Filter yourself some kick-ass vodka.

[Big Gulp]

You mean when it changes into a burned-out throaty rasp?  By the way, that wasn't your balls dropping, that was your liver trying to escape.

I bet you're very pretty in pigtails.

[UD_Delt]

Sorry, but a Vodka Tonic is much tastier than any beer except maybe guinness.

Maybe you've never had a good mixed drink or a good martini made with quality liquor?

[WindupAtheist]

You mean when it changes into a burned-out throaty rasp?  By the way, that wasn't your balls dropping, that was your liver trying to escape.

I bet you're very pretty in pigtails.

When Big Gulp finally discovered that the wood elf he'd been cybering for the last six weeks was actually mangina, his biggest surprise of the day was the fact that he did not care.

Keep your withered whiskey-dick in your drawers, m'kay?

[Train Wreck]

Man, WTF is wrong with you people?  The best liquor on earth still tastes like rubbing alcohol mixed with cigar ashes.  Drink beer.

I have to drink beer for hours to do what 5 minutes of taking rum or vodka shots can accomplish.  Sure, it tastes like rubbing alchohol, but chase it down with something good and the misery only lasts a few seconds.

[Train Wreck]

Plus everytime I go near hard liquor, I end up drinking it like water, and puking all over the place the next day.

How much do you have to drink to get to that point?  None of my friends drink anything besides beer, so my journey has been one of self-discovery.  The most Vodka I've ever drank in one sitting was 22 shots,  and the only bad thing I got out of it was a headache.  What do you guys do?  Drink the whole bottle?

What's considered a normal amount to drink?

[Paelos]

Plus everytime I go near hard liquor, I end up drinking it like water, and puking all over the place the next day.

How much do you have to drink to get to that point?  None of my friends drink anything besides beer, so my journey has been one of self-discovery.  The most Vodka I've ever drank in one sitting was 22 shots,  and the only bad thing I got out of it was a headache.  What do you guys do?  Drink the whole bottle?

What's considered a normal amount to drink?

Not 22 shots.

But seriously, if you are drinking more than 5 drinks in a sitting of two to three hours, you do not need good vodka. You are a binge drinker and Mr. Bostons will suit you just fine. Also, if you are out of college and doing this routinely, you are an alcoholic. A normal social drinker drinks up to 3 drinks in an evening, two to three times a week. A regular drinker drinks more days a week, but does not exceed 4-5 as the high, and doesn't drink more than two drinks alone. Alcoholics drink everyday, drink more than 5 drinks in a sitting regularly, and drinks to excess alone.

You can use that as a guide folks.

[CmdrSlack]

Heh, I think anything more than 6 drinks in one night/sitting is considered "bad" by most people.  Not that they're right, but that's kind of one of the "alcohol problem" indicators, IIRC.

[WindupAtheist]

What if you drink less than once a month, but get ungodly hammered when you do?  :-p

[schild]

What if you drink less than once a month, but get ungodly hammered when you do?  :-p

That's been my recipe for success for the last 6 years.

[Paelos]

What if you drink less than once a month, but get ungodly hammered when you do?  :-p

Barring possible jail time and/or ugly chick impregnations I think the effects on your health would be minimal.

[El Gallo]

So, has anyone actually tried this little experiment?

[Paelos]

I'll try it tonight, expect a semi-sober report in the morning with a postgame review of Auburn v. VA Tech as well.

[Train Wreck]

Not 22 shots.

But seriously, if you are drinking more than 5 drinks in a sitting of two to three hours, you do not need good vodka. You are a binge drinker and Mr. Bostons will suit you just fine. Also, if you are out of college and doing this routinely, you are an alcoholic. A normal social drinker drinks up to 3 drinks in an evening, two to three times a week. A regular drinker drinks more days a week, but does not exceed 4-5 as the high, and doesn't drink more than two drinks alone. Alcoholics drink everyday, drink more than 5 drinks in a sitting regularly, and drinks to excess alone.

You can use that as a guide folks.

The 22 shots was just a little experiment that seemed like a fantastic idea at the time, no doubt because of the alchohol already in my system.

Does 4-5 drinks equate to 4 to 5 shots?

I usually keep it at 8 shots, once a week.  I usually have company, but if not then I drink anyway.  I don't see why drinking alone is considered to be bad.  Sure, it's not as fun, but what's the problem?

[Paelos]

The 22 shots was just a little experiment that seemed like a fantastic idea at the time, no doubt because of the alchohol already in my system.

Does 4-5 drinks equate to 4 to 5 shots?

I usually keep it at 8 shots, once a week.  I usually have company, but if not then I drink anyway.  I don't see why drinking alone is considered to be bad.  Sure, it's not as fun, but what's the problem?

Good questions. 4-5 shots of straight liquor does = 4-5 mixed drinks, however, 4-5 shooters (ie. mixed shots like Kamkazees) have slightly less booze involved so the percentages are different.

8 shots once a week would be defined as a binge drinker, but then again, most people that drink to get drunk are. The question is do you do this on the same day at the same time, and could you stop if you wanted to? If not then it's become a habit, and alcohol habits are not good for your emotional and pyschological health. If you found yourself having to have only one beer a day, that's no better than having to have eight shots one day a week. The motivating factors are important.

Drinking alone is bad only if you are drinking to get drunk alone. That's a bad road to start stumbling down because tolerances will play a factor eventually. It's a slippery slope you don't need.

[Train Wreck]

Good questions. 4-5 shots of straight liquor does = 4-5 mixed drinks, however, 4-5 shooters (ie. mixed shots like Kamkazees) have slightly less booze involved so the percentages are different.

8 shots once a week would be defined as a binge drinker, but then again, most people that drink to get drunk are. The question is do you do this on the same day at the same time, and could you stop if you wanted to? If not then it's become a habit, and alcohol habits are not good for your emotional and pyschological health. If you found yourself having to have only one beer a day, that's no better than having to have eight shots one day a week. The motivating factors are important.

Drinking alone is bad only if you are drinking to get drunk alone. That's a bad road to start stumbling down because tolerances will play a factor eventually. It's a slippery slope you don't need.

Thanks for the advice.  I was heading down that road, but was able to put on the breaks before it became a habit.  There was only one instance in which I drank to try to escape pain:  a woman I was very close to dating suddenly eloped with her ex, and I took it very hard.  I drank a 6 pack of Newcastle and who knows how much rum, with the goal of passing out.  Turned out to be a pretty fucking stupid thing to do, as not only did I not pass out, but I couldn't sleep and felt like shit the rest of the weekend.  I'm glad it turned out that way, though.  If it had been anything other than a miserable experience, I probably would have repeated it.

Shortly after that episode, I saw somebody with the tagline, "drink to remember, not to forget", and I take it to heart.

Other factors that slowed me down were 1) I don't want to destroy my liver 2) I savor Friday nights and don't want to stop them prematurally by passing out, 3) the mundane observation that I would enjoy 24 oz of vodka a lot more and longer if I drank it over a three week period instead of a three hour period. The times I got wasted were when I was learning my limits.  Hasn't happened lately.

When my friends are over, I tend to keep my drinking at a minimum because they do tend to get wasted, and somebody needs to keep an eye on things.  I've confiscated keys several times, too.  That's why I like having drinks at home by myself from time to time.  There's no trouble to get into, and nobody to get into trouble with.

I could stop if I wanted to, but I would need a reason to want to.  I saw several reasons not to drink as much as I had been, so I cut it way down.  But it seems to work fine the way it is, now.  Anything else I should watch out for?  I'm intrigued by your last statement because I tend to only want to get drunk when I am alone, for reasons I described in the last paragraph.

