Ok, in the best interest of everyone's liver

[The Polack MSgt]

Here is how you should drink vodka.

Vodka is just grain alcohol and water. Stop over paying for "premium vodka" if you're making mixed drinks, ANY standard quality vodka is fine. If you recognize the brand, pick the one on sale.

Now, if you want to drink delicious straight vodka and live to tell the tale? Keep reading...

The very first thing to know is that there is a very specific sequence of events that you should be looking for when you take a sip.

First, the initial taste should be refreshing - like spring water. Not all standard vodkas pass this test, Stoli, Tito's and Ketel all work, as does Grey Goose and Cirroc. Taste and decide...

Next, there should be a quick burn of alcohol in the back of your throat and sinuses. All good vodkas are ok at this

Finally that burn should disappear when you exhale just seconds later. This is entirely in your control...

Now this is the life saving tip for all my DU friends - You are probably drinking too much vodka per drink. Look at step three, if you are still tasting the burn after the swallow and exhale?

You DRANK TOO MUCH VODKA - take a smaller amount. if you sip cold vodka at a rate where this sequence works - no burn after 2 or 3 seconds - you can avoid a lot of drunkenness and remorse.

[NightWatcher]

1. I drank 23 shots of vanilla vodka over a couple hours, years ago.

Didn't puke or black out but still felt like death.

[The Polack MSgt]

2. It's treacherous - very easy to drink to much

[nolabear]

3. I am a sucker for a straight ice cold vodka martini

Screw the vermouth and give me good olives.

[The Polack MSgt]

6. What's your opinion

on the feta, garlic or jalapeno stuffed olives?

I'm pretty old fashioned and use the pimento stuffed or empty olives when I use any of them.

And I always order a dry martini because the pour is much better for a small surcharge. You almost get a double for a buck or two markup.

I may have issues...

[nolabear]

9. Straight queens, the bigger and juicier the better.

"That's what she said." 😂

[Wounded Bear]

4. The goal is to avoid drunkenness and remorse?

Sheese, I wish someone would have told me that back in the 70's.

[The Polack MSgt]

5. Me too friend, me too

[CanSocDem]

7. In my experience...

...the only reason to drink vodka was because it didn't smell on your breath.



.

[The Polack MSgt]

8. I was never a vodka drinker until a few years ago

Then I worked a project in a central Asian former Soviet republic.

I worked with an ethnic Russian engineer and he explained the whole dynamic of social vodka drinking differently than I had ever thought it worked.

In the States vodka is kind of a hardcore alky's drink (no smell) or is the fuel in overly sweet cocktails.

But good vodka (Tito's is my favorite) served cold and taken in half shot or less doses works just fine as a social drink.

But I keep having to explain that just because it's vodka, that doesn't mean you have to down the whole shot. If you drink so much that the burn lasts longer than a couple off seconds, drink less vodka per sip.

Also, if you have enough of any liquor in your system that you're feeling it, your breath will smell of alcohol. Vodka smells the least, but it is still detectable.

Peace

[FrankfurtCat]

13. Nothing beats a well-made Greyhound or Salty Dog...

...besides the occasional savory Bloody Mary, imo.

But I don't do that any more

[OriginalGeek]

10. The best vodka I ever had

was Russian (no thanks to Putin) and was infused with honey and hot peppers.* A friend went to Russia to visit a girl he liked (yes he married her, no they aren't still married. All within the space of a couple months). It had the barest hint of sweet honey at first tand then warm glow of pepper heat and yeah, was very easy to drink.

*no idea what kind of pepper - everything was Russian on the bottle. But it had a picture of a red pepper shaped like a jalapeno.

[The Polack MSgt]

15. I brought a similar bottle home from my trip

It had an old fashioned drawing of a beehive and a red pepper on the label. Possibly the best flavored vodka I've had

[Aristus]

11. Why in the world would I want to avoid drunkenness?

Hangovers I can do without, but I know enough to avoid them most of the time. But go without a nice, out-of-my-head buzz once in a while? Never!

[Hassin Bin Sober]

12. Buy the cheap stuff and run it through a Brita filter.

A buddy of mine did an experiment several years ago where in he tested cheap rot gut vodka with more expensive brands.

People preferred the more expensive stuff. After filtering the crap twice, people couldn't tell the difference

Not that I could be bothered...

[UTUSN]

14. Very thoughtful post.

[baldguy]

16. My Ukrainian friend swears by pickle juice as a chaser for vodka.

Or as a mixer.

[FrankfurtCat]

17. OMG-the cure for drinking vodka!!

[The Polack MSgt]

18. That is a thing out here in corn country as well.

Too salty for me