5 ms·
Is there any way to "fix" cheaper vodkas by holding it at the proper temp for sufficiently long enough? Or are they beyond salvageable by that point in the pro
by auiya 7y ago
Is there any way to "fix" cheaper vodkas by holding it at the proper temp for sufficiently long enough? Or are they beyond salvageable by that point in the process?
- bryanbuckley 7y agoI've done double blind vodka tastings and some of the cheaper vodkas come out on top. e.g. Barton's is as good as top-shelf (that were in the tasting)
- RussianCow 7y agoAnecdotally, I've found that vodkas made by smaller, local distilleries tend to be really good for the price. I'm assuming this is because vodka is generally not their core product, but they're making a pure, neutral spirit as a base for other things (e.g. gin) anyways, so they might as well bottle it and try to sell it. Since they're not spending excessive amounts of money trying to market their vodkas, they tend to be pretty cheap.
- tw04 7y agoI'd tell you to just buy Svedka if you want something cheap but quality. Haven't had it in years but I know we had at least one long cabin weekend and that was the drink of choice - pretty smooth and no headaches.
- RussianCow 7y agoI have heard of people putting cheap vodkas through a carbon filter (like Brita) a few times to improve smoothness. I haven't tried it myself, but I am skeptical, because if the fix is that easy then it seems like the producer would have done it. MythBusters did a double-blind taste test[0] in which only the "vodka expert" was able to correctly rank the samples, and they found that the chemical composition of the cheap vodka was the same before and after filtering. Based on that, I would say the answer is most likely "no" and you should spend a few more bucks. [0]: http://kwc.org/mythbusters/2006/04/episode_50_bullets_fired_up_vo.html http://kwc.org/mythbusters/2006/04/episode_50_bullets_fired_...
- poidos 7y agoI did this in college and all it accomplished was to temporarily ruin the filter -- pretty brutal to wake up after a night of drinking the filtered vodka, stumble hungover to the pitcher for some water, and take a big swig of vodka flavored water!
- Enginerrrd 7y agoI was very impressed by how accurately the vodka expert ranked the taste of the vodka by how many times it had gone through the Brita filter. To me that was quite telling.
- jerrysievert 7y agoit's not really about holding it at a proper temperature, it's where things boil and evaporate. if you redistill a vodka, you can typically remove more impurities.
- KingMachiavelli 7y agoYes & no. While you could redistill it and be extra generous with the amount of head (& tail?) thrown away. Or you could build a activated carbon filter; if you search around there is a lengthy PDF describing the proper dimensions & volume of carbon filtration needed. The cost of the activated carbon is probably going to exceed just buying slightly more expensive such as Costco/Kirkland vodka. It's not as cheap as the plastic bottle brands like Taaka but save for really high consumption levels it's probably cheap enough.
- shawnz 7y agoWhy does the carbon filtration only remove the side products and not the desired products?
- jerrysievert 7y agolast I looked (can't verify locally since Costco can't sell spirits here) their vodka was belvedere. is that still the case? personally, I prefer monopolowa, but it's mostly personal preference at that point - but I find the price of $19.95 is a little more palatable (wow, it was $9.95 last time I bought some!)
- hootbootscoot 7y agoI know a guy in Aarhus, Denmark once that was triple distilling floor cleaner. He still had his vision and all organs intact, but I still did decline the offer of a drink at his house...