[Paelos]

Drinking to get drunk alone is usually called a "closet drinking problem". People sometimes can't tell who has one, but if you are embarrassed to discuss with people how much you drink alone and when you do it, that's a sign that you have an issue. Of course, that's not the only indicator. People that drink alone tend to have issues in other areas of life. Alcohol is a drug, don't forget that. It's going to take more to get that "high" if you drink frequently, which dents the wallet and your health.

[schild]

I like how the christian is giving advice to a guy named Train Wreck. Can we rename you "On the Wagon" please?

[Paelos]

Well I completed the Vodka Test using a Brita Water filter, a two quart funnel, and a handle of McCormick Vodka. All told the process cost slightly less than a handle of Grey Goose, which I used the small bit I had left over as a comparison Vodka. Here are the pictures.

The Test Vodka
The Pitcher
The High Class Comparison Vodka
The Test Subject (Me)

I set aside a glass of the unfiltered Vodka as a control. I then filtered the Vodka six times in the water filter. After this I tried the unfiltered, filtered, and Grey Goose vodkas straight. I rated them on odor, taste, aftertaste, and warming sensation. Here are the results.

Unfiltered: Odor was horrific, it almost knocks you over. The taste is sneaky, but the aftertaste is really bad. The warming sensation is a straight burn down your esophagus. Overall, I'd give it a 2 out 10

Grey Goose: Absolutely no odor. The taste is evident, but refined for a good vodka. However, if you hate vodka taste, it would still upset you. There is no aftertaste. There is a delaying warming sensation of about 10 seconds, and that's nice. Overall, a 9 out of 10, set back only because I don't like the original taste as much as other vodkas.

Filtered Vodka: The odor is diminished but is still evident. I'd say if the original odor was a 10, this odor would be a 3. It's down but not gone. The taste isn't as easy to find anymore, but it still sneaks up on you with a swish. I tried it chilled and it was much better. The aftertaste is almost gone altogether. The burning is also greatly decreased. Overall I'd rate this Vodka a 6 out of 10.

So after the tests, I believe that the filtering does increase the value of the Vodka by enchancing the better aspects of a mundane brand. I doubt the effect would be as great on a middle brand vodka however, since it would have less room to manuever. This filtering would not turn a Skyy into a Grey Goose. Still, it's worth the effort to save some money if you are on a drinking budget. Once past the original costs of the pitcher, replacement filters are only $27 for 6. Given that I'd compare the filtered version with a Skyy Vodka, you are saving about $8 everytime you do this on average.

EDIT: pics were wrong

[Train Wreck]

if you are embarrassed to discuss with people how much you drink alone and when you do it, that's a sign that you have an issue..

Ah, I'm in the clear, then.  Just checking.

[Train Wreck]

I like how the christian is giving advice to a guy named Train Wreck. Can we rename you "On the Wagon" please?

Why?  Need more people to join you?

[El Gallo]

Paelos, you are a gentleman and a scholar.  However, I will stick with the Chopin, which has been my favorite a while.  Then again, my last name ends in -ski.

[Train Wreck]

What's considered good vodka?  I usually go with Petrov because it is the cheapest.  Hard to imagine vodka that doesn't taste like rubbing alchohol, so I've never been inclined to try the pricey stuff.  Is it really worth it?

Chasing it down with a mix of good lemonaid and Sierra Mist pretty much eliminates any semblance of a bad after-taste.  I used to mix the vodka in with it, but without a shot of melon liquor, it still tastes pretty bad.  I guess at 30 carbs a shot, Medori can make anything taste good.

[Abagadro]

I was at Red Square in Vegas this weekend and tried a Russian vodka called Jewel of Russia Classic.  Was most excellent. I didn't spring for the Jewel of Russia Ultra at 25$ a shot, but the Classic was quite good.

[El Gallo]

Here's one not-very-scientific ranking of reasonably priced vodkas (i.e. 20-39 a bottle, not a shot) that seems to roughly agree with my personal experience.  http://slate.msn.com/id/2106004/