Pure ethanol—the kind of alcohol that gets you tipsy—freezes at a bone-chilling -173°F (-114°C). That’s colder than the surface of Mars on a winter night! But unless you’re a chemist with a liquid nitrogen tank, you’re never dealing with that.
Your everyday vodka, whiskey, and rum are a mix of alcohol and water. And water? It freezes at 32°F (0°C). So the freezing point of your booze depends entirely on its proof—which is just double the alcohol percentage.
Here’s the magic rule: the higher the proof, the lower the freezing point. A typical 80-proof (40% ABV) vodka won’t freeze until about -16°F (-27°C). That’s way colder than your home freezer, which sits around 0°F (-18°C).