Glossary · Law and labelling
Alcohol by volume
Also written ABV, % vol. Each is a name for the same thing, which is why none of them has an entry of its own.
Definition
The proportion of a drink’s volume that is pure ethanol at 20 degrees Celsius, expressed as a percentage. It is the figure labelling law requires on drinks above 1.2 per cent.
- Subject
- Law and labelling
- Also written
- ABV, % vol
In more detail
Labelling rules allow a tolerance around the declared figure, so a stated strength is a declaration within permitted limits rather than an exact measurement of the bottle in hand. Duty, by contrast, is assessed on the actual strength.
Related terms
Terms that belong to the same part of the subject, or that this one is routinely confused with.
Law and labelling
Unit of alcohol
The United Kingdom measure of alcohol consumed: one unit is 10 ml, or 8 grams, of pure ethanol. Units are calculated as volume in litres multiplied by ABV.
Law and labelling
Standard drink
A national reference quantity of alcohol used in health guidance. It is not internationally consistent: a United States standard drink contains 14 grams of ethanol against the United Kingdom unit’s 8.
Law and labelling
Duty band
A range of alcoholic strength within which a single rate of alcohol duty applies. The United Kingdom moved to a strength-based banded system in 2023, so a small change in ABV can change the tax substantially.
Chemistry
Potential alcohol
The alcoholic strength a juice would reach if all its fermentable sugar were converted, estimated from the starting gravity.
Chemistry
Ethanol
The alcohol produced by fermentation and the compound that alcohol by volume measures. It contributes sweetness, warmth and body as well as intoxication.
Where to go next
- Cider glossary — The whole vocabulary, by subject and A–Z.
- Comparisons — Terms that are only really clear when set against the thing they are not.
- Search — Finds terms by their aliases and by their spellings in other languages.
Sources
What this page rests on. Where a source is marked as registered rather than read, CiderHQ is recording that the body is authoritative on the subject without claiming to have worked through the document itself. See our evidence policy for what each state means.
Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 on the provision of food information to consumers
European Union · legislation · passage verified 2026-08-24
The instrument behind the "contains sulphites" declaration and the alcoholic-strength labelling rule. Read on 2026-08-24 in the assimilated text maintained on legislation.gov.uk, which is the version in force for Great Britain and keeps the EU numbering. Two provisions matter to cider and both are widely misquoted: the sulphite threshold is 10 mg/L rather than a percentage, and a labelled cider strength carries a tolerance of a full percentage point either way — twice what still grape wine is allowed.
Food labelling and packaging guidance
Food Standards Agency / Department for Business and Trade · regulator · retrieved 2026-08-24
NHS · health authority · passage verified 2026-08-24
The definition CiderHQ’s units calculator implements, read against the page rather than assumed: one UK unit is 10 ml or 8 g of pure ethanol, and units are ABV multiplied by volume in millilitres divided by a thousand — which is exactly the arithmetic in `engine/calculators.ts`.