My celebrations last night were quite modest. A couple of glasses of Bulgarian Syrah (2019) from the Thracian Valley region with an ABV of 14%, followed by a little Sauvignon Blanc (2023) with an ABV of 12.5%. At some point there were a couple of fireworks that did not quite deliver – they briefly fizzed and popped and then fizzled out. No competition for the beautiful clear night sky and its array of stars that formed the backdrop to this display. Appropriately, I wedged the fireworks into a couple of empty beer cans. Poetic, almost.
So, to the “educational” part of this enlightening post – a bit about alcohol units. In the UK, one unit of alcohol is equivalent to 10ml of pure alcohol, which equates to 8 grams of alcohol. It is easy to calculate how many units of alcohol a drink contains:
If a = ABV and b = volume in mls, then…
Number of units = (a x b)/1000
For example, my 750ml bottle of Syrah (14% alcohol by volume) contained 10.5 units.
(14 x 750)/1000 = 10.5
The number of units in any 1 litre bottle of an alcoholic drink is the same as its ABV:
A litre of 40% abv vodka contains 40 units.
And by poetic design, the liver of the average person metabolises alcohol at the rate of 1 unit per hour. A good rule of thumb but not foolproof. Oh, and speaking of proof…
alcoholic strength used to be measured by proof. The origin of this was in the 16th century when sailors checked their cargo of rum. They mixed a bit of rum with a pinch of gunpowder. If the wet mixture ignited with a match then it was “proof” that it contained alcohol. In the US, proof is twice the ABV, while in the UK proof is 1,75 times the ABV.
And if any proof were needed about my commitment to Dry January, well, here I am at 22.00 hrs not having had even a whiff of alcohol today. Oh, a little lie – I did have a little sniff of the cork from my bottle of Syrah earlier. In jest, of course. It is dated and on my desk as a reminder.
Check in tomorrow to see how I’m bearing up!
Understand Yourself Better 