Alcohol Dilution Calculator

Cutting a spirit down to a target strength is a precise operation, and this tool tells distillers, homebrewers, and cocktail makers exactly how much water it takes to reach a chosen alcohol by volume (ABV) or proof. With the global spirits market projected to top $500 billion by 2026, hitting the number matters for batch-to-batch consistency, legal compliance, and what lands in the glass. Overshoot and you've watered down the character; undershoot and you've missed spec.

Under the hood it's a mass balance: (Volume of Spirit * Initial ABV) = (Total Volume * Target ABV). Rearrange that to solve for total volume, subtract the spirit you started with, and what's left is the water to add. Alcohol and water don't combine in a perfectly additive way because the mixture contracts slightly, so the figures rest on a standard industry approximation that holds up across nearly every practical dilution.

Reach for distilled or demineralized water every time, since minerals in tap water can throw a haze or off-flavors into the finished spirit. Diluting also softens flavor intensity a touch, so on small batches it pays to taste as you go rather than trust the number blind. One thing the calculation sets aside for simplicity is temperature: alcohol volume shifts as it warms or cools, and these results assume standard room temperature throughout.