Bacteria Can Live In Ice Cubes, But Not In Whisky

[rcjordan]

bacteria grew very differently in the different solutions, all four of which could grow in vodka and peach tea. However, only one of the four could grow in tonic water and two of the four in Coke. Across the board, nothing grew in whisky.

https://www.acsh.org/news/2017/12/01/bacteria-can-live-ice-cubes-not-whisky-12196

What about gin?

[Brad]

This reminds me of a story :

During the filming of the movie, "The African Queen" on location in Africa everybody was worried about coming down with dysentery.  Katherine Hepburn took elaborate precautions but still caught it along with most of the cast and crew. Director John Huston and Humphrey Bogart took their own precautions :  they avoided all other liquids and drank only whisky during the entire movie shoot even using it to wet their tooth brushes. They never got sick.

[littleman]

This gets me wondering if a person could survive drinking nothing but whisky for weeks on end.  I would assume that the alcohol percentage is too high and cause the whisky to act as a dietetic and cause the person to dehydrate.

[rcjordan]

One of my daughters did a stint as a McD assistant manager. She said never get the ice.

[Brad]

I wonder if the tannins from aging in oak barrels make whisky more effective against bacteria than vodka?

[ergophobe]

This gets me wondering if a person could survive drinking nothing but whisky for weeks on end.  I would assume that the alcohol percentage is too high and cause the whisky to act as a dietetic and cause the person to dehydrate.

Freshman year of college, the woman down the hall became a serious alcoholic. Unbeknownst to everyone, she was filling her water bottle with clear alcohols - vodka, gin. She was hospitalized for dehydration.

[Travoli]

>alcohol percentage is too high

I believe anything over ~2% dehydrates.

[ergophobe]

This says 10%
https://www.thenakedscientists.com/articles/questions/drink-wine-or-drink-nothing

This says no level of alcohol is hydrating
http://www.foodandwine.com/news/whats-least-dehydrating-alcohol