# Is vodka usually the alcoholic's choice? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 5, 2014, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-vodka-usually-the-alcoholics-choice/700427 "2014-10-05T01:04:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mr.Kobayashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4af34b/32.png) [@Mr.Kobayashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Kobayashi)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2014, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-vodka-usually-the-alcoholics-choice/700427/1 "2014-10-05T01:04:22Z")
I remember reading on this very board that the cheapest vodka hits the sweet spot for alcohol content and affordability, and as a bonus doesn’t leave a lingering scent on the breath (your mileage may vary). Has there been any study or survey on the usual choice of beverage that contains ethanol for those dependant on the substance? ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2014, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-vodka-usually-the-alcoholics-choice/700427/2 "2014-10-05T01:41:15Z")
There are plenty of cheap bourbons - Kentucky Deluxe I’m looking at you. I vote no smell would be the reason. ---
**Author:** ![dolphinboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dolphinboy/32/330_2.png) [@dolphinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dolphinboy)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2014, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-vodka-usually-the-alcoholics-choice/700427/3 "2014-10-05T02:05:44Z")
I know a few alcoholics that drink nothing but beer or wine. Since when did alcoholics care what others thought of their breath? ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2014, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-vodka-usually-the-alcoholics-choice/700427/4 "2014-10-05T02:21:04Z")
> [@dolphinboy](#): > > I know a few alcoholics that drink nothing but beer or wine. Since when did alcoholics care what others thought of their breath? Maybe a functioning alcoholic who was hiding their drinking, off the top of my head. ---
**Author:** ![EmAnJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d2c977/32.png) [@EmAnJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EmAnJ)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2014, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-vodka-usually-the-alcoholics-choice/700427/5 "2014-10-05T02:28:14Z")
I drank vodka because I thought the smell wasn’t as obvious. It was. (I tried to hide my alcoholism from my husband) I also drank wine. ---
**Author:** ![coremelt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4491bb/32.png) [@coremelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/coremelt)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2014, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-vodka-usually-the-alcoholics-choice/700427/6 "2014-10-05T03:27:18Z")
In Australia homeless Alcos usually drink extremely cheap varieties of port, or wine sold in four litres casks ( goon ). That may be because spirits are taxed at higher rates down here. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2014, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-vodka-usually-the-alcoholics-choice/700427/7 "2014-10-05T04:57:51Z")
Well at my law office I prohibit the drinking of vodka while on duty and require the drunks to drink whiskey so that the clients know they are drunk, not stupid. The alcoholics don’t get to drink, they have to go to meetings. ---
**Author:** ![jabiru](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bbce88/32.png) [@jabiru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jabiru)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2014, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-vodka-usually-the-alcoholics-choice/700427/8 "2014-10-05T12:44:18Z")
My father was an alcoholic. His poison of choice was beer but he’d drink anything if he couldn’t get beer or if someone else was providing wine or spirits. Or aftershave. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2014, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-vodka-usually-the-alcoholics-choice/700427/9 "2014-10-05T13:03:25Z")
Vodka can be added to any other beverage without changing it’s color, and as mentioned doesn’t have the distinctive odor of many other flavored alcoholic drinks. Those are things alcoholics look for if they’re going to be drinking at work, while driving, while shopping, and everything else they do. Despite that, most of the alcoholics I’ve known preferred rum or beer. Another factor is that vodka is often available in 100 proof. Other forms of hi-test liquor will cost more. ---
**Author:** ![MrLee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f8ce5/32.png) [@MrLee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrLee)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2014, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-vodka-usually-the-alcoholics-choice/700427/10 "2014-10-05T17:14:28Z")
I think the problem with beer and cider, and to a lesser extent wine, is that you have to consume _that much more fluid_ to get the beloved alcohol - this must necessitate far more bathroom breaks, as well as simply _more drinking_. Not an issue on a Friday night, but a pain if you’re trying to play it cool at work. ---
**Author:** ![chiroptera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@chiroptera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chiroptera)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2014, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-vodka-usually-the-alcoholics-choice/700427/11 "2014-10-05T17:25:01Z")
I have a chronic alcoholic neighbor who drinks only cheap vodka (usually straight) because she says it’s the most inexpensive way to get and stay drunk. AFAIK, that’s the only reason vodka is her poison of choice. She’s on a very limited income and pretty much only drinks at home - she doesn’t drive (thankfully) and doesn’t work. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2014, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-vodka-usually-the-alcoholics-choice/700427/12 "2014-10-05T17:30:57Z")
