EPTOn June 06 2014 02:16 8882 wrote:
I am not an expert on alcohol, but there are at least few factors (btw I dont like drinking vodka, getting drunk etc. I prefer beer):
+ Show Spoiler +
1) First of all vodka is 40% ethanol, 60% water.
In order to create a 40% alcohol, distillation is needed. So every vodka is distilled. Three times? Five times? In theory it does not matter much, the manufacturer simply needs to make it safe to drink - with no contaminants.
There are different processes though and while the vodka that you buy in your shop is tested and safe, it still might have a bit different chemical composition of the "rest" (much below 0,1%).
For store bought vodkas, the main reason is the difference on the level of chemical known as ethanol hydrate, which varies due to production processes.
A home made moonshine can be contaminated methanol, which can make you go blind or die!
When we mention the contaminants, it is worth noting that they are the reason why "color" alcohol (e.g. whiskey) gives you a bigger hangover than pure spirit - it contains more chemicals, your organism converts them to other chemicals and they might be poisonous for your body.Basically drinking alcohol is poisoning your organism to some degree.. and hangover is often connected with the fact that your organism is oxidizing ethanol to acetaldehyde.
Of course there are also other factors, e.g. your level of electrolytes; amount of stuff in your stomach - it you eat something fat before drinking, you absorb less alcohol.
1b) If you are interested in "real" taste of vodka, you could purchase a bottle of Rectified Spirit (manufactured in Poland, preferably Polmos Lublin) and make a mixture with distilled water. Polish Rectified spirit is distilled up to 96% (and contrary to popular belief is only used to make drinks, not drunk by drunkards - too expensive for them; btw. actually Koreans are the ones who drink the most alcohol in the world). I know that in USA you have a brand of this called "Everclear", but as far as I know it is not as pure - only 95% and I was told it tastes like shit (Im not talking about drinking pure rectified spirit, but version watered down to 40%. Normal people dont drink rectified spirits raw (I expect that some stupid teenagers will write that they drink it by the bottle and that they are fierce mofos.. while in reality they are sad people)).
2) Another VERY important factor is the temperature of the alcohol, hot vodka will simply not "go in".
3) The manufacturers know about ethanol hydrate (and probably few other chemicals) and they often own few brands. They know that the cheaper vodka cannot taste better than the more expensive one, because.. well people would not overpay. But this is not exactly true that "every more expensive alcohol is better", because you often pay for the snobism and marketing, as the difference in taste is minimal. This is very visible on the market of beer, which (with the lager style) is made as bland as possible to fit to as many people as possible and often brand loyalty comes only from your head, since you like the ads.
I guess if your friend would bring a bottle of some expensive vodka you could think that it tastes better, just because you paid more - the difference is simply in your head, as caused by marketing. I read that some bartenders would even buy a bottle of some good Polish vodka, or some Grey Goose and then pour cheap alternative inside - many people would not find much difference, since a lot of it comes from marketing (although admitably Polish and Russian vodkas are best in the world, and both countries claim to be the first to have invented this type of a drink).
A cheap brand can also taste very well, since the manufacturer wants to win market share, earn money.
I am not an expert on alcohol, but there are at least few factors (btw I dont like drinking vodka, getting drunk etc. I prefer beer):
+ Show Spoiler +
1) First of all vodka is 40% ethanol, 60% water.
In order to create a 40% alcohol, distillation is needed. So every vodka is distilled. Three times? Five times? In theory it does not matter much, the manufacturer simply needs to make it safe to drink - with no contaminants.
There are different processes though and while the vodka that you buy in your shop is tested and safe, it still might have a bit different chemical composition of the "rest" (much below 0,1%).
For store bought vodkas, the main reason is the difference on the level of chemical known as ethanol hydrate, which varies due to production processes.
A home made moonshine can be contaminated methanol, which can make you go blind or die!
When we mention the contaminants, it is worth noting that they are the reason why "color" alcohol (e.g. whiskey) gives you a bigger hangover than pure spirit - it contains more chemicals, your organism converts them to other chemicals and they might be poisonous for your body.Basically drinking alcohol is poisoning your organism to some degree.. and hangover is often connected with the fact that your organism is oxidizing ethanol to acetaldehyde.
Of course there are also other factors, e.g. your level of electrolytes; amount of stuff in your stomach - it you eat something fat before drinking, you absorb less alcohol.
1b) If you are interested in "real" taste of vodka, you could purchase a bottle of Rectified Spirit (manufactured in Poland, preferably Polmos Lublin) and make a mixture with distilled water. Polish Rectified spirit is distilled up to 96% (and contrary to popular belief is only used to make drinks, not drunk by drunkards - too expensive for them; btw. actually Koreans are the ones who drink the most alcohol in the world). I know that in USA you have a brand of this called "Everclear", but as far as I know it is not as pure - only 95% and I was told it tastes like shit (Im not talking about drinking pure rectified spirit, but version watered down to 40%. Normal people dont drink rectified spirits raw (I expect that some stupid teenagers will write that they drink it by the bottle and that they are fierce mofos.. while in reality they are sad people)).
2) Another VERY important factor is the temperature of the alcohol, hot vodka will simply not "go in".
3) The manufacturers know about ethanol hydrate (and probably few other chemicals) and they often own few brands. They know that the cheaper vodka cannot taste better than the more expensive one, because.. well people would not overpay. But this is not exactly true that "every more expensive alcohol is better", because you often pay for the snobism and marketing, as the difference in taste is minimal. This is very visible on the market of beer, which (with the lager style) is made as bland as possible to fit to as many people as possible and often brand loyalty comes only from your head, since you like the ads.
I guess if your friend would bring a bottle of some expensive vodka you could think that it tastes better, just because you paid more - the difference is simply in your head, as caused by marketing. I read that some bartenders would even buy a bottle of some good Polish vodka, or some Grey Goose and then pour cheap alternative inside - many people would not find much difference, since a lot of it comes from marketing (although admitably Polish and Russian vodkas are best in the world, and both countries claim to be the first to have invented this type of a drink).
A cheap brand can also taste very well, since the manufacturer wants to win market share, earn money.
This is a much better explanation than I provided. I knew branding and price played a role, but it's good to see a more thorough explanation. Just to add though, the contaminants that worsen hangovers are referred to as congeners.
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/kLesHMW.jpg)
