Hacking Vodka

enrico_suave writes "A group of geeks aimed to find out whether running cheap vodka through a brita water filter would make it drinkable. They claim after several passes through the filter the cheap vodka surpassed the premium Ketel One in drinkability tests. I think they should have done the test 'double blind' although drinking Vladmir Vodka probably could make you go blind anyways... =)"

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Now the real question

[Sycraft-fu]

Is it cheaper to do this than buy Finlandia? For those that haven't tried it, Fin is basically tastless. No real taste, no aftertaste. It's probably the best mixing vodka for that reason. It's not as nice to sip as something like Kettle One because the taste of those more expensive Vodkas is one of the reasons to drink them, however it's also not as expensive.

I suppose it would depend on how well the filter held up. If the single filtration kills it, well then it'll be more expensive. If it works for a few times though it could be a fairly cheap alternative.

Something that would be interesting to see a real experiement on is the difference in before/after compositions. Find out what, if anything, is actually getting filtered out. Maybe I should try and talk the chemical engineers at work into trying it. :)

Re:Now the real question

[badasscat]

Is it cheaper to do this than buy Finlandia?

I can't imagine it is, given the prices they quote for Vladimir Vodka, and knowing as I do how much Brita filters cost (about $7 each, or $15 or so for three). Filtering vodka is basically going to ruin your filter; filter vodka six times and you may as well just throw it out. So basically you're paying $20 for a cheap bottle of vodka that you're trying to get to taste good, whereas where I live a bottle of Finlandia, Stoli, or Absolut is around 18 bucks. No, none of those are great vodkas, but they're good enough to drink as is, and as you say, Finlandia's already pretty much like water mixed with alcohol anyway.

I suppose this whole thing falls under the label of "plausible, but impractical". I'm sure you can get rid of the aftertaste in bad vodka by filtering it, but given the total cost and the marketplace alternatives, there's just not much point to it.

Re:Common knowledge?

[Jason1729]

There is no way gasoline will give you stomach cancer.

It will kill you long before a cancer could develop.

Re:beer too?

[Pfhor]

As a resident of PA who can only drink Fat Tire when as close as the far east distribution center of new belgium as St. Louis, I sir crie sacrilage at wasting such a precious natural resource as a Fat Tire!

or their tripples, or their wheat ales, or just about anything NBB makes.

Re:not surprising...

[Anonymous Coward]

wow, the ignorance.

the water in vodka, is probably from distillation, so therefore, it's already pretty damn "pure".

it's the other organic compunds that have boiling points equal to or less than ethanol/water that also go into the distillate and fuck you up with the nastyness.

Re:Speaking of filters...

[NanoGator]

"I think this would be a good place to post an email exchange that my best friend had with random representative (whoever answers the emails sent to the help address) at PUR"

You know, in a day and age where companies are way too PC or diplomatic when they respond to emails like these, it's really quite refreshing to read an email like that. Kudos, PUR.

Props.

[Grendel Drago]

I note that it's dated nearly five years ago. Good luck getting an actual email to someone working at a company. It's one-way communication, folks, a push medium. Damn kids these days and their outdated unidirectional media paradigms.

Still, props to the company and to the guy working for it for giving an actual response. And a helpful one, at that. Nifty!

--grendel drago

Re:Absinthe

[Dogtanian]

absinthe is once again legal all across the European Union

Off the top of my head (this is Slashdot, I'm damned if I'm going to research my incoherent ramblings- besides which, IIRC I didn't read this online), the absinthes now "legal" in Europe contain only a fraction of the amount of psychoactive substances that the old-school absinthes contained before they were banned.

PUR Does make a desalinator

[Ebisu_11]

I guess the PUR rep did know a thing or two, since PUR does make a hand pump for desalinating sea water. PUR Desalinator
They mention that a couple lived for 66 days on a liferaft with one of these.

Backup

[nurb432]

Ask any good vodka distiller that goes thru the purification process, why they are doing it...

There will be your answer. Need a name? Try Skye.. The stuff in the blue bottle.. There are more.

And yes I know it cant get to 100%, but 90+ is close enough to call it 100%. This isn't a chem. lab, its real life.

And if you noticed what I said a bit closer, I was talking that in today's percentages of alcohol / impurities its the impurities that are causing the hangover.. and that making it 100%, which isn't practical, but if done, in theory, it would then move any hangover to the responsibility of the remaining alcohol..

Never said it would stop them totally, just what their theory is, relative to the fact that most of the hangover IS caused by impurities..