Does filtering cheap vodka through a Brita filter really work?

Question

I have friends who swear by the technique of passing the cheapest handle of vodka one can buy through a Brita filter four times. They say that, after filtration, they can no longer distinguish between it and top-shelf stuff.

I'm about to try it (it's not actually cheaper for me, because I didn't own a Brita filter to begin with), but am curious if I'll poison my New Year's party guests by serving them the stuff that comes out of it. Has anyone else done this? The Internet at large seems to have mixed reviews.

Thanks!

Answer

I'm sure it helps for a while, but what happens when the carbon becomes saturated with the nasty stuff it's pulling out? I asked a home distiller about it and he said it will eventually saturate and then you run the risk of dumping more nasties into the batch you're filtering. Carbon doesn't last forever- something tells me what you save buying cheap vodka may cost you in filters. I just buy decent vodka and don't worry about it.

Answer

unscientific study with some of my wife's Russian friends is that they could not tell the diffference between top shelf and brita filtered popov. Might just have been an excuse to keep drinking and tasting though..... I will say that when I have overdone it, I have much less of a hangover with the bnta filtered stuff.

Answer

It works really well, but you burn through those filters really really fast... to the point that you might as well just get the good stuff to begin with.

If you're looking for a good value on vodka, get the stuff from Costco. As far as I can tell it's made by Grey Goose, and is 30 dollars for the 1.75L.

Answer

This was tested on the show Mythbusters on the Discovery Channel (Episode 50). They tried several filtering methods and used a vodka judge to determine the results. The filters did not turn cheap vodka into Grey Goose. Quote from the judge, "Passing a low-end vodka through a filter will make it better, but it won't make it a top shelf vodka."

Answer

You might also consider hitting Home Depot (or similar) for a "whole house" water filter cartridge. Since they're rated for drinking water (potable) it's safe for food use. For the same 8 bucks for a Brita you can get a single Activated Charcoal filter that's 10 times the amount of charcoal. I guess the form factor and pitcher of the Brita does make it more convenient though...

Answer

There are a lot of activated carbons used in industry (food/beverage/water treatment) to minimize off-odors/flavors on a large-scale. There are many specific charcoal types used for different applications, for instance, charcoal mellowing of whiskey. The idea is good, but using a Brita 'water' filter might not get you the best results.

Answer

Whether it works or not, doesn't it seem that by the time you buy cheap vodka and filters you might as well have gotten the premium stuff? Unless you are going to go through a lot of vodka, it doesn't seem that worthwhile to me. But I could just be on the lazy side.

Answer

I can buy activated charcoal for a couple dollars a pound, much cheaper than a brita. It's sold next to the wine kits and alcohol testers at the DIY shop. Can't I just put that activated charcoal in the bottle then filter it out after shaking for some time, I don't know maybe with a coffee filter or cheese cloth?

Answer

Going through the comments, I see a whole lot of speculation and hearsay, and no actual evidence. So here are some comments from someone who has not only tried it, but gone fairly excessive with it.

1) Will you taste a difference? Absolutely, emphatically yes. After just a single run through a fairly new brita filter, you will notice a big improvement. After 3-5 filterings, you will notice a substantial difference.

2) Will it taste like a top notch vodka? No. It will not *taste* like a top notch vodka. But it *will* be as smooth as a top notch vodka.

3) Who can tell the difference? A top notch vodka connoisseur will be able to tell the difference, a la the Mythbusters episode. Will your friends tell a difference? No way.

4) Will it ruin the filter? No. It will not. Period. Granted, every filter has some sort of shelf life and will stop being effective eventually. Maybe the vodka speeds this process up some. But, once a weekend I would triple-filter my vodka through my regular water brita filter, then run water through it 3 times after, and my filter didn't taste like vodka, and still remained completely effective at smoothing the vodka out after several months of doing this once per weekend. (Yeah, my liver hates me.) 

Another way to put it - after filtering vodka about 50 times through the same filter, I could tell no difference in quality between the first filter and the last. Just remember to flush with water from time to time. 

5) Can I get extreme with this? Hell yeah! My friend and I spent a Saturday building a filter-kit specifically for vodka. We built the device (pictured below, hopefully) using simple off the shelf components from Home Depot and a 10 pack of brita filters from CostCo. 

