10 June 2010

Vodka Brand Differences May Reflect Water-Alcohol Arrangement

 
According to a study in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, different vodkas can have different molecular “structures,” which could drive drinkers to favor one brand over another. [Naiping Hu et al., http://bit.ly/bktqSV]

Vodka’s an alcoholic beverage that’s supposed to be relatively flavorless. So researchers got to wondering: how come people who enjoy the stuff often express brand preference?

Being good little scientists, they trotted out their spectroscopic equipment and examined the chemical signatures of five different vodkas. What they found is that each brand differs in how its ethanol molecules cluster. In the ethanol-water mix we call vodka, some of the ethanol molecules get surrounded by a sort of “cage” made of water. And different brands differ in how much ethanol is caged. Vodkas with fewer cages might seem more “watery” than those with more structure.

 
-o-o-o-
 
Sorry to be Buzz Killington at the party, but let me tell you about the melecular structure of that vodka you're drinking....

Posted via email from technosocialite

No comments: