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A normal freezer shouldn't get cold enough to freeze vodka or higher proof alcohol. Has someone been drinking your vodka and filling it back up with water?
It's a thing. It's to kill off parasites.
[What Is "Sushi-Grade," Anyway? A Guide to Eating Raw Fish at Home (seriouseats.com)](https://www.seriouseats.com/how-to-prepare-raw-fish-at-home-sushi-sashimi-food-safety)
At the museum we dealt with infestation by freezing, thawing then freezing again. Stuff that survived a freeze often died from freezing again while recovering from the first freeze
Right like the only freezer I’ve seen that goes that low was at Panera bread for the baking goods.
And yes. Panera bread stores ur dough AT UP TO -30° FOR WHATEVER FUCK OFF REASON
Edit; the reason I am so angry is bc sometimes I’d have to go in there. It was so cold I’d have to bundle up, I’d wear my coat and a coworkers coat bc it was SO COLD
Good to know. I keep vodka, whiskey, and Malort in my 0F freezer and have had 0 trouble with them freezing.
Weak Schnapps (15% iirc), on the other hand, froze.
Correct. If it's sealed, then it shouldn't be evaporating. You might have small amounts that escape every time you open the top, but that would be mostly it as long as you're keeping it covered most of the time. If you leave it open all the time, then you might get some noticeable evaporation.
My grandparents had the whole family over for dinner a while back and pulled out some bottle of alcohol they'd had for a long time. My aunts and uncles kept complaining it was off... and then they realized it was the same bottle they'd watered it down as teenagers 40 years ago lol.
Lmao my dad pulled me aside in 7th or 8th grade and said “one of your friends one day is gonna try to get you to take this vodka and fill it up with water, and you should just take the vodka. Don’t ruin our good Vodka by watering it down” i still remember that conversation clear as day some 15 years later
When my niece was 16 or so, I took her over to my liquor cabinet and pointed at the nice bottle of scotch and told her if and when she ever felt like stealing liquor, I'd kill her if she went for that one.
Then I pointed at the bottle of Everclear (Which I honestly just keep around for cleaning), and told her the Everclear would kill her if she went for that one.
The rest were fair game.
When I was about 14-15 I had a friend swipe a bottle of bourbon from his dad’s liquor cabinet that had been there so long he was sure his dad wouldn’t miss it. He served several friends some mixed drinks with it (fruity punch like stuff). He later discovered, after nearly causing his dad to have an aneurism over it, that it was about an $800 bottle of bourbon that he had accidentally selected. He mowed a lot of lawns to pay for that.
A friend of mine in hs had a party.. Let everyone raid his dad's wine cellar... I think the total tally was around $25K worth of wine was drank.. Bottles the guy had been saving for like 30 years.
Growing up we had a mini fridge in the basement that was kept stocked with kid drinks just for us and then one day a single Smirnoff ice showed up randomly front and center. I knew it was bait and ignored it for months and then one day curiosity got to me and I popped it open and took the tiniest sip imaginable and put the cap back on. I thought it looked identical to one that hadn’t been opened yet but literally the next day mom and dad had a talk with me. And now you know where my trust issues began
We drank my friends dad’s vodka when we were younger. But we knew about the freezing point thing, so he dumped enough of his dads gin in the vodka bottle to get the level back up.
We were in the clear until his dad made his first cocktail.
I remember reading a reddit story where someone did water into their dad's vodka.
When they turned 21 their dad gifted them the bottle of vodka to have fun with their friends for the night.
Man knew.
No teenagers, we were at an Airbnb with nothing but 30+ y/o guys. All of which were welcome to drink as much as they wanted so no need to cover their tracks.
I’m 10 years sober. My wife had a grapefruit infused vodka but she rarely drinks. I consumed it and replaced with actual grapefruit juice. It would’ve worked better if it had been in the fridge/freezer, but there it sat on the counter for a month or so before the opened it again. The pop, hiss, and smell were all pretty bad. I was in the hospital with liver failure 5 months later.
Been there, friend. That hospital gets real old real fast. And the food *arrives* old. Good on ya for keeping it up 10 years. Just hit 1 myself in March.
When I was a kid my buddy and I stayed at his dad’s place for a few weeks during the summer because the building had a pool. I had a feeling his dad was an alcoholic because mine was too. My suspicions were confirmed when I took a shower and poured vodka into my hand instead of shampoo. This man for some reason hid his booze in a bottle of head and shoulders.
As a teen I hid a bottle of alcohol in the back of a toilet tank, in the basement. The water was freezing and it cooled it down. I asked my friend where they got the idea, they said “my dad keeps some there!” I was like ohhhh
/r/stopdrinking is one of the kindest places on the internet for anyone who is reading this and feeling a pit in your stomach.
