ethanol dilution

[skeptic]

So I think I want to dilute some of my TE. I was considering using Everclear but I don\'t know if it\'s legal in my state, heh. Does anyone just use high-test booze to dilute ethanol-based solutions?

[Sagacious1420]

I can\'t buy grain alcohol where I live either. You could also use 100 proof vodka. If you have the unscented version, then you could simply use your favorite cologne. I suppose you could use cologne w/ the sandalwood TE, provided there isn\'t a fragrance clash.

HTH

[skeptic]

I was considering Bacardi 151, though that\'s really the only 50% or higher booze I can think of that wouldn\'t have much odor of its own... I haven\'t exactly gone searching the liquor store to see what\'s available at 100 proof or better. Vodka might be better though, I guess.

I want to keep the pheromones separate from my cologne for now, since I don\'t always wear much cologne, or I might want to up my dose a little bit without adding more scent, etc etc.

[Sagacious1420]

Bacardi 151 will definitely have an odor, I\'ve used it as a diluent in my colognes (in a pinch) but found it to have a masking effect on the fragrance of the EOs. I would suspect that the smell would be even more pronounced in an alcohol based phero product that is unscented. The upside is that you\'ll have plenty of extra rum laying around that you\'ll need to \"dispose\" of. [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

[OmnipotentOne]

The best place I have found for SD 40 (price/quantity wise) is.

http://www.cedarvale.net/soaps/ethanolsd.htm

Go with SD 40 because even Everclear has a slightly \"booze\" smell to it.

[skeptic]

According to the following, SD Alcohol 40 is simply denatured ethanol: http://vm.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/cos-227.html

Pure grain alcohol (ethyl alcohol, ethanol) would be the best option for those who can get it, with Everclear as a second best, since as far as I know Everclear is supposed to be nothing but 190 proof alcohol, correct?

The difference between pure ethanol and probably Everclear, and SD alcohol 40, is that there is no denaturant in the first two.

Edit: More info about denatured alcohol: http://tinyurl.com/pe6v

[OmnipotentOne]

Unfortunately,

the two links you provide are geared towards a very generalized overview of a very complex, and specialized

industry. That doesn’t mean that the links are wrong, they’re just very incomplete. It would be akin to saying …

“there are two kinds of vehicles. Cars and trucks” … Not necessarily wrong, but a Ferrari is about as far from a

Hyundai as en El Camino is from a Semi.

Specialty denatured alcohols (SD) are distilled quite differently from

drinking alcohol. As for the group known as “perfumers alcohols” (SD 40, 39C, etc), They are distilled from sugar,

not grain, as grain imparts a taste, color, and smell that although desirable in beverages, is totally undesirable

in perfumers alcohol, which by it’s very design is as contaminant and odor free as possible. Also, the water used is

distilled, de-ionized, filtered through both reverse osmosis, and carbon, and sometimes even irradiated.

You can

use Everclear or other high proof spirits with no real problem, but why? SD 40 is designed specifically for diluting

fragrances/cosmetics. If you want to use booze, fine. However you mislead others by stating, “grain alcohol is best,

brand X is second best and SD 40 is further down the list. The Ferrari and the Hyundai are both cars, but as with

alcohols, they are designed from the ground up as VERY different types, each with a special purpose.

[DrSmellThis]

Apples and

oranges. You can\'t really compare straight ethanol to SD perfuming ethanol, as you still have yet to prefix the

ethanol. A Paris-trained perfumer recommended to me to use ethanol, and I find it better for my natural perfuming

than commercial denatured preparations, which typically contain undesirable substances for my purposes (e.g.,

synthetic benzoin). I don\'t consider EO\'s as denaturants, usually. You might just make yourself a delicious

gin (bergamot, etc.) or rum (vanilla, etc.) by accident using EO\'s,

[img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img] which would defeat the purpose (ahem

[img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smirk.gif[/img]). It\'s a difference in preference. I use 200 proof, highly

purified, organic grain ethanol, which I can only buy (here) because of the \'Dr\' in my name. It was a

technological accomplishment for the distiller to purify it as much as they do. That stuff dissolves anything

(vanilla resin, for instance). Only hospitals use it, in general. I pre-fix the ethanol myself, instead of adding a

denaturant, and customize the prefixation each time to the anticipated finished scent, instead of going with the

same formula. For instance, I might use benzoin, and after the process finishes (2-4 weeks), it smells and handles

just right for what I\'m doing. The prefixation neutralizes the alcohol\'s edge and smell, and makes your scents

last. When I smell some of the SD alcohols, they too have irrelevant odors. Pro perfumers often use denatured palm

oil for oil based perfumes, and I really don\'t like the smell of that stuff at all. To each his/her own. I prefer

jojoba for oil bases, which many perfumers don\'t like (absorbs into skin, etc.).

Lately I\'ve even taken

to use generic everclear, because I found it for cheap. Works fine to my nose. Then again, lots of people know more

than me about the topic. But I never run out of gin or rum. [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img] (You

really have to dilute a lot for drinking, be warned [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif[/img])

[skeptic]

Hmm, point taken in

re: the manufacturing processes.

However, some of the multi-distilled vodka I\'ve consumed tastes pretty much

like ethanol water. :-) I haven\'t tried Everclear yet.

Basically it comes down to cost and availability..

if Everclear works fine and doesn\'t contain toxic denaturants and you can get it at the package store, it may be

better than ordering SD 40 online and paying shipping and blah blah.