[Narrator] Vodka, it's the preferred poison of Russians,

dieters and college freshmen.

Officially, the clear stuff is simply ethyl alcohol

without distinctive character, aroma, taste or color.

So, what on Earth is inside this fire water?

Well, water of course.

At its purest, vodka is just ethanol

usually distilled from wheat, rye or corn

but it has to be diluted with water to 40% by volume or less

The alcohol molecule get trapped inside a cage of water.

Some people say all vodkas are the same

but these alcohol cages might taste different

depending on their structure.

Those are the basics.

If you drink the flavored stuff

your vodka could also have 3-hexanone.

It's used as anesthetic

but that's not what's making you numb.

Here, it gives grape or wine-like flavors.

Other flavor enhancers?

There's citric acid used to smooth out objectionable tastes

and sometimes those flavored versions

include a tiny bit of sugar.

Depending on the distillation

other types of alcohol can sneak into vodka.

Propanol is a sign of poorly distilled vodka.

The one you really want to avoid is methanol.

Usually it's only found in the

bath tub versions of the stuff.

Just two millimeters can lead to blindness

and 30 millimeters can kill you.

Of course, if you drink enough ethanol can be poisonous too

so ease up, huh?

Feeling wired yet?

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