Annealing bread wine - a way to determine the strength of vodka in the Russian Empire . The name comes from measuring technology through the burning of alcohol.
In the process of annealing, bread wine , preheated to a boil, was set on fire; the strength of the drink was determined by the remainder of the water. In practice, annealing usually checked the strength ("kindness") of a half-bar , which was determined "in such a way that, poured into the breech branded annealer, the onago sample would burn out in half during annealing" [1] .
The inspector used an annealing pot and a bottle. Two flasks of wine poured into the pot, which was then heated until bubbles appeared at the bottom. At this moment, the wine was set on fire; at the end of combustion, the remainder poured back into the bottle. If the remainder of the water completely filled the bottle, the kindness of the wine corresponded to the standard. Sometimes, instead of the bottle, a beaker was used, which made it possible to assess the degree of difference between the fortress and the half-bar.
According to B.V. Rodionov, the most reliable measurement was a measurement made in a silver annealer, hence the name "silver half-burn."
Annealing has been used since the 16th century. . The first official document describing annealing is the decree of Peter I “On maintaining in Siberia taverns to customs heads, not governors, and on managing drinking taxes”, signed on November 22, 1698 [2] :
 | ... In that barrel, taking a small tin stack, what are the samples sent with labels that indicate the parts, how long is the stack divided, and fill it with that wine, pour it into a small iron or copper ladle, and heat the wine, light it and let it burn until will fade away and will not burn more, and pour the remnants of that burnt wine back into the pile again, and look at the marks half of it has burned, or more or less of the whole pile has gone ... |  |
Stronger than half a wine, three-trial wine (47.4 modern degrees ) was determined like a half-wine, but the remainder (phlegm according to the terminology of that time) should have accounted for a third of the initial volume. “Quadruple alcohol” (56 degrees) was defined similarly.
Annealing has lost its significance with the advent of alcohol meters in the middle of the 19th century.
Notes
- ↑ Complete collection of laws of the Russian Empire . Collection 2, 1830.V. 5, p. 402 .
- ↑ Decree 1655 of Nov 22. 1698: On the maintenance in Siberia of taverns to the Customs Heads, not the Voivode, and on the management of drinking taxes // Poln. Sobr. laws of the Russian Federation. Empire. Sobr. 1st. St. Petersburg, 1830. V. 3. C. 517-523.
Literature
- Rodionov Boris Viktorovich. The history of Russian vodka from half a grain to the present day . Eksmo, 2011.