Beware! Most Vodka is made from wheat!....from someone who learned the hard way!

[Lisa Dugger]

I had an after dinner drink (chocolate martini) a few months back and became violently ill with about 30 mins. I have eaten at this well known upscale local restaurant many times and the bar guy knows me well, including my celiac diagnosis. I had NO IDEA at the time that some vodkas are made from wheat, some are made from potato. I thought all vodka was made from potato. I am religious about avoiding gluten, so when I learned this recently and put 2+2, I realized this is why I became so incredibly sick a few months back when I had the martini!

I remember almost passing out once I got home, ALL the GI symptoms magnified about 10x (projectile vomiting), etc. And I recall one moment when I was looking at how incredibly white/pale my extremities were...and realizing how low my BP must be! Very scary experience for me and I hope to never experience it again and hope this will be a good warning for all of my celiac and gluten sensitive friends on this listserv! I consider myself fairly educated about gluten, but this was a real eye opener for me!

Happy holidays and be careful out there!

Lisa D

[Debbie Wood]

Lisa,

Most commercial Vodka's are made from wheat but the distilling process is suppose to remove the

gluten. At least that was what I found when I researched it. We have Vodka here and I did try it once and

never got sick from it.

Before I learned about the distilling I made my poor husband drive all over looking for

Vodka made from potatoes. We finally found it and it was expensive.

Could there have been something else in your Chocolate Martini that had wheat, barley or rye in it??

Did you check ALL of the ingredients in it?? That's where I would look.

Just a thought.

Hope you are feeling better.

Debbie-Sevierville

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Celi-Act" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to celi-act+u...@googlegroups.com.
To post to this group, send email to celi...@googlegroups.com.
Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/celi-act.
For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.

[jrmichel tds.net]

Does anyone know whether barley grass juice is safe? Thanks. Janet Michel

[Amy Merrell]

Most all vodkas are gluten-free for the exception of a few. I have done a lot of research on the subject because I love my sour appltinis.  The problem are the mixers. DeKuper products,  which most places use for their triple sec and sour apple mix, is not gluten-free, nor is Sky vodka. I always ask for Absolute and check the mixes. I also love a vodka and gin! Hope this helps.

[j shaffer]

Tito's vodka is gluten free. It is made with potatoes. Sent from Yahoo Mail for iPad

[Nicki Gioiosa]

While distilling does remove a ton of the gluten there have been many cases where some celiacs still react. I do not know if it is a gluten reaction or if it might be to a different protein in the grain but it definitely causes a reaction. I am one of those lucky ones and get horribly sick from grain liquors such as vodkas made from wheat. I have found Vikingsford(potato), Luksusowa(potato), Vessica(potato), Titos(corn), Deep Eddy(all flavors-corn), and Ciroc(grapes) are all safe vodkas. As far as other liquor goes it is a bit different. Rums are naturally gluten free however barley can be used in the flavorings and it is impossible to find that kind of information. So it is safe for normal rum but the flavors are where it is tricky. Tequila is a great go to especially for the price but beware Jose Cuervo is 51% tequila and 49% grain spirits. That can still cause a reaction in someone like me. As long as it is 100% agave then you are safe. Most well vodkas and tequilas at bars and restaurants will make you sick if you are one of the unfortunate few. I believe brandy is naturally gluten free. The best liquor stores around town to carry these specialties are East End Liquor and Wine off exit 394 when traveling on 40E; also McScrooges has a great stock for west Knoxville. Both of these locations regularly carry high gravity gluten free beers and ciders. As a college student I had to map out the best places to buy my specialty liquor and it is usually a decent price(Tito's is a bit pricy). Bob's also carries some but not all of these and is widely known for having the lowest prices. I will suggest if you come across Green's(not to be confused with Green Planet) gluten free beer to give it a shot; I think this beer is fabulous. I hope this helps any one who is still sensitive to grain alcohols like myself. 

[Nicki Gioiosa]

Barely grass as I have been told is gluten free as long as it does not have any seeds leftover which isn't guaranteed. 

[jrmichel tds.net]

Thank you. I bought a juice product with barley grass juice it. I took a couple of sips before I noticed the potential offender. I did not get sick, thankfully!