Freedom to choose

You have a right to vote at 18 and decide the government that would run the state & the country.

You have a right to join the Army, Navy, Air-force or IPS at 18 and pledge your life to the country.

You have the right to get married at the age of 18/21 (girl/boy) & start a family.

But you do not have the freedom to drink alcohol till you are 25.

The government of Maharashtra recently proposed a policy to raise the drinking age from 21 to 25 citing some ridiculous reasons like maturity. It means that you are mature enough at 18 to decide a government or decide to lay your life for the country but not mature enough to drink responsibly.

At the outset let me be very clear that I do not support alcoholism, it is a personal choice, but I believe that choice to should be of the individual and not of the government. 

The thought behind the government’s de-addiction campaign is Nobel but the path taken to reach the goal is totally incorrect. Instead the government should think of ways to promote responsible drinking. Couple of years back the state government decided to crack down on errant drivers who drink & drive, simultaneously it also ran many publicity campaigns on the same subject. The drive has been very successful and the streets have become much safer since. 

But by imposing such age related barriers the government is not going to succeed rather it will lead to more corrupt practices. Have a look at Gujarat, our only dry state, ya right, the state has been under prohibition since long, but it also has witnessed alarmingly high number of deaths due to consumption of adulterated alcohol. 

The point of the matter is, prohibition in Gujarat has given rise to black marketing of hooch & moonshine (illegal manufacturing of alcohol) & that is having an adverse effect on the health of its population. Some say that if one knows the right place to go & ask, they can get such a wide choice of brands that would shame even some well stocked bars in metros.  So we see imposing restrictions doesn’t always work the way it is supposed to.

 

Recently Bollywood actor Imran Khan filed a PIL against this decision, there has been a lot of support generated for this initiative, not because everybody wants a free license to drink but because such restrictions are not in the right interest of democracy.

I therefore strongly feel that imposing absurd restrictions is not the solution, rather an individual should be given the freedom to make a responsible choice. 

Vodka... Connecting People

“Vodka” The drink with which many may have taken that first plunge in to the world of alcohol or as some may say started their…. ahem …. “drinking careers”

I don’t exactly remember my reason behind choosing vodka as my first alcoholic drink over others but the fact that it smells less or is completely odorless (as advised by the veterans of those times!) might have tilted the decision in favor of this colourless, and somewhat odorless spirit (read on to bust this myth). For me it was a real social lubricant in those early days. 

Today vodka has evolved in to a completely new drink, One look at the vodka brands will give you an idea of the kind of variety they offer in terms of flavours and number of distillations. The choice has become so varied that it is no longer easy to order a simple vodka drink at the bar or buy a bottle across the counter.. its  almost at the brink of confusion, Its like going to Starbucks and trying to order a simple cup of coffee.

So what to look out for when buying a bottle of vodka?

The Brand …. of course, Many international & Indian Brands are present in the market today, I have listed a few major International ones

Absolut, Grey Goose, Ciroc, Belvedere

Few Indianized Brands (well not exactly Indian but..Indian enough)

Smirnoff, White Mischief, Magic moments (They have some great flavoured offerings… a must try), Shark tooth, Fuel etc.

Number of times it has been distilled: Normally vodka would be distilled twice or thrice, few premium brands even have more than five times distilled vodkas, distillation 

removes esters and impurities therefore in short the more times it is distilled the better it becomes.

Flavors:  Vodka blends itself superbly with a variety of juices and soft drinks, most vodka brands today Indian or International have a range of flavored vodkas in their lineup (These help you decide on the kind of mixers (juices & soft drinks) to pick up to make that cool blend).  From orange, apple, vanilla to Nordic berries & chocolate the choice is really wide. The kind of flavors offered may also make you switch between your favorite brands. 

Now That you have decided your Vodka bottle let us bust some vodka myths:

Vodka is made from Potatoes

Well not entirely true, Most common Vodkas today are made primarily from grains, rye & maize  being the most common. Potato vodkas are going out of fashion though if you like to taste real potato vodka, ask for “Chopin “ 

      Will vodka freeze if I keep it in my refrigerator’s freezer?

     

 No it wont!! Anything that has more than 35% alcohol by volume (and vodka has  

      it) would take a much lower temperature to freeze about -110 dc. (Domestic   

      freezers  can’t even think of going that cold) So bring out that priced bottle out of 

      the cupboard from behind your clothes and store it in the freezer J

Can my Vodka go bad/expire?

Unlike beer & wine, vodka is distilled and as long as you have stored it under normal conditions it will not go bad.

Does vodka smell?

Oh hell yes it does!! I know there is a myth that has been floating around for years and years that you cant smell vodka, but after all its alcohol and it will smell… only that it has less distinctive smell than your whisky

Can I use vodka to sterilize some small cut or a bruise?

Sterilize: no

Disinfect: maybe

Again why waste vodka on cuts and bruises, use Dettol for those and later gulp a shot of vodka you may feel better.

Cheers!!