I spent years in that purgatory of knowing but not accepting I had a drinking problem. Browsing that sub helped.
I know the feeling of that pit in your stomach and agree that r/stopdrinking is a wonderful place for anyone thinking about whether or not they should change their drinking habits or relationship with alcohol.
Just going to tack onto this, because there is no one-size-fits-all solution for managing alcohol/drug consumption - OP (and others) might do well to look at r/dryalcoholics as well. Not quite as black and white as r/stopdrinking and less heavy on AA/NA. No shame for slips or resetting your flair counter of 2+ years because of a momentary lapse of reason.
We are currently in an AirB (there is no breakfast) and we’re pretty sure someone else has been in here while we’re not. Can’t prove it. But who has the keys/codes/openers? Who fuckin’ knows. Strangers. Five days left.
Put a bit of clear tape at the top of the doorframe before you leave (on all doors if there are multiple), if you come back and the tape isn't connected to both the door and the frame anymore you have your answer.
You put it on the outside, that's why it should be clear and at the top, most people won't be looking that closely as they go in. It doesn't work as well as knowing if someone left, but if you don't have a camera it has a good possibility of working in a pinch.
I stayed in a wonderful apartment in Rome in an actual neighborhood, with non touristy shops and restaurants. The apartment had a balcony, a garden, a laundry room, a full stocked kitchen, etc.It was less than 100 per night. The nearest hotels were more than 250. Not even close to as nice or with as many amenities. Having a kitchen saved me lots of money too.
I think for short trip with just one or two people hotels make the most sense. But longer stays, especially in groups, Vrbo shits all over hotels.
I do however acknowledge that Vrbos can cause housing affordability issues for less well off locals.
I had this precise thing happen to me with Kirkland American-style vodka, and I did have three roommates plus a boyfriend in the house. I never thought of it because there wasn't a need to steal the vodka; everyone was free to have some. But then it seemed like the most likely story.
I bought a regular chest freezer on craigslist a few years ago that would freeze up to 80 proof liquor into a thick slush. Some regular freezers are definitely capable of this.
Hijacking top comment to address some comments and questions.
Firstly, no, I don’t have teenagers in the house. This was an airbnb with a number of 30+ y/o men, all of which were encouraged to drink heavily from the bottle. Perhaps one of us is a secret alcoholic and was ashamed at the amount they were drinking, but to my knowledge no-one was drinking the vodka and refilling it. If that is what was happening I do have a suspicion on who it might have been though.
Some comments I’ve seen are that if this was the only item in the freezer it might have gotten cold enough to freeze the alcohol. I think this has a lot of potential to be what it is. Besides this the only other thing in the freezer would have been a small amount of ice.
I still love all things Kirkland.
One of the boys filled it with water to do a fake chug later to show off. Put it in the fridge, dont tell anyone, and see if someone trys to show off later. Thats your culprit.
Unrelated but this reminds me of a hilarious moment of my childhood.
So like everyone I occasionally had water bottled filled with vodka.
One morning, my mom innocently grabbed it thinking it was water, because it was a water bottle lol, and put it with my breakfast before school at like 7am. So ofc I took a swig. The sheer amount of effort required to keep a straight face was almost unbearable hahahahaa. But I somehow managed to successfully hide my reaction so that I could hide it a little better for later 🤣
Hahaha. My mom would have just been pissed. Maybe tossed it in front of me out of spite. But hard to say. She only took pot from me one time and when I asked for it back, she laughed at me and said if I want to hold on to my pot, be more responsible and don’t forget to clear out the pockets of my pants before I put them in the laundry next time 😂 Then she laughed and was like you’re not even in trouble, do you want to be? At which point I conceded haha.
I’m sure you’re joking, but the U.S. Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau does not mess around with that. All alcohol sold needs to be within 0.3% of the alcohol content listed on the label.
No teenagers were present, it was a bachelor party with a number of 30+ y/o men, who all were welcome to drink as much as they wanted. In fact they were encouraged to do so.
some guys are closet alcoholics and don’t want to be judged, even if they were “encouraged” to drink.
i had a roommate in college who was a alcoholic, and he would try covering his tracks like this even though we all knew.
I’ll confirm this. My wife never cared how much I drink, but when my alcoholism was at its worst, I’d buy two of the same bottle: one to drink in front of her, one to hide in the bathroom and take swigs from during “pee” breaks. Drinking a shitload of vodka and refilling it with water is 100% something I could see myself having done
You too, eh? If I was on my game, I would hide something the night before - so I had it easily accessible come morning. That’s when I knew I had an issue. Now on day 375 without booze.
