The guys over at Oh My God It Burns! have done the world a great service today with the publication of their scientific paper, Practical Applications of the Philosopher's Stone. For Drunks.

The theory is that cheap vodka sucks because impurities result in excessive burning, a 'repugnant aftertaste' and a 'bouquet reminiscent of rubbing alcohol'. Not to mention the hangover from hell. Thus, if you remove the impurities you improve the taste and bouquet and minimise any hangover.

The only question then is how best to remove the impurities? Well, turns out that a Britta activated charcoal water filter does the job beautifully. Get the cheapest crappy vodka you can find, run it through a Britta filter four or five times and bingo, a major improvement in bouquet, burn and aftertaste.

Personally, I think these results cast a shadow over even my great chocolate vodka experiment, which now looks a little paltry by comparison. So congratulations to the scienticians over that OMGIB - keep up the good work, guys.

(Thanks Jeremy.)