Basically, "the device" consists of 5 brita filters, each trapped in a PVC coupler, each coupler separated by a 5" piece of PVC. The long tube on top is to contain the bottle of vodka. The vodka goes in the top, enters filter one, drips to filter 2, and so on. The whole setup cost about $80, though we still have 5 brita filters unused, so really the cost is $65ish? And we've already gone through about 6 bottles of cheap cheap vodka. With an average savings between $10-30 per bottle of vodka (if we went with the good stuff), the device has already paid for itself. "The device" is easier to use than putting charcoal in a bottle and shaking once a day for a week and easier than using just one brita filter over and over and over. 

 And yes, the end product is extremely smooth. To the point where you can drink the vodka straight like it was a glass of water. 

We plan on putting up DIY plans for building the vodka filter system soon.

Answer

I can only speak for myself. However, I was a Kettle One drinker for years. I never mix the vodka, just drink it over ice, perhaps with an olive. Several years ago, I started filtering Gordon's Vodka (blue label, about $12.00 per 1.75 liter bottle where I live). It works remarkably well. I only filter it one time through my BRITA filter, not multiple times like some people suggest. I use one BRITA filter for 6 1.75 liter bottles and then change the filter. I have tried this technique with cheaper vodkas such as Popov and it doesn't really make the vodka drinkable to my satisfaction. However, I was only fitering the Popov one time also. Perhaps mltiple filtrations would make even the lowly Popov palatable. Who knows? I will sick to filtering the Gordon'e. It is just fine and significantly cheaper than my old standby, Kettle One. By the way, Each BRITA filter costs about 6 bucks. So, I add about $1 to the price of each bottle of Gordon's by filtering it.

Answer

I just don't understand why the vodka companies would not filter the product themselves if the filtering was that easy to do and made it that much better. 
 
If filtering is a process that is economical for a homeowner to do with individual bottles and filters, I have to think that it would be easy for the producer to do. Furthermore, because the producer could filter in mass quantities, the extra cost to them per bottle would be less than the extra cost of the consumer per bottle to achieve the same filtered product. The producer could then tack on additional cost to each bottle to compensate for the increased production cost and make some extra profit. As long as the increase in cost for the end product is greater than the extra production cost, but less than the extra cost the consumer would pay to achieve the same filtering, the consumer will pay less overall for filtered vodka and the producer will get more profit per bottle.

Maybe I'm making the economy of this more logical than it actually is.

Answer

If anyone is interested, I wrote a short pros/cons on my website. Here it is and please stop by http://food-worthy.com/

1. Cost:

If a Brita is going to cost $6 a filter, doesn’t it make more sense to just sport the extra couple of bucks for better vodka? Logically, yes, but we’re talking about fun here and if I really wanted to be logical I’d also be cheap. Expect the cost of filters to add up. People suggest running three “cleaning” cycles of water through the filter after vodka use.

If you really want to take this seriously, consider purchasing active charcoal as an alternative to the pricy filters. I’m not talking about the stuff that goes in an aquarium, but alcohol filtration grade charcoal. Any store that sells kits to make wine or beer should also sell charcoal, or you can order a fairly inexpensive charcoal filtration system online at Brewhaus. I need to move on because I think I’m going to be sick; the thought of aquariums and goldfish make me gag. There is nothing more disgusting than fish. I take that back, actually. Birds are more disgusting than fish, but just barely.

2. Safety:

Some have suggested that it simply isn’t safe for vodka to come into contact with the plastic Brita. The thought is that since the ethyl alcohol in vodka is a polar protic solvent, it will cause harmful substances to leech from the plastic. The plastic used in a Brita is polypropylene, which at a 1 rating is the highest rating possible against alcohol. And those little white beads you see mixed in with the charcoal are crosslinked polystyrene and are also resistant to ethyl alcohol*. The bad news is in the list of chemicals and various -cides that the Brita is useless in protecting against. Considering any pour-through filter system is no match for cysts, THMs (chlorine byproducts), VOCs (volatile organic compounds), pesticides, herbicides, harmful solvents and gasoline, I think about the only thing I’d bother to use a Brita for is, in fact, vodka.

3. Taste:

There does seem to be a concensus that it takes more than one filtering to taste any difference. Five seems to be the magic number based on very unscientific online perusing. When Mythbusters set out to decide the legitimacy of home filtering, they found no difference in chemical composition between the filtered and unfiltered vodkas. That said, there are many, many people that swear they can taste a difference. Apocryphal as this information may be, perhaps you won’t pull one over on Chelsey Handler, but she’ll probably still drink it.