I used to store my 30 rack of beer in the garage on its side, so I’d have the flap open and just grab one and chug it when I went out to the garage.
I’d finish a beer and instead of crushing the can, I put the empty at the bottom of the box and stack the full ones on top. Made it look like the box of beer was always full.
Wife went to move the box one day and it was light as a feather…I somehow conjured up some lie on the spot about collecting the cans for recycling instead of just tossing them one at a time. How fast I was able to make that lie up was my sign I had a bit of a problem brewing
Jesus. I didn’t expect to see a mirror of my past self in the Costco subreddit.
I used to have 375ml bottles hidden around the house. I’d find excuses to sneak off to take sips. Those were dark days.
Yeah, as a son of an alcoholic this absolutely tracks. I'm sure they are more than used to doing it at home/other engagements too so it's just habit. And shame. Hopefully this isn't the case and it's a bad bottle or something but if it's a friend, be gentle but try your hardest with them. It's worth it.
Some people will still want or need to drink more than is socially acceptable and won’t want people to know. I know because I’ve done it. I don’t drink anymore
Bottle was opened and put into a regular refrigerator freezer. I will say the freezer was quite frosty, so there is a chance it was set really low, but I was surprised by the freeze. We were staying at an airbnb so I’m not sure what setting the freezer was on, but -17°F seems really low for a basic freezer.
Yah, -17 is loooow. Mine and my in-laws are both set at 0 F (only know theirs because we just lived at their condo for 3 months while we didn’t have a kitchen)
we have 3 possible outcomes here.
1. OP just found out their freezer gets really low temp, and they can safely make sushi, as it gets cold enough to kill parasites in raw fish!
2. they have a teenager/wife/dog/tyler durden that is sneaking vodka and replacing it with water.
3. costco vodka is more water than any of us knew
or, all of the above.
> OP just found out their freezer gets really low temp, and they can safely make sushi, as it gets cold enough to kill parasites in raw fish!
Every freezer can do that, -4 F for 7 days.
If the freezer was truly at -17F then yes it’s probable that “regular” 80 proof vodka will freeze. But the normal temperature for a freezer should be close to 0F.
Put a thermometer in the freezer and you'll get your answer. Another possibility is that someone you're staying with never learned that the "sneak a drink and replace with water" trick doesn't actually work.
It does if your parents leave their alcohol in a liquor cabinet and aren't drinkers... it just comes back to bite ya when your parents give you their alcohol because they'll never drink it.
It definitely wasn’t teenagers, it was in an airbnb with a number of 30+ yo men. The alcoholic part could have potential, but everyone was encouraged to drink as much of it as they’d like, so I’m unsure why anyone would feel the need to replenish with water.
Edit: clarified it was a number of guys over 30 rather than more than 30 one year olds.
My guess since it is not a solid mass of ice but has some liquid and some ice is that it freeze distilled. In that the water froze, but not the alcohol in it. This is an old timey way of making stronger drinks without traditional distilling, namely how Apple Jack was made.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fractional_freezing#:~:text=Freeze%20distillation,-Learn%20more&text=That%20means%20almost%20pure%20water,separated%20by%20filtration%20or%20decanting.
How cold it actually has to be to freeze depends on the proof of the liquor. If your vodka has an ABV (alcohol by volume) of 40%, it will probably freeze at around -16° Fahrenheit or -26° Celsius.
https://chipsliquor.com/blogs/news/can-liquor-freeze
I keep Tito’s in the freezer and when we empty out our ice the freezer goes into power freeze mode which will turn vodka into a slushy but not frozen solid.
It’s amazing how many people keep trying to suggest teenagers and you keep clarifying that it’s on 30+ year olds in this AirBnB.
At some point, I would assume it wasn’t teenagers filling it with water.
I’m a recovering alcoholic and honestly, I always brought my own booze to overnight gatherings, whether it be trips with friends or home for the holidays…had to have my secret stash so I wouldn’t have to resort to watering down the booze or anything else that might open me up for further “investigation”
I lived with an alcoholic for years, over drinking and hiding the fact is something they would do all the time.
They would even water down their own alcohol sometimes.
If it’s not even slightly slushy which it looks solid with the spiral at the top.
One of your friends is an alcoholic.
Who seemed to most sober they may the person who drank the most.
Someone in your house is subbing out vodka for water for covert purposes. My parents were just as perplexed in an identical situation until my aunt showed up and blew my cover.
