Can A Water Filter Really Make Cheap Vodka Taste Like Top Shelf?

Filtering your vodka at home is the hack you didn't know you needed. Everyone wants to feel like they're getting a bang for their buck, and now you can with cheap vodka and the help of an at-home water filter. Yes — like the one you fill up and pop in the fridge.

Doing this easy hack can help you save money and avoid the brash, rubbing alcohol-esque flavor and scent that sometimes come with more inexpensive buys. Let's be honest — the lower-quality stuff can be really rough. While both are clear as water in appearance, the difference between cheap and expensive vodka is stark.

Water filters often contain an activated charcoal-based system to remove impurities. If you run vodka through around four to five times, the filtration system can work similarly. Taking this extra step helps get rid of congeners, which are by-products of alcohol's fermentation process that contribute to a spirit's taste, texture, and smell. Removing as many of them as possible can even reduce a liquor's chance of giving you a nasty hangover.

Using your at-home filtered vodka could be great for experimenting and bringing out your inner mixologist. Now that you have a smooth-tasting vodka that goes down easier than the cheap stuff — due to its more neutral profile — infusing it with other flavors could take your mixed drinks to a whole other level. For example, infusing vodka with horseradish could add quite the spicy bite to your cocktails.

Think of adding your upgraded spirit to a Bloody Mary. You could also put it in Chef José Andrés' punchier play on the pickleback, which uses pickled pepper juice instead of regular. Vodka is more neutral than the drink's usual whiskey, so it makes for a more harmonious addition to Andrés' twist.

Personal drinks and shots aren't the only way your finessed liquor can be enjoyed. A party planning hack would be using it for batch cocktails before events and gatherings. That way, instead of paying top dollar for the good stuff for a large group of people, you can still offer top-shelf quality without the price tag.

Cooking with vodka is definitely a thing, so why not use upgraded liquor if a recipe calls for the spirit? While the harsh taste of vodka is usually cooked out of dishes, using your at-home filtered batch can give you a more neutral product to begin with, so your main ingredients can truly shine. It's common to use cheaper alcohols and spirits when cooking, and this hack allows you to continue without sacrificing quality.

Many may not know that adding some vodka to your batter can produce extra crispy fried foods like chicken, shrimp, and fish. While it may sound strange, it's worth giving a try if you love fried foods with a satisfying yet non-dense crunch. The method works because of the alcohol's ability to form a drier and lighter batter on foods before they fry, as opposed to other, more commonly used liquids, like buttermilk. The lightness of a batter with vodka in it could also apply well in recipes for onion rings, veggie tempura, or battered cauliflower wings. You could also use the filtered spirit for making Ina Garten's vodka sauce, which can be put on pasta, pizza, or even chicken parm.