When it comes to liquor, the conventional wisdom is that you get what you pay for. Though there are a few bottom shelf vodkas that are actually worth buying, if you’re looking for an exceptionally smooth, high-end drinking experience, you’ll probably have to spring for the good stuff. However, if top shelf bottles are totally out of your price range, there may be an ingenious trick to improve the taste of cheap vodka with an item you probably already own: a water filter.
The idea is that a charcoal or carbon filter device, like a Brita, will remove impurities from cheap vodka just like it does from water, but does this method actually work? According to expert mixologist Cody Goldstein, founder and CEO of Muddling Memories, it absolutely can — just be aware that it won’t magically upgrade your mediocre vodka into a first-class spirit.
“Running vodka through a filter can increase the quality of the vodka,” Goldstein says. “One major difference will be the absence of impurities from the spirit. The filter should help improve the smoothness of the vodka, giving it a less ‘harsh’ burn when sipping.” He clarifies, “While it will not make the vodka ‘premier,’ it can help mimic the often chemical-less properties of taste that a higher quality vodka will carry.”
How DIY vodka filtration works
Activated carbon-based water filtration systems, like those from the popular brand Brita, are designed to filter out contaminants like heavy metals or sediment, as well as chemicals like chlorine. Activated carbon is very successful at trapping and absorbing contaminants because of its large internal surface area.
Vodka, which is usually made from fermented grains (often not potatoes, myth aside), varies in quality (and thus in price) based on the quality of ingredients used, and the thoroughness of the distillation process. The fermentation process produces impurities called congeners in the form of other alcohols, like methanol and propanol, and unwanted compounds, like acetaldehyde. Distillation is meant to remove these, but inevitably trace amounts are left behind, and cheap vodkas will have a larger volume of them.
After distillation, the next step in vodka production is filtration, so this is where your at-home filter comes in. The problem is that carbon filtration is meant to remove water impurities, not congeners, and studies show that more rigorous distillation is the difference between high and low-end vodkas — not filtration.
You may still see results, however, with the right type of congeners and filter. To try for yourself, Goldstein advises, “two to three passes is usually significant enough to see a difference in the taste and mouthfeel of the spirit.” Don’t go over four times, as you risk “losing the nuances of taste that helps set apart different vodkas.” Still, if a smoother-tasting vodka is what you’re after, you’re probably better off picking a brand with more rounds of distillation, like Tito’s, rather than filtering it yourself.