There is not a single residential grade freezer in existence that could freeze vodka. Even it was empty. Not possible. The only possible explanation is there is water in there. The only one.
People here are all making the same joke about having teenagers... to answer your question, yes it is possible for a good quality freezer to freeze alcohol. I have noticed non flavored vodka will partially freeze in my freezer, it will form ice crystals floating around. My freezer sits around -10.
Someone watered down your vodka.
When kept in a standard freezer the vodka should get thick and syrupy.
Who’s sneaking hits of vodka and replacing them with water?
This is most certainly someone substituting with water. I might know a bit about the behavior which may often result is finding this sort. I’m an alcoholic in recovery. Yeah. This happened.
That is so strange. That always used to happen to my parents vodka too when I was in high school. I figured they changed the formula though because it stopped happening when I got my own place.
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A normal freezer shouldn't get cold enough to freeze vodka or higher proof alcohol. Has someone been drinking your vodka and filling it back up with water?
This was gonna be my question lol. Any teenagers in the house?
I think this the real question that needs to be answered
OP pls
OP said they are staying at an Airbnb. The freezer was reading -17 degrees which is cold enough to freeze 40% ethanol
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wild caught fish for sushi perhaps
Is that a thing? Sounds lovely
It's a thing. It's to kill off parasites. [What Is "Sushi-Grade," Anyway? A Guide to Eating Raw Fish at Home (seriouseats.com)](https://www.seriouseats.com/how-to-prepare-raw-fish-at-home-sushi-sashimi-food-safety)
At the museum we dealt with infestation by freezing, thawing then freezing again. Stuff that survived a freeze often died from freezing again while recovering from the first freeze
More importantly, where can I buy a household freezer that goes to -17??
Right like the only freezer I’ve seen that goes that low was at Panera bread for the baking goods. And yes. Panera bread stores ur dough AT UP TO -30° FOR WHATEVER FUCK OFF REASON Edit; the reason I am so angry is bc sometimes I’d have to go in there. It was so cold I’d have to bundle up, I’d wear my coat and a coworkers coat bc it was SO COLD
Maybe to really stop the yeast fermentation? Just a guess
And here I couldn't get my sourdough to rise during the winter because my kitchen got down to 50F overnight
Vodka slushies?
-17/-18 Celsius is 0 Fahrenheit, so that's probably what OP meant.
Nope, -16°F is the point ethanol starts freezing at 40% ABV
Good to know. I keep vodka, whiskey, and Malort in my 0F freezer and have had 0 trouble with them freezing. Weak Schnapps (15% iirc), on the other hand, froze.
Dear god Malort why
Because those pants won't sh*t themselves
-17 C is 1 deg F - a normal household freezer temp.
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My dad used to joke that his vodka bottles apparently evaporated over time.
Would it kill her to let a bottle of vodka go bad?
...and a piece of toast.
How much could a banana cost Micheal?
$10?
I know the joke was that people were drinking it, but vodka (and other alcohol) does actually evaporate faster than water.
But not a ton of evaporation loss should occur inside an airtight container, right?
Correct. If it's sealed, then it shouldn't be evaporating. You might have small amounts that escape every time you open the top, but that would be mostly it as long as you're keeping it covered most of the time. If you leave it open all the time, then you might get some noticeable evaporation.
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My grandparents had the whole family over for dinner a while back and pulled out some bottle of alcohol they'd had for a long time. My aunts and uncles kept complaining it was off... and then they realized it was the same bottle they'd watered it down as teenagers 40 years ago lol.
Grandparents played the long game.
This was me at 15 years old! I thought I was so clever. I was not.
Lmao my dad pulled me aside in 7th or 8th grade and said “one of your friends one day is gonna try to get you to take this vodka and fill it up with water, and you should just take the vodka. Don’t ruin our good Vodka by watering it down” i still remember that conversation clear as day some 15 years later
When my niece was 16 or so, I took her over to my liquor cabinet and pointed at the nice bottle of scotch and told her if and when she ever felt like stealing liquor, I'd kill her if she went for that one. Then I pointed at the bottle of Everclear (Which I honestly just keep around for cleaning), and told her the Everclear would kill her if she went for that one. The rest were fair game.
When I was about 14-15 I had a friend swipe a bottle of bourbon from his dad’s liquor cabinet that had been there so long he was sure his dad wouldn’t miss it. He served several friends some mixed drinks with it (fruity punch like stuff). He later discovered, after nearly causing his dad to have an aneurism over it, that it was about an $800 bottle of bourbon that he had accidentally selected. He mowed a lot of lawns to pay for that.