Answer

OMG people...is filtering cheap vodka worth your time? Just buy a decent bottle. If you're that concerned about drinking impurities, what are you doing drinking at all? Buy purified water.

Answer

As vodka is one of the spirits that "Really" does not have a specifically distinguishable taste as compared to rum or bourbon or gin, etc. I know that some vodka bigots out there are already screaming that their vodka of choice has a clearly distinguishable taste, probably with tones of chocolate, blackberries and an aftertaste of burnt cherries. Anyway, c'mon everybody, vodka doesn't really have a flavor unless it is flavored vodka. 

I have found that using a Brita filter does, indeed improve the smoothness of lower priced vodka. I buy 1.75 litre bottles of Gordon's vodka for about $11 per bottle and filter it twice. The resulting vodka makes great martini's and just plain vodka on the rocks. I used to buy Kettle One vodka for at least three times that price and my filtered Gordon's tastes every bit as good to me. Oh, and by the way, if you are mixing your vodka with tonic or grapefruit juice or cranberry juice, or Snappy Tom mix or anything else with a flavor, buy the cheapest stuff you can find. It just won't make a difference in a mixed drink.

Answer

After reading the entire thread, making comparisons to taste and smoothness, has anyone bothered to check Proof? All the filtering may change the taste or harshness, but is the alcohol percentage still the same? Meaning, if eighty proof went in, did eighty proof come out?

Answer

I would say yes. The cheap vodka you are purchasing has probably already been through this process you are just filtering it further. The brita does contain more than just active carbon, it also contains an "ion exchange resin". I am not sure how that variable may change the reaction but I would check into the effects of alcohol on this material. It is possible the resin may be degraded by alcohol and release undesirable compounds into your drink. You can buy distiller's filter pads online or in some home brew stores and it should be less expensive than a brita. I am reading up on bamboo charcoal and thinking about using it to replace my brita. You can even buy an electric table top distiller online if you are in a place that will allow it to be shipped. The particular machine is made and sold for distilling alcohol but can be used for distilled water as well. The idea is you purchase cheap vodka and run it though this machine with a "flavor packet" to produce something like a good quaility whiskey, bourbon... When looking into that is seems it will also distill a mash.

Answer

I went to a new years eve party and got toe up on some mixed drinks the host was making, long story short, she showed me the cheapest vodka in the world and laughed then showed me her process... filters it 5 times in a brita filter. It was delicious! Of course, I want to make my own, then i thought let me check chowhounds, then I see this thread. It definitely was good. So I know it works, but I'm worried about the health issues. I have a brita filter I don't use. So I wouldn't even have to buy one. Is it unhealthy or not?

Answer

This is a dumb thread.

Get yourself Monopolowa vodka at Trader Joe's for $10/750ml, and if you must, beg, borrow, or steal empty crystal skulls, pimpmobiles, or whatever crazy containers bearing vodkas exceeding $50-100/bottle cost the chumps and fill it into them.

I suspect it will taste better than the product in the original bottles.

Vodka is highly-fractionated triple-column distilled grain spirit, that by chemical definition is tasteless. Vodka is futility itself, in bottled form: a tasteless alcoholic spirit by design.

Save your money, your Brita filters, and your sanity by eschewing this nonsense at the source.

By all means, collect whatever fashionable bottles you like to dispense your Monopolowa into. You can even amuse yourself by hosting differential tasting parties and watch clueless hipsters tie themselves into knots trying to mine their limited vocabularies to describe how the crystal-skull bottle tastes "edgier", while the proletarian Smirnoff comes off as "harsh gasoline".

Never has unbridled hilarity come so cheaply.

Answer

Never has so much time been wasted by so many to save so little . . .

Answer

I know someone who buys the rock gut vodka and puts it thru the Brita and then goes the next step of putting it in the saved Grey Goose/ Belverde bottles.

I love this friends gravitas..ha ha ha

Solid

Answer

I did try the filter cheap vodka method. I used 3 brita filters and the end product was ALMOST indistinguishable from Grey Goose. In the end it cost the same, as the filters were expensive.

Answer

The Walmart filter does as good a job as the Britta at 2/3 the price. Been doing this for a year and saved more than enough to pay for filter.

Answer

Did it for limoncello and the difference was night and day

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Does filtering cheap vodka through a Brita filter really work?

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