Thanks, Rob. You seem to know the chemistry of this. I'm not a vodka
fan, either, but I was considering it for whiskey (nothing expensive).

I've discovered many professional chemistry paper filters on the net. Do
you know if they would do the trick? Some of them claim to be able to
clarify wine/beer (Watson Grade 1), but I've yet to find anything
mentioning congeners in spirits.

Please tell me if you believe I filtered congeners or it was something else:
One hot day I poured whiskey through fresh crushed ice in a metal
strainer, assuming it would simply make it cooler. I repeated this, and
I noticed the liquid was cloudy, but it tasted smoother (don’t know if
it was just because of the temp change). I then smelled and sampled the
ice and I noticed it had a strange odor and taste! Is it possible for
ice to filter congeners naturally?



Rob A wrote:
> Ok, I looked around there website (http://graykangaroo.com) and I do not
> like what I see. First off they clam that they have a patent pending, well
> I looked for it on USPTO.gov and could not find their names, Esposito or
> Radysh, nor anything that is an alcohol filter. The search was for apps not
> patents granted. Next they very vaguely explain how it works. The way I
> figure it works is like a carbon or zeolite filter not a membrane (like a
> coffee filter or a riverce osmosis filter). Reason being that it works
> better the more times you filter the mixture through it. So now we are left
> with a filter that acts like a sponge. One slight problem, when you are
> working with a solution that is about 60% water and 40% alcohol you can
> dissolve both polar/ionic and nonpolar compounds into it to a certian
> degree. Since they claim that their system reduces the presence of
> congeners and that they state that if the liquid is artificially coloured
> the system will remove the compounds I would have to say that the system
> removes non-polar compounds quite well. ASIDE: [have you ever had ouzo, the
> correct way that is, by adding water to it in a 1:1 ratio? you get a cloudy
> mixture, just like when you add pinesol to water. What is happening is that
> all of the, essential, oils (non-polar) are comming out of suspension,
> which shows that 40% is a good non-polar solvent.] This would be in line
> with the type of filter they claim they are using.
>
> All in all, I think it could work, it would work out on paper. My personal
> bet is that it is just a basic carbon filter. If you feel like it, try
> making your own by using a food grade carbon filter and filtering vodka a
> few times through it. I would caution you that brittas may not be alcohol
> friendly and so you may be better off opening one up and taking some of the
> carbon(black)/zeolite(white) out of it and mixing it with the vodka in a
> glass glass. Keep stirring for a minute or two then strain though a coffee
> filter and try. Worse comes to worse you loose the price of a britta filter
> and the vodka.
>
> Just to let you know, the britta idea is just that an idea, I don't drink
> vodka and would have little use for this system. The principals are sound
> (to my knowledge) and it should work, to a point.
>
> Anyone else have an opinion/thought?
>
> If you try it and it works, or not, please let me know.
>
> Rob
>
> A B wrote:
>
>
>>I'm sorry for posting at a wine group, but I figured this group would be
>>more knowledgable about alteration and clarification than others. I came
>>across a site about something called the "Grey Kangeroo," and it claims
>>to be able to make cheaper spirits (including low brands of vodka and
>>whiskey) more palatable while maintaining the same amount of alcohol.
>>Does anyone know if this is possible, and what type of filtration
>>equipment would be needed to "clarify" the impurities in cheap spirits
>>as the product promises?
>
>
>