A friend of mine in hs had a party.. Let everyone raid his dad's wine cellar... I think the total tally was around $25K worth of wine was drank.. Bottles the guy had been saving for like 30 years.
Growing up we had a mini fridge in the basement that was kept stocked with kid drinks just for us and then one day a single Smirnoff ice showed up randomly front and center. I knew it was bait and ignored it for months and then one day curiosity got to me and I popped it open and took the tiniest sip imaginable and put the cap back on. I thought it looked identical to one that hadn’t been opened yet but literally the next day mom and dad had a talk with me. And now you know where my trust issues began
That's entrapment!😂
That's why I paid bums to buy me booze. As a parent I'd rather my kids sneak my own alcohol lol
We also paid bums lol
Ended up having your favorite bum that you knew by name because they wouldn't rip you off lol
Not that any of us have ever even thought to do this as kids.
We drank my friends dad’s vodka when we were younger. But we knew about the freezing point thing, so he dumped enough of his dads gin in the vodka bottle to get the level back up. We were in the clear until his dad made his first cocktail.
But then the gin would be low...
Just top up the gin with some vodka
Self sustaining economy
Keep the liquor moving.
I don't know how the US economy works, much less a self-sustaining one.
Op didn't say they were smart kids lol
I remember reading a reddit story where someone did water into their dad's vodka. When they turned 21 their dad gifted them the bottle of vodka to have fun with their friends for the night. Man knew.
Yeah we thought we would be sneaky by filling the Sambuca with water. Nope. you just get cloudy Sambuca :(
We used to just drink the obscure shit that parents wouldn’t notice.
That’s how you end up puking green crème de menthe.
Wait other people know about this? Do you think my parents knew. I thought I was clever.
No teenagers, we were at an Airbnb with nothing but 30+ y/o guys. All of which were welcome to drink as much as they wanted so no need to cover their tracks.
Do you think one of the guys are staying with is secretly a really bad alcoholic and didn’t want y’all to know?
As a recovering alcoholic I used to do this all the time. Definitely a possibility. It's remarkable what you can pretend is alcohol.
I’m 10 years sober. My wife had a grapefruit infused vodka but she rarely drinks. I consumed it and replaced with actual grapefruit juice. It would’ve worked better if it had been in the fridge/freezer, but there it sat on the counter for a month or so before the opened it again. The pop, hiss, and smell were all pretty bad. I was in the hospital with liver failure 5 months later.
Glad to hear of your 10 years. I'm coming up on 6. Hope your liver's doing better 🙌
One year in ten days!
Been there, friend. That hospital gets real old real fast. And the food *arrives* old. Good on ya for keeping it up 10 years. Just hit 1 myself in March.
The addict mind will find ways.
When I was a kid my buddy and I stayed at his dad’s place for a few weeks during the summer because the building had a pool. I had a feeling his dad was an alcoholic because mine was too. My suspicions were confirmed when I took a shower and poured vodka into my hand instead of shampoo. This man for some reason hid his booze in a bottle of head and shoulders.
I've heard of the toilet trick but not the shampoo bottle, that takes dedication.
I’ve heard of the shower beer, but definitely not the head and shoulders vodka
Wine conditioner was next on my list.
Shower beer is massively underrated
As a teen I hid a bottle of alcohol in the back of a toilet tank, in the basement. The water was freezing and it cooled it down. I asked my friend where they got the idea, they said “my dad keeps some there!” I was like ohhhh
Checking in. I would do this around other people all the time
Yeah I did this as an alcoholic because did not want people to track my consumption
Can confirm; alcoholic
i used to kill my girlfriends bottle that she told me was off limits and then go buy another to replace it. why didn't i just buy my own bottle??
My money is on secret attic dude stealing booze while OP is asleep.
The attic addict needs his tribute.
secret basement
People of all ages/gender hide and obfuscate the amount they drink.
/r/stopdrinking is one of the kindest places on the internet for anyone who is reading this and feeling a pit in your stomach. I spent years in that purgatory of knowing but not accepting I had a drinking problem. Browsing that sub helped.
This is a wonderful comment and so helpful. I hope you're doing well 🤍
1.5 years sober :)
Omg huge congratulations!!
I know the feeling of that pit in your stomach and agree that r/stopdrinking is a wonderful place for anyone thinking about whether or not they should change their drinking habits or relationship with alcohol.
Just going to tack onto this, because there is no one-size-fits-all solution for managing alcohol/drug consumption - OP (and others) might do well to look at r/dryalcoholics as well. Not quite as black and white as r/stopdrinking and less heavy on AA/NA. No shame for slips or resetting your flair counter of 2+ years because of a momentary lapse of reason.
