Pitcher filter?

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jdw03n

NewBee
Registered Member
Feb 11, 2010
156
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Tallahassee, FL
So we have this pitcher filter - one of the standard refrigerator-water ones. I was thinking about running some mead through it. Anyone tried this? The risk of oxygenation seems to be pretty high, is the only downside I can think of. Not sure what the rating on the filter is.

I've always heard the legend of running cheap liquor through one several times before drinking to improve quality.
 
I've always heard the legend of running cheap liquor through one several times before drinking to improve quality.

Back in college, I decided to test this theory by running a handle of McCormick's vodka (~$15 for 1.5L) through a Brita pitcher 4 or 5 times. It did not appreciably improve the test to me or my friends (still terrible), but we didn't run a true double-blind taste test or anything like that.

Mythbusters tested this on an episode a while back with mixed results. They filtered cheap vodka 6 times, I believe using a new filter each time, then did a double-blind test. The expert got them in the right order, but an amateur didn't even get it close. A gas-chromatograph showed no difference in chemical composition between the filtered and unfiltered vodka.

I know that some home distillers use a "carbon snake" (a tube filled with activated carbon) to filter the distillate before drinking. This is another option.

If you are really determined to try it, please use the smallest amount possible before you gamble with any significant amount of mead. Risk of oxidation, as you pointed out, seems like a valid concern, and it also might strip some of the flavor components that you actually want.
 
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