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Now that Thanksgiving is over and done with, there are only about eighteen gazillion other reasons to throw a party and drink yourself into oblivion this holiday season. Should you be invited to a fancy party, Slate has graciously provided us with a wholly unscientific analysis of the best vodkas on the market. Oddly enough, a potato vodka scored the highest (though this is no secret to all our Jewish friends, since regular grain-based vodka is a Passover no-no).

Should you be the one suckered into giving the party, an equally unscientific study reveals that you can trick your friends and loved ones into thinking they're drinking high-class swill by exploiting every college student's best friend, the Brita filter. Apparently, running $8.99 Rite Aid plastic-bottle vodka through a charcoal filter a couple times will make it taste less like rubbing alcohol and more like Russian water. The trick is also purported to work to transform cheap whiskey into a passable bourbon.

SFist Connie, contributing.

Ed. Note: With the Trimethyldioxypurist weighing in on improved holiday season stimulants, new SFist Connie weighs in on improved holiday season depressants. Mix and match psychoactive fun!