As a kid, one of the first things you learn about the freezer is that it's not a good
idea to keep every beverage inside of it.
At best, you'll have to wait a long time for your block of icy beverage to thaw before
drinking it.
At worst, cans will burst open and leave a big, fat, sticky mess.
But when you got older and started buying booze, someone may have let you in on a little
secret: You can stash your alcohol in the freezer and it won't ever freeze solid.
That means you can pour yourself an ice-cold shot whenever you want.
Enter Francois Thibault, the creator of Grey Goose vodka.
In a December 2018 interview with Business Insider, he claimed that over-chilling your
vodka has the potential to mask its delicate flavor.
But is that actually true?
In order to answer that question, let's take a look at the science that keeps vodka from
freezing.
We know that beer freezes and wine freezes, and boozy popsicles are most certainly a thing.
So why doesn't your bottle of vodka turn into a giant 80-proof ice cube when you put it
in the freezer?
As Reader's Digest explains,
"At around 40 percent alcohol, [vodka's] freezing point hovers at around -16 degrees F."
Meanwhile, the inside of an average freezer tends to be about zero degrees Fahrenheit.
If you really want a vodka-sicle, you'll need to get your hands on some sort of super-industrial
freezer, or perhaps some liquid nitrogen.
Of course, not all liquors freeze at the same rate or at the same temperature - it really
depends on the alcohol content of the drink in question.
According to The Spruce Eats, beer and wine usually contain less than 15 percent alcohol,
so they'll both freeze solid when left in the freezer.
Meanwhile, low-proof liqueurs like Irish cream are about 20 percent alcohol…
That means they might get slushy in the freezer, but they won't completely solidify.
Any type of booze that's above 32 percent alcohol - or 64 proof - should be okay to
store at sub-freezing temperatures for an indefinite period of time.
So why don't we freeze other booze?
Once again, it's all about science - at least, according to the wine and liquor experts at
VinePair.
Alcoholic beverages contain something called volatiles, which are released as the liquors
warm up.
Vodka is a less complex spirit than most, and it contains the fewest volatiles.
Meanwhile, a liquor like whiskey obtains much of its distinct character from volatiles.
Kevin Liu, Chief Cocktail Maker at The Tin Pan, tells VinePair:
"There are comparatively fewer volatiles in vodka, while the whole point of aging whiskey
is to create desirable volatiles.”
While he admits that freezing whiskey won't actually destroy any of the volatiles in whiskey,
he points out that
"[They're] just harder to detect when you have cold whiskey."
VinePair has a rule of thumb when it comes to determining what liquors should definitely
never be frozen: Basically, anything that's barrel-aged shouldn't be put in the freezer,
and that's that.
And now back to the rabble-rousing Francois Thibault.
After speaking to him, Business Insider reported that
"[With vodka, you're] hiding the more sophisticated aromas and flavours when storing it at a really
low temperature."
Of course, that only applies if you're drinking the stuff straight up or enjoying a vodka-forward
cocktail, like a deathly dry martini.
"Are you serving that ape a martini?"
"She's allowed one.
It will calm her down."
According to Thibault, the optimum temperature for Grey Goose is 0 to 4 degrees Celsius - which
translates to 32 to 39 degrees Fahrenheit.
Coincidentally, that happens to be the exact temperature of vodka served on the rocks - but
even Thibault doesn't recommend drinking the stuff at room temperature.
Bogue Sound Distillery agrees with their rival vodka maker, but they also suggest that this
temperature can be achieved by storing vodka in the refrigerator or by mixing it in a cocktail
shaker with ice.
Thibault acknowledges that if you tend to drink cheap, low-quality vodka, then you'll
probably want it served at a sub-zero temperature in order to hide any "aggressive, burning
notes."
Or, you know, you could always just have a vodka soda or something.
And here's one more hack to ensure that even the cheapest vodka doesn't ruin your cocktail.
Simply use a water filtration pitcher to replicate the filtration process that all the pricey
brands boast about.
To be on the safe side, you should run the vodka through the pitcher a few times - four
is recommended - but the bottom line is this: The filtering will go a long way towards de-harshing
that budget booze.
Cheers!
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