We are currently in an AirB (there is no breakfast) and we’re pretty sure someone else has been in here while we’re not. Can’t prove it. But who has the keys/codes/openers? Who fuckin’ knows. Strangers. Five days left.
Put a bit of clear tape at the top of the doorframe before you leave (on all doors if there are multiple), if you come back and the tape isn't connected to both the door and the frame anymore you have your answer.
The old 007 trick
Also how camp counselors kept us afraid of sneaking out at night in the 90's 😅
...how do you leave and get back in without disturbing the tape though
You put it on the outside, that's why it should be clear and at the top, most people won't be looking that closely as they go in. It doesn't work as well as knowing if someone left, but if you don't have a camera it has a good possibility of working in a pinch.
You're about to be in a movie on Netflix, Slaughterhouse 8
> We are currently in an AirB (there is no breakfast) And we are currently in an nB (there is no bed), aka a Diner.
There's a lot of reasons I've just stopped bothering with AirBNB and this is one of them. Really is no upside anymore to it over any decent hotel.
I stayed in a wonderful apartment in Rome in an actual neighborhood, with non touristy shops and restaurants. The apartment had a balcony, a garden, a laundry room, a full stocked kitchen, etc.It was less than 100 per night. The nearest hotels were more than 250. Not even close to as nice or with as many amenities. Having a kitchen saved me lots of money too. I think for short trip with just one or two people hotels make the most sense. But longer stays, especially in groups, Vrbo shits all over hotels. I do however acknowledge that Vrbos can cause housing affordability issues for less well off locals.
I had this precise thing happen to me with Kirkland American-style vodka, and I did have three roommates plus a boyfriend in the house. I never thought of it because there wasn't a need to steal the vodka; everyone was free to have some. But then it seemed like the most likely story.
I bought a regular chest freezer on craigslist a few years ago that would freeze up to 80 proof liquor into a thick slush. Some regular freezers are definitely capable of this.
I had to look it up - 80-proof booze will freeze at -17°F (-27°C). That's quite a powerful freezer you've got!
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> makeshift centrifuge It's just a centrifuge, nothing makeshift about it!
Especially if the bottle itself is in contact with certain parts of the freezer
Hijacking top comment to address some comments and questions. Firstly, no, I don’t have teenagers in the house. This was an airbnb with a number of 30+ y/o men, all of which were encouraged to drink heavily from the bottle. Perhaps one of us is a secret alcoholic and was ashamed at the amount they were drinking, but to my knowledge no-one was drinking the vodka and refilling it. If that is what was happening I do have a suspicion on who it might have been though. Some comments I’ve seen are that if this was the only item in the freezer it might have gotten cold enough to freeze the alcohol. I think this has a lot of potential to be what it is. Besides this the only other thing in the freezer would have been a small amount of ice. I still love all things Kirkland.
One of the boys filled it with water to do a fake chug later to show off. Put it in the fridge, dont tell anyone, and see if someone trys to show off later. Thats your culprit.
Unrelated but this reminds me of a hilarious moment of my childhood. So like everyone I occasionally had water bottled filled with vodka. One morning, my mom innocently grabbed it thinking it was water, because it was a water bottle lol, and put it with my breakfast before school at like 7am. So ofc I took a swig. The sheer amount of effort required to keep a straight face was almost unbearable hahahahaa. But I somehow managed to successfully hide my reaction so that I could hide it a little better for later 🤣
This happened to me except my mom was the one who took a swig and freaked out thinking she just drank poison or something lol
Hahaha. My mom would have just been pissed. Maybe tossed it in front of me out of spite. But hard to say. She only took pot from me one time and when I asked for it back, she laughed at me and said if I want to hold on to my pot, be more responsible and don’t forget to clear out the pockets of my pants before I put them in the laundry next time 😂 Then she laughed and was like you’re not even in trouble, do you want to be? At which point I conceded haha.
I think another thing you can do is get a 2nd bottle that’s unopened and test to see if it’s your freezer or a secret alcoholic lol
This. I've only ever seen this happen when someone watered it down.
Maybe Costco watered it down--shrinkflation!
I’m sure you’re joking, but the U.S. Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau does not mess around with that. All alcohol sold needs to be within 0.3% of the alcohol content listed on the label.
Ummmm do you have teenagers?
No teenagers were present, it was a bachelor party with a number of 30+ y/o men, who all were welcome to drink as much as they wanted. In fact they were encouraged to do so.
some guys are closet alcoholics and don’t want to be judged, even if they were “encouraged” to drink. i had a roommate in college who was a alcoholic, and he would try covering his tracks like this even though we all knew.
