Hacking Vodka 570
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... =)"
Comment removed (Score:4, Insightful)
Now the real question (Score:4, Insightful)
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:Common knowledge? (Score:4, Insightful)
It will kill you long before a cancer could develop.
Re:beer too? (Score:3, Insightful)
or their tripples, or their wheat ales, or just about anything NBB makes.
Re:not surprising... (Score:1, Insightful)
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... (Score:5, Insightful)
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.
Re:Now the real question (Score:3, Insightful)
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.
Props. (Score:3, Insightful)
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 (Score:4, Insightful)
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 (Score:3, Insightful)
They mention that a couple lived for 66 days on a liferaft with one of these.
Backup (Score:3, Insightful)
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..