# 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:** 12\ **Page:** 2
**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, 11:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-vodka-usually-the-alcoholics-choice/700427/21 "2014-10-06T11:51:45Z")
Missed the edit window: it’s also possible that the country that **Horatio Hellpop** saw the movie in had it released under a different title. ---
**Author:** ![tonyfop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/85f322/32.png) [@tonyfop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tonyfop)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2014, 11:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-vodka-usually-the-alcoholics-choice/700427/22 "2014-10-06T11:56:26Z")
As a diagnosed alcoholic, I can say that when I used to get drunk every night and go to work tipsy in the morning(in my early Navy days), Vodka was definitely my drink of choice. I would not, however, drink the cheapest brand, because it tasted like rubbing alcohol and smelled bad too. I would drink screwdrivers and hairy navels(fuzzy navel+vodka) made with mid-tier vodka because from my point of view my breath smelled fruity. Did I make it to work on time? Yes. Could they tell I ws still tipsy? Probably, but it didn’t interfere with my work, and since I lived a half mile from where I worked, I didn’t drive. In fact, I didn’t even have a license until I had been in the Navy for 5 years, because I am a New Yorker and never needed one. So, since I got my work done and never got a DUI, no one said anything. ---
**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, 12:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-vodka-usually-the-alcoholics-choice/700427/23 "2014-10-06T12:01:55Z")
> [@BlankSlate](#): > > I believe the Paul Newman film you are referring to is _The Young Philadelphians._ > [@kaylasdad99](#): > > I believe that too. And I also believe that the hooch used for the ruse was gin, not vodka. > [@kaylasdad99](#): > > Missed the edit window: it’s also possible that the country that **Horatio Hellpop** saw the movie in had it released under a different title. No, I saw it over 40 years ago on TV and have certainly garbled some details. ---
**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 6, 2014, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-vodka-usually-the-alcoholics-choice/700427/24 "2014-10-06T12:28:43Z")
I thought is was vodka, and Mel Cooley was the witness. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2014, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-vodka-usually-the-alcoholics-choice/700427/25 "2014-10-06T13:57:24Z")
Personally, I prefer Bushnell’s Black Label (“Black Bush”) Irish Whiskey, Four Roses Single Barrel Bourbon, or The Macallen 12 Year Highland Single Malt Sherry Oak Casked Scotch for my daily maintenance drinking needs. Not only, as others, do I want to be seen as stupid rather than merely drunk, I also want people to know that only being able to 8-ring a B-29 target at 25 yards with a Sig Sauer is merely a consequence of the liquor and not my native marksmanship. Yes, I am basically a live embodiment of Sterling Archer, save I have no fear of robots and cybernetic organisms. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2014, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-vodka-usually-the-alcoholics-choice/700427/26 "2014-10-06T16:50:59Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > I thought is was vodka, and Mel Cooley was the witness. It was beer, and it was Mel Famey, not Mel Cooley. And he wasn’t a witness, he was a baseball pitcher in the minor leagues. Mel was nervous before every game, so once he tried chugging a sixpack before a game. Unfortunately, it messed up his control and he threw almost nothing but balls until the manager pulled him. After the game, two of the opposing batters were leaving the field, when one looked over and spotted the empty cans that Mel threw away. “What kind of beer was he drinking?” asked one player of the other. “That should be obvious”, returned the other. “It’s Schlitz - the beer that made Mel Famey walk us!” Regards, Shodan ---
**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 6, 2014, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-vodka-usually-the-alcoholics-choice/700427/27 "2014-10-06T17:08:24Z")
\ Well done sir! ---
**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, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-vodka-usually-the-alcoholics-choice/700427/28 "2014-10-06T20:04:58Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > Personally, I prefer Bushnell’s Black Label (“Black Bush”) Irish Whiskey, Four Roses Single Barrel Bourbon, or The Macallen 12 Year Highland Single Malt Sherry Oak Casked Scotch for my daily maintenance drinking needs. Not only, as others, do I want to be seen as stupid rather than merely drunk, I also want people to know that only being able to 8-ring a B-29 target at 25 yards with a Sig Sauer is merely a consequence of the liquor and not my native marksmanship. > > Yes, I am basically a live embodiment of Sterling Archer, save I have no fear of robots and cybernetic organisms. > > Stranger I believe the whiskey you are referring to is _Bushmills_. ---
**Author:** ![md2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@md2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md2000)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2014, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-vodka-usually-the-alcoholics-choice/700427/29 "2014-10-06T20:56:27Z")
When I lived in northern Canada for a while, the local drink of choice for the inhabitants was Westminster Sherry (“Wuzzy”) for the best combination of alcohol content and price. * * * I also recall one anecdote where one of the less stellar performers in our organization was talking to one of the secretaries and said “what’s that perfume you’re wearing?” Her assistant quickly drags her away and says to this naive 40-year-old lady “For God’s sake, don’t you know the smell of alcohol on someone’s breath?!” I was invited to partake of actual moonshine once (rural home-distilled stuff) and a tiny sip was enough to burn the lips (that was enough, I don’t drink). However, yes, it had no smell - except when the others had drank several shots, the smell of alcohol on their breath was so strong I swear I could see a column of smoke coming out of their mouths when they talked. ---
**Author:** ![Kimballkid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b5a626/32.png) [@Kimballkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimballkid)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2014, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-vodka-usually-the-alcoholics-choice/700427/30 "2014-10-06T21:08:00Z")
For my dad it was Canadian blended whiskey. Specifically Grande Canadian. Which was kind of odd as when we were at a bar or restaurant he would usually order a seven and seven. ---
**Author:** ![Monstera\_deliciosa](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monstera_deliciosa/32/109_2.png) [@Monstera\_deliciosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monstera_deliciosa)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2014, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-vodka-usually-the-alcoholics-choice/700427/31 "2014-10-06T21:52:23Z")
My mother switched to vodka from scotch (her favorite) for her day-to-day drinking because it produced a less severe hangover. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2014, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-vodka-usually-the-alcoholics-choice/700427/32 "2014-10-07T18:36:48Z")
> [@BlankSlate](#): > > I believe the whiskey you are referring to is _Bushmills_. See! Now I can point out that while downing my sixth three fingers of Black Bush while looking through my night vision goggles made by _Bushnells_, my intoxication caused the two to be conflated. Or I could blame my iPad which, for some reason, doesn’t recognize “Bushmills”. Now I have to go find Babu the Ocelot. 'Cause ocelots are AWESOME! Stranger [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-vodka-usually-the-alcoholics-choice/700427.md?page=1)