Will HANGOVERS Become a Thing of the Past?!

Will future cocktail drinkers never experience hangovers? A new spirit is available that is claiming THEIR drinkers will not. Blat Advanced Vodka (blat means “wheat” in Catalan) launched in New York a few months ago. It hails from Barcelona -- everyone’s favorite Euro city -- and the distillers say "there are no impurities and promise drinkers will have NO hangover the next day.” BOLD, BOLD words from a spirit company right there. So what’s the story then?  How can they say that, it sounds crazy, could it be possible? I naturally think everything is a gimmick so I had to investigate. According to Fernando Banús, one of two brothers behind Blat, “it’s the impurities and chemicals in a spirit that create a hangover and Blat Advanced Vodka has removed ALL through their purification process.”

Many vodkas boast they have the “least impurities,” only Blat Advanced Vodka says it has zero impurities and is the only vodka in the world that is legally allowed to claim so and post it on their label. When a spirit is launching, their labels have to be approved by the TTB (Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau, US Department of Treasury) before going onto the bottles. The TTB needs to verify information on the label for accuracy or else spirit companies could put anything on it to help them sell more. For example, to say a spirit is organic, the TTB needs to verify this information with the USDA and see a certification certificate. Therefore, for Blat Advanced Vodka to be allowed to say they have zero impurities on their label means it is in fact true.

Here is what the label says: “We guarantee, as result of proprietary process, that the batch this bottle was filled from has produced vodka with non-detected impurities. The analysis has been carried out by the most accurate USA Independent laboratory certified by the TTB. The results have shown that typical traces of 1-Butanol, Active Amyl Alcohol, Isoamyl Alcohol, Isobutanol, Methanol, N-Propanol,  DB Acetaldehyde, DB Ethyl Acetate, were all non-detected.”  Translation to English: while the impurities listed above are normally found in spirits, a scientific lab in the US tested a batch produced by Blat Advanced Vodka and found none. There are only two scientific labs in the United States that are certified by the US Government to test wines and spirits for impurities and Blat Advanced Vodka sends each batch to one of them for testing and then back to Barcelona for bottling. Some critics will argue that mixers are what produce hangovers; not true. It’s the chemicals in the spirit, I can’t recall the last time I was nauseous from drinking too much orange juice! Dehydration will also add to the effects of a hangover, but that is easily remedied with a responsible drinker.

Here’s how it works: during fermentation, sugar is added to wheat to create alcohol and this process is where impurities grow. After fermentation, the batch is distilled and this process removes the wheat and sugar to leave pure alcohol. Some vodkas are distilled over and over again to reach the purest state of alcohol. This is great; however, it still leaves impurities. Blat Advanced Vodka adds an extra step to the production process they call “purification.” The makers created this top-secret process that only they know, they don’t even tell their employees AND they have the secret locked in a safe with only their lawyers knowing the code. Craziness, maybe they should consider separate planes when flying.

So who are these guys and how could they have produced this secret? Turns out they’re third generation spirit makers. Two brothers: Fernando and Esteban Banús are the distillers behind Blat and they come from a family that has been distilling spirits since 1887. The family company was the Spanish partner of Pernod Ricard and Bols. They’ve made, among others: Tia Maria, Liquors Bols and Pastis Pernod. They were the exclusive Spanish distributor for those brands as well as Ballantine’s, Southern Comfort, Jameson and Piper Heidsieck Champagne -- ok this solidifies their credibility and earns them my RESPECT. 

Back to the question at hand; is there really no hangover after drinking Blat Advanced Vodka? I tested it for myself and here’s how it went…I drank three cocktails made with Blat, drank water to keep myself from becoming dehydrated, drank no other spirit and no other extra party supplies (wink wink) for a true test. I chose to stop at three cocktails because this is my limit before it’s get ugly (yep a lightweight!). By the second cocktail, I forgot I was doing a test all-together and just had a merry ole’ time, the night came and went and next thing I knew it was morning. As I sat on the couch watching the Today Show, I remembered, “oh yeah I did that test last night.” I racked my brain for the feeling of the usual nausea and headache I associate after a night of drinking and to my complete surprise there was none. Yeah, I was tired because I stayed up late but, NO HANGOVER. Ladies and gentlemen, bartenders and mixologists, spirit connoisseurs and social drinkers…the future has arrived… http://www.blatvodka.com/ 

Difference Between "Bartender" and "Mixologist"

Once and for all, let’s get right down to it and clear up the difference between a “bartender” and a “mixologist.” Going from calling oneself a bartender to a mixologist is sort of giving oneself a promotion in the cocktail world. I’ve personally been a bartender, and I must fully admit that I was JUST a bartender, pouring cocktails created by someone else such as the Tom Collins, Margarita or Batida. I did my job well by making sure everyone was taken care of, ringing up charges and taking re-orders when necessary -- simple bartender.  



"The Pour" is the icing-on-the-cake

  If this had been a profession I was considering taking to the next level, I would have immersed myself into the actual CRAFT of it. The craft is a major difference between bartenders vs. mixologists. A plain old bartender can’t go to a high-end mixology venue and land a job (well, I guess in reality they could -  IF they showed a decent amount of bartending experience and a passion for creating their own unique cocktails). Of course they’ll be asked to make something unique and if they pass the test there is a chance they’ll get hired. It’s a serious profession and not one that just any bartender can do. It’s an art and the artist uses what is in front of them to create something magnificent.

In New York City a mixologist can be catapulted into a star and have a strong fan following – but you have to have pretty wicked cocktail making skills to reach this level. Mixologists take their craft very seriously and some will even have ingredients flown in from other countries to ensure their cocktail is THE most unique cocktail. The coolest ingredient I’ve seen used was the herb horny goat weed. It is, yes, an aphrodisiac and it’s found in South East Asia. I’m sorry I can’t remember the rest of the ingredients as it was a long time ago but I do remember it being extremely tasty and made for quite the evening when I got home ;-) 

Mixology den: Theater Bar

Some top mixologists in NYC: Alex Valencia, Miguel Aranda, Duane Fernandez, Albert Trummer and Orson Salicetti. Top mixology bars in NYC: Death & Co., Macao Trading Co., Employees Only, Theater Bar, Dutch Kills and PDT. Top mixology restaurants in NYC: Yerba Buena (both East and West), Little Giant, Hotel Griffou, Rouge Tomate, Double Crown, The Dressler, Stone Park Café, Red Rooster and we here Boca Chica in the East Village hired on a mixologist to re-create their existing “bartender” menu and turn it into a “mixology” menu!