People are filtering cheap vodka through a Brita to 'make it taste better'

If you’re having a drink-up and don’t fancy splashing out on a hugely expensive bottle of vodka to mix with whatever you’ve got, then how about running it through the Brita filter to see if you can make it taste nicer? Honestly – this is something that people are doing, as you can see below:

Firstly, it’s worth starting off with a short disclaimer – drinking vodka is likely to get you drunk and give you a hangover, so drink responsibly.

Secondly, running it through the filter that you use to purify your tap water might not be the smartest idea you’ve ever had and could just leave you with tap water that tastes like cheap vodka in the long run.

However, if loads of people on the internet are to be believed, doing exactly this will take away some of the horrible taste and smell from that cheaper bottle of vodka, leaving it tasting just like water.

It’s not everyone’s idea of a nice relaxing drink, but whatever.

Anyone who has ever consumed any amount of cheap vodka knows what we’re talking about here.

It has a really strong taste and feels a little bit like drinking turpentine.

Once you have a shot of it, you can then feel it burning right the way down to your stomach.

@callmebelly/TikTok

Help is at hand though, meaning that if you can’t afford that bottle of Grey Goose or other premium vodka you can still avoid having an unpleasant experience.

Let’s park for a second the idea that you might not be able to afford a Brita filter if you’re quaffing corner shop vodka, we’ll focus on the theory behind it.

You’re probably asking yourself the question of whether it will get you less drunk if you remove a lot of the stuff that makes cheap vodka what it is.

Well, the answer is no.

Alcohol is just a chemical liquid, so you won’t filter any of that out.

What you might remove is a load of flavour and taste, though.

Cheap vodka has more impurities than expensive vodka, largely down to the slimmed-down distillation process and the fact that it’s made from lesser ingredients such as molasses, potatoes, rice, or soybeans rather than the premium wheat or rye that is used to make more spenny spirits.

So, when you filter it through the carbon filter of your tap water purifying device – it doesn’t have to be a Brita – you remove a lot of that stuff.

@callmebelly/TikTok

Of course, it will work with other spirits, but if you decide to do it with something that is not clear you run the risk of wrecking the filter altogether.

This isn’t something you should do with dark rum or tequila, most likely.

Still, if you find yourself at a loose end and with only a bottle of the cheap stuff to work with, it’s an option and it does work.

Again, the question isn’t whether you can, it’s whether you should and ultimately can be bothered to.