The strongest alcohol in the world
Strength is one number on the label: ABV, the percentage of the liquid that is pure alcohol. In the US, proof is simply double it, so 40% ABV is 80 proof. Nearly every spirit on the shelf sits at 40%. The bottles below go more than twice as high.
Spirytus Rektyfikowany, a rectified spirit from Poland, bottled at 96% ABV (192 proof). Everclear 190 is next at 95% (190 proof). Both are close to pure alcohol and made to be diluted, not drunk neat: one 1.5oz shot of either holds about 2.4 standard drinks. Below them, the strong end of a normal liquor shelf is barrel proof whiskey and overproof rum, from about 57% to 75%.
The 12 strongest bottles in the world
By label strength, including a few that are discontinued or hard to find. Each figure is checked against the producer or a published reference, linked on its row.
- 1 Spirytus Rektyfikowany Rectified spirit · Poland · also bottled at 95% · Polmos Warszawa 96% 192
- 2 Everclear 190 Grain alcohol · USA · not sold in about a dozen states · Wikipedia 95% 190
- 3 Hapsburg Absinthe X.C. Absinthe · Czech Republic · Pallini 89.9% 179.8
- 4 Pincer Shanghai Strength Vodka · Scotland · hard to find · The Spirits Business 88.8% 177.6
- 5 Balkan 176 Vodka · Balkans · The Whisky Exchange 88% 176
- 6 Sunset Very Strong Rum · St Vincent · LCBO 84.5% 169
- 7 Strane Ultra Uncut Gin · Sweden · 2018 release, 200ml · VinePair 82.5% 165
- 8 Stroh 80 Rum · Austria · Difford's Guide 80% 160
- 9 Devil's Springs Vodka · USA · hard to find · VinePair 80% 160
- 10 Bacardi 151 Overproof rum · discontinued 2016 · Bacardi 75.5% 151
- 11 George T. Stagg (2025) Barrel proof bourbon · Kentucky · strength changes yearly · Buffalo Trace 71.4% 142.8
- 12 Wray & Nephew White Overproof Overproof rum · Jamaica · LCBO 63% 126
Everything above about 75% is made to be diluted, used in infusions, or measured out in drops. None of it is meant to be drunk straight.
How strong is each type of alcohol?
The usual bottling range of every category we track, with the strongest bottle of each in our data. Strongest type first.
- Bourbon usually 40% to 65% Booker's 62.5% · 125 proof
- Mezcal usually 40% to 55% Mezcal Vago Elote 50% · 100 proof
- Tennessee Whiskey usually 40% to 50% Uncle Nearest 1856 50% · 100 proof
- Rum usually 37.5% to 75% Kraken Black Spiced 47% · 94 proof
- Gin usually 37.5% to 47% Monkey 47 47% · 94 proof
- Scotch usually 40% to 60% Ardbeg 10 46% · 92 proof
- Irish Whiskey usually 40% to 46% Teeling Small Batch 46% · 92 proof
- Canadian Whisky usually 40% to 45% Lot No. 40 43% · 86 proof
- Vodka usually 37.5% to 50% Absolut Elyx 42.3% · 84.6 proof
- Tequila usually 38% to 55% 1800 Silver 40% · 80 proof
- Liqueur usually 15% to 55% Cointreau 40% · 80 proof
- Cognac usually 40% to 46% Courvoisier VS 40% · 80 proof
- Curaçao usually 20% to 40% Pierre Ferrand Dry Curaçao 40% · 80 proof
- Mead usually 5% to 20% Dansk Mjød Viking Blod 19% · 38 proof
- Red Wine usually 11.5% to 16% Malbec 14% · 28 proof
- White Wine usually 10% to 14.5% Chardonnay 13.5% · 27 proof
- Hard Seltzer & RTD usually 4% to 13% Cutwater Lime Margarita 12.5% · 25 proof
- Sparkling Wine usually 11% to 12.5% Champagne Brut 12% · 24 proof
- Beer usually 3.5% to 10% Belgian Tripel 9% · 18 proof
What one shot really holds
A US standard drink is 0.6oz (14g) of pure alcohol, which is exactly what a 1.5oz shot of 80 proof liquor holds. Stronger bottles put more than one drink in the same glass.
- 40% ABV · 80 proof Most vodka, gin, rum, tequila and whiskey 14g 1.00
- 50% ABV · 100 proof Bottled-in-bond whiskey 17.5g 1.25
- 57% ABV · 114 proof Navy strength gin, such as Plymouth 20g 1.43
- 63% ABV · 126 proof Wray & Nephew Overproof rum, Booker's bourbon 22.1g 1.58
- 75.5% ABV · 151 proof Everclear 151, Bacardi 151 (discontinued) 26.4g 1.89
- 95% ABV · 190 proof Everclear 190 33.3g 2.38
Per 1.5oz shot. Calories climb the same way, at 7 per gram of alcohol: see calories per shot by proof.
