Comment by IgorPartola | Hacker News Reader

Comment by IgorPartola | Hacker News Reader

Vodka is a terrible spirit in most respects. I am Ukrainian, but I buck the stereotype. Ideal vodka is pure water with pure ethanol. That is as boring as you can make a beverage.

In Ukraine we also had horilka, which is basically spiced vodka. This was not some delicacy, but was historically done by necessity because the many impurities in the vodka had to be masked by strong spice flavors.

Handcrafted artisanal vodka is about as much horse manure as “living water”. Would you buy hand crafted artisanal gasonline for your car? Or high purity electrons for your computer to run on? Again, if you can get to 40% ethanol, 60% water, you are good. Who cares how it was made, it’s an artificial product.

(Ok some people probably would. After all, they buy $1000 gold cables for their audio equipment.)

Personally, I prefer things with actual flavor. Like rum, scotch, or brandy. More flavor is good.

Amen.

I can only add to this that you never drink vodka for taste. You drink it for the effects. The only two qualities it must be judged on is 1) how quickly and easily it goes down 2) how little hangover it results in. The less you have in vodka the better it is on both points. Hence, comrade Igor's advice is a sound one. Even if it sounds a bit alien.

is hangover really depending on impurities? Ethanol it self goes through a poisonous stage when broken down in our digestive system - isn‘t that what‘s causing hangover?

It can be made worse with impurities, especially those found in wine http://www.businessinsider.com/red-wine-worst-hangovers-2016...

I use to be a whiskey man. I only drank whiskey. It came to a point where I would feel hungover the next morning after just 3 fingers of Maker's Mark the earlier evening. I switched to a vodka tonic with lime. Didnt have the same hangover symptoms. I guess my body prefers clear liquor.

Or your body prefers water to alcohol, and vodka tonics got you more of it than straight whiskey.

I agree this is a huge factor. Whiskey likely does contribute to hangovers more than vodka due to the stuff that’s leeched out of the charred barrels. But the quantity of water consumed with alcohol has a huge impact on hangovers. I am far less likely to feel hungover when I drink beer than cocktails because beer contains a lot of water and the cocktails I like do not.

> Vodka is a terrible spirit in most respects.

It's a terrible spirit in all respects. A good whisky is the choice of the discerning drinker. Vodka is the Budweiser of spirits. Best left to the club crowd and those afflicted with a degenerate palette.

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