Vodka

[bdsmith63]

I am interested in knowing if all or what brands of Vodka are gluten-free? I was dining in Key West, FL a couple of weeks ago and a waitress who also has Celiac said only Vodka made from potato starch or something to that effect was safe. I had never heard of such a thing.

[hez]

Theoritcally all alcohol that is distilled should be gluten-free. The process of distilation does not allow for gluten particles to pass through. However, there are times when something might get added after distilation. There are also fellow celiacs who get gluten reactions from alcohol made from grains. So if you were needing to be careful you would need to make sure your vodka was made from potato or corn and not a gluten grain. If my memory is correct (no promises) Smirnoff is made from corn.

Hez

[CarlaB]

This is debated amongst celiacs.

Distilled alcohol is theoretically safe, if distillation is a perfect process. Some people react to distilled grain alcohols, others do not.

Potato vodka (Chopin and a few other brands) is always okay. Smirnoff is made from corn.

[Sugarmag]

I'm not much of a drinker....but I do really like Ciroc Vodka on occasion. It's made from frost grapes, and distilled five times, so no worries!

[grantschoep]

I'm "random sensitive" to gluten. Meaning, one day I broke down and ate a double quarter pounder with cheese(bun included), follwed by McNuggets. Then about 2 hours later I ate like a 12 peice bucket of KFC chicken. Never got sick. But a few other times, months apart, I have eaten a salad, and found part of a crouton in it, and got really sick.

All I really drink is vodka, gluten-free beer sometimes. I generally buy whatever vodka is on sale, cheap kind too, up to kinda cheap(I don't buy those really expensive ones...Belvidear and so on) I've never felt glutened off of any. Sure, a few mornings I have felt sick, but I don't think that was caused by gluten... :> more likely the "last shot of the evening(morning)" that I got talked into.

I do however always try to call/write a company. For some odd reason, I have found liquor companies are horrible about giving you an answer. Sauza(tequilla) is the only company I have ever seen that actually has the gluten-free info on their website. (by the way, I don't drink Sauza as much, as tequila turns me into a insane, lunatic...)

-grant

[bdsmith63]

Thanks for the reply! It has sort of become a "summer thing" since some friends of ours came to visit a couple of months ago and fixed us vodka & grapefruit juice. My partner & I are mainly enjoy white wine, particularly, Chardonnay. However, to start off our cocktail our this spring/summer we have enjoyed these refreshing drinks! I've started putting some mango/orange juice as well in them.

I don't feel I'm overly sensitive, but my main worry is am I doing any damage to my small bowel that will have effects down the road.

I will check into these brands of vodka that many of you all have shared and give them a try. I also generally buy the cheaper brand as I'm not consuming large amounts of it --- however, now WINE is a DEFINITE!

[Lister]

besides for them possibly adding something after distalation (possibly flavord vodkas?) it as said is theorticly safe. Personaly most liqure stores do the shelves in teers the lowest shelf beeing the worst filterd/cheapest and the top beeing the best/most expensive. If i was to say have a bottle of HDR or Monarch(hood river oregon vodka's aka are bottom shelf) I get fairly sick but if i was to go with something like absolute(middle shelf) or grey goose I am fine and can have a great time. one trick also (this is what i always do with wisky) if you have a brita filter strain the alchohal thru it before drinking it can take a bottom shelf vodka and turn it into a middle shelf (aka no hang over the next day/ not so harsh) this works with all hard alchohals brita filters are awsome/ they now have those flavor injector britas and they are gluten-free so its a cheap way to get a berry vodka just buy cheap regular 15 doller half gallon strain it thru the brita with one of the flavors and you now have a nice absolute

have safe drinking. cars are bad