Why nothing gets stronger than about 96%
Distillation separates alcohol from water by boiling, but only up to a point. At about 95.6% alcohol by weight, which is 97.2% by volume, ethanol and water form an azeotrope: the vapour coming off has the same mix as the liquid, so boiling it again concentrates nothing. That ceiling is why the strongest drinkable spirits all land at 95% to 96%, a little under the limit.
Strength is also not the same as how rough a drink treats you. A 40% vodka can leave a lighter morning than a 13% red wine, because the wine carries histamines, tannins and congeners the vodka does not. For that question, see the hangover index; for every common drink from light beer up, see weakest to strongest alcohol.
FAQ
What is the strongest alcohol in the world? ▾
Spirytus Rektyfikowany, a rectified spirit from Poland, bottled at 96% ABV (192 proof). Everclear 190 is next at 95% (190 proof). Both are close to pure alcohol and made to be diluted, not drunk neat: one 1.5oz shot of either holds about 2.4 standard drinks. Below them, the strong end of a normal liquor shelf is barrel proof whiskey and overproof rum, from about 57% to 75%.
What is the strongest alcohol you can buy in the US? ▾
Everclear 190, a grain alcohol at 95% ABV, where it is legal. About a dozen states ban 190 proof grain alcohol, including Maryland, California, Michigan and New York, which is why Everclear is also bottled at 151 proof (75.5%) and 120 proof (60%).
What is stronger than vodka? ▾
Anything above 40%, since that is where almost all vodka is bottled. Bottled-in-bond whiskey is 50%, navy strength gin 57%, overproof rum 63% and up, absinthe can reach 89.9%, and grain alcohol 95%. Most gin, rum, tequila and whiskey are also 40%, so they are exactly as strong as vodka, not weaker. A few vodkas break the rule: Pincer Shanghai Strength is 88.8% and Balkan 176 is 88%.
What is the strongest whiskey? ▾
Barrel proof bourbon, bottled straight from the cask without water. George T. Stagg's 2025 release came out at 71.4% (142.8 proof); its strength changes every year. Booker's batches run about 62% to 63%. The strongest whiskey we track is Booker's at 62.5%, where a 1.5oz pour holds 1.56 standard drinks.
What is the strongest rum? ▾
Sunset Very Strong from St Vincent, at 84.5% (169 proof). Austrian Stroh 80 is 80%. Bacardi 151 (75.5%) was discontinued in 2016. A more common overproof is Wray & Nephew White Overproof from Jamaica, at 63%. See the healthiest rum ranking for the standard-strength bottles.
What is the strongest beer? ▾
Brewmeister's Snake Venom launched in 2013 at a claimed 67.5%, but it was made by freezing out water and adding alcohol, and no independent test was published. BrewDog's The End of History reached 55% in 2010, in a run of 12 bottles. The strongest beer on regular release is Samuel Adams Utopias, 30% in its 2025 edition and not legal in 15 states. Most beer runs 3.5% to 10%.
What is the strongest gin and tequila? ▾
The strongest gin on record is Strane Ultra Uncut from Sweden, an 82.5% release from 2018 sold in 200ml bottles. The strongest common style is navy strength, 57%, as in Plymouth Navy Strength. Tequila tops out lower: Tapatio Blanco 110 is bottled at 55%, where most tequila is 38% to 40%.
Is 17% alcohol strong? ▾
Strong for wine, weak for liquor. Table wine usually runs 10% to 16%, so 17% is fortified wine or cream liqueur territory: Baileys is 17%. Most spirits are 40%, more than twice as strong, and beer is 4% to 6%. Per serving it evens out: a 5oz glass of 17% wine holds about the same alcohol as 1.4 shots of 80 proof liquor.
Is 50% alcohol strong? ▾
Yes, for a spirit. 50% is 100 proof, the strength of bottled-in-bond whiskey like Old Grand-Dad Bonded. It is a quarter stronger than a standard 40% bottle, so a 1.5oz shot holds 1.25 standard drinks instead of 1. Liqueurs like Green Chartreuse (55%) and cask strength whiskey go higher.
What does proof mean? ▾
In the US, proof is double the ABV: 80 proof is 40% alcohol by volume. The word comes from an old test in which spirit was poured on gunpowder; if the powder still burned, the spirit was "proved". Britain later defined 100 proof by density as about 57.15% ABV, and switched to ABV in 1980.
Does stronger alcohol give you a worse hangover? ▾
Not by itself. Two drinks with the same amount of alcohol raise blood alcohol the same way, whatever their strength. What changes the morning after is what comes with the alcohol: congeners, histamines, tannins and sugar. That is why a 40% vodka scores lighter than a 13% red wine on our hangover index. Strength matters because it makes it easy to drink more alcohol than you meant to.