I used to patronize a rental place that had the usual assortment of stuff under a glass countertop. One was a little card that read, IF YOU MUST DRINK ON YOUR LUNCH HOUR, DRINK WHISKEY, NOT VODKA. WE WANT THE CUSTOMERS TO KNOW YOU’RE DRUNK NOT THINK YOU’RE STUPID. ---
**Author:** ![FluffyBob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecb155/32.png) [@FluffyBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FluffyBob)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2014, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-vodka-usually-the-alcoholics-choice/700427/13 "2014-10-05T18:12:30Z")
Alcoholics convince themselves and sometimes their co-dependants of the most ridiculous crap. NEWS FLASH: everybody can smell the alcohol on your breath, it doesn’t matter how you got it into your body. How anyone could believe vodka is somehow less detectable than any other form of alcohol is beyond me. It smells like … alcohol, cheap vodka more so. People who drink it smell like people who have drunk … alcohol. Alcoholics drink [whatever](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zwXjm64a3QE) does the job for them. Who else is buying all that awful and crappy cheap beer and wine? ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2014, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-vodka-usually-the-alcoholics-choice/700427/14 "2014-10-05T21:03:17Z")
What booze is the alcoholic’s choice? The sauce over which varicose maws rejoice? On what do all the drunken sots fawn? What lights them up? What turns them on? The cheapest stuff is what they choose When it’s only their life that’s left to lose . . . ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2014, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-vodka-usually-the-alcoholics-choice/700427/15 "2014-10-06T02:06:07Z")
It’s cheap and mixes with anything, and to a high-test extent. It got me where I was going quickly and cheaply. ---
**Author:** ![GusNSpot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gusnspot/32/436_2.png) [@GusNSpot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GusNSpot)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2014, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-vodka-usually-the-alcoholics-choice/700427/16 "2014-10-06T05:25:21Z")
Everclear & diet coke. Most bang for the buck in my case. The only thing that can be said about alcoholics choice of drink is that it will probably have alcohol in it. Maybe someone could do a real double blind study with at least 1 million diagnosed alcoholics and answer the question emphatically. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2014, 7:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-vodka-usually-the-alcoholics-choice/700427/17 "2014-10-06T07:04:21Z")
There’s a famous scene in the Paul Newman movie _The Philadelphia Lawyer_ where an “expert” witness testifies that a class of clear liquid is water, because it’s odorless. Then he chugs it, discovering his error. First off, vodka does have a scent. It’s subtle, but get two shot glasses and fill one with vodka and one with water. The absence of a control substance caused this man’s unfortunate error. I think Everclear also has a very slight odor; most liquors have some other agent that makes them rather pungent. Second, while the vodka in the class might not smell like much, once you drink, metabolize and sweat the stuff, it has a VERY distinctive odor, as the author of post #5 can likely attest. Many heavy drinkers prefer vodka. To quote the narrator of “Have Some Madeira, M’Dear,” "it’s simply a case of ‘_chacon a son gout_.’ " More than one movie critic pointed out the flawed scene in _Leaving Las Vegas_ wherein Nicolas Cage’s character, humming some song, throws a little of everything into his basket at the local liquor store. Dedicated alkies stick to a particular drink, and probably manufacturer and brand. (Although I’ve known hardcore lushes that did not follow this pattern, so YMMV.) ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2014, 7:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-vodka-usually-the-alcoholics-choice/700427/18 "2014-10-06T07:13:54Z")
There’s a famous scene in the Paul Newman movie _The Philadelphia Lawyer_ where an “expert” witness testifies that a class of clear liquid is water, because it’s odorless. Then he chugs it, discovering his error. First off, vodka does have a scent. It’s subtle, but get two shot glasses and fill one with vodka and one with water. The absence of a control substance caused this man’s unfortunate error. I think Everclear also has a very slight odor; most liquors have some other agent that makes them rather pungent. Second, while the vodka in the class might not smell like much, once you drink, metabolize and sweat the stuff, it has a VERY distinctive odor, as the author of post #5 can likely attest. Many heavy drinkers prefer vodka. To quote the narrator of “Have Some Madeira, M’Dear,” "it’s simply a case of ‘_chacon a son gout_.’ " More than one movie critic pointed out the flawed scene in _Leaving Las Vegas_ wherein Nicolas Cage’s character, humming some song, throws a little of everything into his basket at the local liquor store. Dedicated alkies stick to a particular drink, and probably manufacturer and brand. (Although I’ve known hardcore lushes that did not follow this pattern, so YMMV.) ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2014, 7:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-vodka-usually-the-alcoholics-choice/700427/19 "2014-10-06T07:40:26Z")
I believe the Paul Newman film you are referring to is _The Young Philadelphians._ ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2014, 11:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-vodka-usually-the-alcoholics-choice/700427/20 "2014-10-06T11:42:45Z")
I believe that too. And I also believe that the hooch used for the ruse was gin, not vodka. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-vodka-usually-the-alcoholics-choice/700427.md?page=2)