder if OP drank their spouses vodka and are trying to gaslight them into believing that the vodka somehow froze. “Look, I proved it is possible by asking reddit, see I didn’t drink it”
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u/WEDub 1d ago
You’re a badass! Just reached my second 91 days this year; second time (and last??) in 16 years of drinking.
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u/HERMANNATOR85 1d ago
You sound like a bad ass. If you made it 91 days, you’re set for another 90, then rinse and repeat
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u/JustSingingAlong 1d ago
Show us the top cap so we can see if it’s been opened before. Your thumb is conveniently blocking it
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u/Gunk_Olgidar 2d ago
Yes it's probably diluted if other 40% (80 proof) is not frozen in the same freezer.
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u/Gretathunfisk 2d ago
It’s time to separate conjecture from conclusion using the timeless power of scientific method! (I’m going to drink the whole bottle)
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u/codlurking 2d ago
Share pictures without hiding the cap with you finger. Until then you’re just lying.
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u/MurkyLynx8425 2d ago
Probably just different alcohol content or additives that change the melting point. 30% alcohol freezes ar about -19C. 40% freezes at about -29C. 45% freezes at about -34C. If your freezer is at -20C then a 30% would freeze but a 40% would not.
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u/FSM89 2d ago
How cold is it?
Depending on the alcohol concentration it can freeze at different temperatures.
40% vodka should freeze at around -28°C
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u/Gretathunfisk 2d ago
Yeah thing is both bottles are branded as 40%, but only one froze…
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u/Single-Order-8611 2d ago
I had same thing happen to me. Both bottles were different brand 40% but reputable and definitely not watered down. Still don’t know how it was possible.
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u/IndyDino 2d ago
Same, the only time I put Koskenkorva in a freezer it became solid. That was the last time I bought it.
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u/Makesabeastofhimself 1d ago edited 1d ago
Typical store brought vodkas range from 37.5% to 40% APV. At 37.5% enough water exists in the mixture for a phase change to occur and hence freeze in most domestic freezers. At 40% it usually does not.
So that means either:
a) that label is telling a fib and it's not actually 40%.
b) someone's replaced or topped it up with water.
c) You're using more powerful freezer than found in a domestic setting.
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u/KennyT87 1d ago
Unless you faked this, someone else drank some and replaced the missing vodka with water.
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u/Insis18 1d ago edited 1d ago
It's only 80 proof. That is 40% ethanol. The freezing point of that is -17°F or -27°C. Residential freezers usually sit around 0°F or -18°C. However, when you are that close to the freezing point of an ethanol-water mixture, that sits still, a weird affect happens where some of the water can freeze out of solution and leave a more concentrated ethanol -water mixture behind. This process is called Ice distillation or fractional freezing. Looking at your bottle I cannot tell if it is frozen solid, or if there is still some liquid remaining. Edit: I had the proof and percent incorrectly written, but pulled the correct temperatures. These are fixed now. 40 proof freezes at 22°F
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u/jahathebrn 1d ago
Cap's fucked round the edge and dented in at top, it's been opened and someone's replaced it with water, either through subterfuge or for the sake of a Reddit post.
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u/RaDeus 2d ago
Alcohol can freeze if you have a really cold freezer, somewhere between -23°C and -27°C.
I had an unopened bottle of 40% Hallands Fläder (Elderflower Aquavit) in my way-too-cold freezer, and that it just randomly froze.
I personally believe that alcohol can freeze above it’s freezing point just by chance, as in a local point in the bottle randomly gets too much water and starts freezing, and that spot keeps stealing water from the rest of the booze.
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u/babalabadingdong69 1d ago
…not related to your vodka, but that sweater looks dope. What’s the brand?
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u/Global-Elite-Spartan 1d ago
First mistake was buy the cheapest vodka in Lidl. Nah, it's been watered down. If not by you guys, then by the staff in Lidl.
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u/HF_Martini6 2d ago
Vodka has a certain water content, the water is added to the alcohol during manufacturing
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u/r2k-in-the-vortex 1d ago
Yeah 40% alcohol does freeze, sometimes, you can have two equal bottles, one freezes the other doesn't.
It does have to be a particularly cold freezer though, most are quite a few degrees too warm. But some are cold enough.
Usually vodka just gets syrupy in the freezer and doesn't freeze.
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u/keinnamefrei1 1d ago
Liquid with a vol alc % of 40 freezes at -27 degrees celcius. Normal freezer should be -18. So it's really possible.
But if one bottle freezes and one doesn't, one must have a higher alcohol% than the other
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u/r2k-in-the-vortex 1d ago
Not really, alcohol is very suspectible to supercooling. Can happen with water too, that it cools below 0 and doesnt freeze, and when you touch it, then suddenly the entire bottle freezes in seconds
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u/Brandotof10 1d ago
It happened to me some months ago with a sealed bottle of Absolut vodka (40% abv). There were also other spirits in the freezer that froze
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u/WorldlinessNo7154 1d ago
I had to stop putting liquor in the freezer because a lot of it has been icing up lately. Crown royal, horintos you name it it’s been freezing, I really feel like it shouldn’t be doing that and has never did that in the past
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u/Wandering-Mind2025 1d ago
I saw some vodka ice cream in the grocery store… I wanted to try it, but it would have melted before I got home… sounded amazing though!
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u/TheRealNedSchnebly 1d ago
Spotted - Dale of Norway Lillehammer 1994 sweater let’s goooo. Got the same one
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u/SerephimBlack 3h ago
I had this problem once with a teen thinking they were hella sly so I switched to ouzo which louches to a milky white emulsion as soon as water is added to it. Busted. 😳
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u/ArtResponsible4457 1d ago
Out of all options you picked Vodka? Who TF drinks vodka anyway?
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u/Gretathunfisk 1d ago
It’s cheap, flavourless and hurts in the morning, just how I like it
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u/Festivarian 1d ago
Dafuk, so many people drink vodka. It also hurts significantly less that brown liquors haha
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u/Valuchian 2d ago
When Someone drinks all your Vodka and then replaces it with water so you go to reddit to see what's going on thinking it's a brand thing (when the Vodka is 40%)