The structure of spirit and the microscopic basis of the ‘Ouzo effect’

We request 1 day on NIMROD as a Disordered Materials Xpress proposal to determine the feasibility of conducting a systematic study of the structure of 40 % ABV ethanol-water-oil mixtures which serve as the basis for most commercially available spirited alcoholic beverages. To improve currently available formulations, we need to understand the microscopic physical basis for phenomena such as the ‘Ouzo effect’ (clouding of the mixture on addition of surplus water) and build a complete picture of these mixtures’ structural properties and their relation to fundamental interactions (H-bonding, electrostatics, etc.).