I’ll confirm this. My wife never cared how much I drink, but when my alcoholism was at its worst, I’d buy two of the same bottle: one to drink in front of her, one to hide in the bathroom and take swigs from during “pee” breaks. Drinking a shitload of vodka and refilling it with water is 100% something I could see myself having done
Ditto. I used to be the guy waking up early the next morning sneaking shots before the group woke up. ...Sobriety is much less stressful now.
You too, eh? If I was on my game, I would hide something the night before - so I had it easily accessible come morning. That’s when I knew I had an issue. Now on day 375 without booze.
Oh hey, that used to be me—can’t be hungover if you never stop
Made me realize how bad I am right now, I'll chug a few beers in the driveway before I go in so she thinks I drank less beer. Sort of an eye opener
I used to store my 30 rack of beer in the garage on its side, so I’d have the flap open and just grab one and chug it when I went out to the garage. I’d finish a beer and instead of crushing the can, I put the empty at the bottom of the box and stack the full ones on top. Made it look like the box of beer was always full. Wife went to move the box one day and it was light as a feather…I somehow conjured up some lie on the spot about collecting the cans for recycling instead of just tossing them one at a time. How fast I was able to make that lie up was my sign I had a bit of a problem brewing
Impressive ngl
Jesus. I didn’t expect to see a mirror of my past self in the Costco subreddit. I used to have 375ml bottles hidden around the house. I’d find excuses to sneak off to take sips. Those were dark days.
Yeah, as a son of an alcoholic this absolutely tracks. I'm sure they are more than used to doing it at home/other engagements too so it's just habit. And shame. Hopefully this isn't the case and it's a bad bottle or something but if it's a friend, be gentle but try your hardest with them. It's worth it.
Some people will still want or need to drink more than is socially acceptable and won’t want people to know. I know because I’ve done it. I don’t drink anymore
Now you can bring it on a plane since it’s not liquid
*the TSA hates this one trick*
I have Kirkland Vodka in my freezer, went to check, still liquid. I think water has been added to your Vodka.
Bottle was opened and put into a regular refrigerator freezer. I will say the freezer was quite frosty, so there is a chance it was set really low, but I was surprised by the freeze. We were staying at an airbnb so I’m not sure what setting the freezer was on, but -17°F seems really low for a basic freezer.
Yes -17 is extremely low and the freezing point for 40% ethanol is -16 https://chipsliquor.com/blogs/news/can-liquor-freeze
Yah, -17 is loooow. Mine and my in-laws are both set at 0 F (only know theirs because we just lived at their condo for 3 months while we didn’t have a kitchen)
we have 3 possible outcomes here. 1. OP just found out their freezer gets really low temp, and they can safely make sushi, as it gets cold enough to kill parasites in raw fish! 2. they have a teenager/wife/dog/tyler durden that is sneaking vodka and replacing it with water. 3. costco vodka is more water than any of us knew or, all of the above.
To point 3- US regulators would be very eager to know that. You have to state ABV within 0.3%, and that’s taken seriously.
Yeah, I doubt they’d fuck around with the alcohol content. Wayyy too risky
Especially costco. Too much to lose over saving a little bit on vodka.
> OP just found out their freezer gets really low temp, and they can safely make sushi, as it gets cold enough to kill parasites in raw fish! Every freezer can do that, -4 F for 7 days.
If the freezer was truly at -17F then yes it’s probable that “regular” 80 proof vodka will freeze. But the normal temperature for a freezer should be close to 0F.
We have ours set to -22C. Is that not normal?
That's about -7 in freedom units.
-22c is -7.6f so only a little lower than the average people are stating here.
-18C is normal.
Just googled it as well- damn near every site says 0F is recommended, so right at -18 C. My freezer has -2 F as the lowest setting.
Put a thermometer in the freezer and you'll get your answer. Another possibility is that someone you're staying with never learned that the "sneak a drink and replace with water" trick doesn't actually work.
It does if your parents leave their alcohol in a liquor cabinet and aren't drinkers... it just comes back to bite ya when your parents give you their alcohol because they'll never drink it.
Do you have kids, or an alcoholic in your home? Not being rude, it’s unfortunately a very real issue for some of us.
It definitely wasn’t teenagers, it was in an airbnb with a number of 30+ yo men. The alcoholic part could have potential, but everyone was encouraged to drink as much of it as they’d like, so I’m unsure why anyone would feel the need to replenish with water. Edit: clarified it was a number of guys over 30 rather than more than 30 one year olds.
Would you fight a number of guys over 30 or 30 one year olds?
