TikTokers Claim Brita-Filtered Vodka Is So Much Better & Here's What Taste-Testers Say
There's even a Mythbusters answer to this!
A TikTok user tries vodka after filtering it through a Brita.
TikTok’s “newest” hack promises to turn your cheap vodka into top-shelf stuff with the help of a Brita water filter.
Many TikTok users swear by the hack, and the trend has absolutely blown up over the last month. Basically, all you have to do is pour your trashiest bottle of vodka through a water filter and it will come out tasting better (or at least, you won't be able to taste the nastiness as much). And if you really want to get the effect, you just need to do it a few more times.
But the big question is, does it work? And if it does, how well?
This whole idea has actually been around for over a decade, and there've actually been a few taste-tests to see if it works. And who can blame them? If there's a way to turn a cheap bottle of booze into something better, why not try it?
Here’s what tasters have discovered about the Brita vodka hack over the years — and what it can do for your booze collection if you’re that into drinking straight-up vodka.
What TikTok says about Brita-filtered vodka
@han.walls enjoy me discovering this #britawaterfilter #titos #vodka #ohno
This trend absolutely blew up in September with a handful of reaction videos on TikTok.
"A little birdie told me if you combine these two, it's a dangerous game," TikToker @han.walls says in her taste-test video for the trend, which has over 9 million views.
The video shows her looking shocked at the smell and taste of the filtered vodka, even though the original stuff typically makes her gag.
In other words, it definitely had an effect.
Journalists taste Brita-filtered vodka
The folks at Thrillist ran a pretty comprehensive test on this idea, using several vodkas ranging from "rotgut" cheap to top-shelf expensive.
In the end, they found that the more you filter the vodka, the more it loses its colour and flavour. However, that doesn't mean it will "transform a $12 bottle of vodka into a $60 bottle of Grey Goose."
Buzzfeed also took a shot at this in 2016 and came to a similar conclusion.
Mythbusters on whether Brita-filtered vodka works
Who better to test this trend than Discovery Channel's Mythbusters crew?
It turns out the show took a crack at this way back in 2006, and while the video isn't great quality, it does offer a solid verdict.
“The myth is that you can turn low-end vodka into top-shelf vodka with six filtrations of a domestic charcoal water filter," one of the hosts says in the video.
A pro vodka tester then does a blind taste test of several filtered and top-shelf brands, and it turns out that he could still pick out the real thing.
"Passing a low-end vodka through a filter will make it better, but it won't make it a top-shelf vodka," he said.
So if you're hoping to make your booze a bit better, now you know how to do it!
Narcity does not condone the overconsumption of alcohol. If you're going to drink alcohol, please do so responsibly and only if you're of legal age.