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http://www5.ohmygoditburns.com/index.php?p=4#comments

This link has been going around like the clap lately. I actually don't drink vodka all that often, but I DO have a taste for the super-expensive bourbon, and a guy in the comments to the article mentioned that he's been using the same method for years to turn paint thinner Early Times into a reasonable facsimile of aged bourbon, so I decided I needed to pony up to the science wagon and give this idea a shot (ha, ha) myself.

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Well I am a vodka man, so it's good news for me!

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From the label of my Jim Beam Black (expensive 8-year aged straight bourbon whiskey):

Jim Beam Black has been aged a full eight years in new charred oak barrels, charcoal filtered and then bottled at the distillery in Kentucky at a full 86 proof. This makes Jim Beam Black a little smoother than most other premium bourbon whiskey.

It truly is a bourbon of distinctive character.

I'll give you three guesses what "aged in charred oak barrels" effectively amounts to. =)

The general idea is that if you do actual charcoal filtering, you get much the same effect that you would by aging for years undisturbed in a charred barrel. Yes, you probably do lose some flavor that way as compared to the traditional method; on the other hand if you can even come close to the same effect, turning $6 bourbon into something even approximating $30 bourbon, who's to complain?

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hmm.. very interesting. I knew Jack was aged in charred oak, but didn't know if that would be at all like being filtered through charcoal.

Let us know how it turns out. Sure would be a nice way to go-- I'll drop $6 on the cheap crap and $5 on a filter in a heartbeat if I get the same results they're getting with the cheap vodka.

Definitely see a class-6 run coming on.....

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agh. Never-damn-mind. Must learn to read CLOSELY, then post..

"aged in charred barrels, CHARCOAL FILTERED, etc..."

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Heh heh heh. Well, the PuR filter setup that I got was $30 total, and replacement filters are $10 a pop - but each filter is rated for 40 gallons; so even if you quadruple-pass the bourbon before you pronounce it drinkable, that makes for 10 GALLONS of booze per $10 filter. Effectively negligible.

Also if you're a cheapass you can get a pitcher instead of the tank deal that I got, and spend about $10 less on the initial outlay (filters cost the same though) - but I thought the tank looked like a nicer setup and also it looked somewhat more likely to filter through faster since the outflow doesn't get covered as deep, so I went there. And I'm happy with it - again, the cost is negligible even at the $30 level for the first few runs; that's $30 / 10 gallons of booze = $3 per gallon. Per GALLON. Not a problem. And that's assuming quadruple-filtering.

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He's either going to try the filtering cheap vodka experiment, or he's getting ready to take recycling to a different extreme.

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GAAHH!

Thank you, Jim, for editing your post after my comment and making me look like a total doofus.

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Yeah, I saw that link and it got me to a-thinkin.

We should get together sometime soon and bring various skunky liquors together for the ultimate science experiment...

-R

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I tried it with "El Toro" tequila. Two passes through the filter resulted in something approaching, Quarvo Gold. Not exactly, but very drinkable, as opposed to the original "El Toro".

Next try is going to be with Jack Daniels to see if I can get "Gentleman Jack" quality out of it. ;)

Cost;
USD $10.00 for a pitcher w/filter.
USD $7.00 for the "El Toro".
USD $16.85 for the Quarvo Gold baseline reference.

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