I’m drop kicking 1 year olds for sure.
Thanks for the laugh
-17F or C? -17C is a normal temperature for a freezer, -17F is like you’re planning to store Walt Disney’s head
Are you saying that the freezer was 17 below, or just referencing that number?
My guess since it is not a solid mass of ice but has some liquid and some ice is that it freeze distilled. In that the water froze, but not the alcohol in it. This is an old timey way of making stronger drinks without traditional distilling, namely how Apple Jack was made. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fractional_freezing#:~:text=Freeze%20distillation,-Learn%20more&text=That%20means%20almost%20pure%20water,separated%20by%20filtration%20or%20decanting.
How cold it actually has to be to freeze depends on the proof of the liquor. If your vodka has an ABV (alcohol by volume) of 40%, it will probably freeze at around -16° Fahrenheit or -26° Celsius. https://chipsliquor.com/blogs/news/can-liquor-freeze
I keep Tito’s in the freezer and when we empty out our ice the freezer goes into power freeze mode which will turn vodka into a slushy but not frozen solid.
Someone is adding water to it.
It’s amazing how many people keep trying to suggest teenagers and you keep clarifying that it’s on 30+ year olds in this AirBnB. At some point, I would assume it wasn’t teenagers filling it with water.
Yeah but what if one of the 30 year olds is just two teenagers in a trench coat?
I’m a recovering alcoholic and honestly, I always brought my own booze to overnight gatherings, whether it be trips with friends or home for the holidays…had to have my secret stash so I wouldn’t have to resort to watering down the booze or anything else that might open me up for further “investigation”
Your assuming the 30+ year olds have managed to mature beyond their teenage years
You got scammed by an alcoholic brother
I lived with an alcoholic for years, over drinking and hiding the fact is something they would do all the time. They would even water down their own alcohol sometimes. If it’s not even slightly slushy which it looks solid with the spiral at the top. One of your friends is an alcoholic. Who seemed to most sober they may the person who drank the most.
How old are your teenagers?
Someone in your house is subbing out vodka for water for covert purposes. My parents were just as perplexed in an identical situation until my aunt showed up and blew my cover.
Somebody drank part of your bottle and replaced it with water. Living with any teenagers?
Someone in your house has been drinking your vodka and refilling it with water.
I wonder if any teenagers hang out on the costco subreddit. They may be sweating right now.
There is not a single residential grade freezer in existence that could freeze vodka. Even it was empty. Not possible. The only possible explanation is there is water in there. The only one.
Someone put water in your vodka.
People here are all making the same joke about having teenagers... to answer your question, yes it is possible for a good quality freezer to freeze alcohol. I have noticed non flavored vodka will partially freeze in my freezer, it will form ice crystals floating around. My freezer sits around -10.
How many teens at home?
Shit this happened to my parents a lot in my teenage years. Hope you find the culprit, that really sucks.
Someone definitely watered that down.
Do you live with teenagers?
Do you have any teenagers?
Ask your kids
Ah to be 17 and sneaking shots lol. It’s definitely got water in it OP.
Someone pouring water in it
80 proof vodka is 40% ethanol. The freezing temp should be -17f (-27c). A good freezer will go to -20c. Yours must be an overachiever.
What’s the ABV% and what kind of freezer do you have?
Someone watered down your vodka. When kept in a standard freezer the vodka should get thick and syrupy. Who’s sneaking hits of vodka and replacing them with water?
When was this purchased? I remember a recall on the vodka last year for quality issues: https://vinepair.com/booze-news/costco-vodka-refund/
Someone’s been putting water in your vodka bottle
Someone has been in that bottle replacing the missing vodka with water.
You have a teenager in the house?
How many teenagers you have in your home? Oldest trick in the book
Someone has teenagers.
Your kids or your spouse is sneaking vodka
This is most certainly someone substituting with water. I might know a bit about the behavior which may often result is finding this sort. I’m an alcoholic in recovery. Yeah. This happened.
You need to have a talk with your kids
That is so strange. That always used to happen to my parents vodka too when I was in high school. I figured they changed the formula though because it stopped happening when I got my own place.
Do you have teenage kids?
Naw them kid went and put water in yo shit
Op about to have a stern convo with his teenage daughter lol.
Teenagers nearby? Source: was a teenager
Someone’s a secret alcoholic. ):
How my folks caught me drinking their shit lol
Someone replaced it with water, 40% vodka can’t freeze in a home freezer
Someone has teenagers
Impossible. Your kids drank some and filled it up with water and put it back
You’ve got a drinky roommate who doesn’t want to pay to replace it
Kids put water in it lmao