Being a social drinker gives you the wings you need to fly. Many people are shy, and they are embarrassed to create new friendships and relationships when they are in public.
Hopefully, alcohol consumption could loosen them up and help them be more social and outgoing. However, drinking alcoholic beverages like hard spirits (whiskey and vodka) could be disgusting in the beginning.
Most younger people feel a burn on their tongue and throat as they ingest alcohol. That’s why we have seen many YouTube and TikTok videos talking about the practice of getting some baking soda in their alcoholic drinks.
We are about to elaborate more on that matter to make you more knowledgeable about it. In general, it’s not a good idea to start adding substances you don’t know how they work with other stuff.
Let’s see what the baking soda and alcohol combination could do for your drinks and how they affect your drunkness.
What is Baking Soda?
Baking soda is nothing more than sodium bicarbonate. It’s a simple white powder that has some sodium (white color) and bicarbonate ions forming a salt like the one you have surely seen in your mom’s kitchen countertop or cabinet.
This baking soda is an inorganic substance that can get divided into sodium and carbonate ions when they meet a water mix. However, that is not valid when you dilute baking soda in an organic substance like alcohol.
The latter is an organic substance that will not have any ions inside. The dilution of baking soda in the alcohol should lead to a homogenous mixture that will alter the taste of your drink.
How Can You Mix Alcohol with Baking Soda?
There is nothing simpler than mixing alcohol with baking soda. We all have some powdered baking soda in our kitchen.
You can take a teaspoon of baking soda and just pour it into your alcoholic drink. Then you can steer and even add some filtered water and juice.
Theories support that this way, you eliminate the bad and burning taste of alcohol when you drink whiskey, vodka, gin, or tequila. However, it all comes to the point of your tasting buds on your tongue.
If baking soda neutralizes, the burning of alcohol on your taste buds remains a personal question that each person should respond to. It’s the sensitivity to alcohol that changes from person to person, and that could affect the baking soda and alcohol mix.
Is There a Chemical Reaction Occurring when Mixing Alcohol and Baking Soda?
Chemical reactions usually occur when mixing acids and bases. That is the main reaction in inorganic chemistry.
However, when we talk about alcohol, we pass to organic chemistry. There is no other reaction when you mix alcohol and baking soda.
The sodium bicarbonate will never dissolve in the mix, and you can drink it as is when you ingest the alcohol with baking soda.
Can You Ease the Burning Taste of Alcohol With Baking Soda Mixing?
There is no proof that you can ease the burning taste of alcohol with a baking soda mix. It depends on the alcohol concentration and what you want to succeed with mixing the right portion of baking soda.
Your sense of burning usually comes from the taste buds on your tongue. Some more burning comes from the soft tissues of your mouth and throat.
It is not possible for baking soda to neutralize the chemical receptors there. However, some people say that mixing alcohol and baking soda eases the burning symptoms, so they continue the same pattern.
Is It Safe to Consume Much Baking Soda in Your Drink?
As mentioned before, baking soda is nothing more than sodium bicarbonate. That gives you all the information you need about the safety of baking soda when you mix it in your alcoholic drinks.
Baking soda has an excessive amount of sodium inside it. That means you will have more sodium in your blood, and that is bad for your blood pressure.
Here are some side effects of excessive sodium on your health:
- High blood pressure
- Heart disease
- Stroke
- Calcium Losses
- Nausea
- Diarrhea
- Dehydration
All these could be the side effects of taking too much sodium in your diet. So adding baking soda to a drink makes you have an excessive intake of sodium that could lead to these health issues gradually.
Will Baking Soda Change the Way Your Drink Taste?
Even though baking soda has no taste at all, you will have an altered drink taste when you mix too much of it with your alcoholic beverage of preference. It depends on your ability to decipher the right amount of baking soda for the alcoholic portion you want to consume.
Most people add baking soda to their shots since they don’t drink too much. On the other hand, it would take a good portion of baking soda added to your drink to ensure that you have relief from the burning symptoms.
The balance will be with your side whenever you decide what is the optimal baking soda dose for you.
Is Alcohol and Baking Soda a Safe Combination?
Alcohol and baking soda don’t react with each other, so they are a good combination. There is no known breach of safety when you add baking soda to your drink.
However, some drinks may easily have a smoother taste before you add the baking soda. Some others may also show you issues with baking soda and change their viscosity.
It’s better to know what is the right baking soda portion to add to your drink to ensure you are on the safe side each time.
Final Words
Today most people follow online trends and mix baking soda with alcohol. It’s not a bad and harmful thing to do, but its efficiency in making your drink a lot softer to consume is still under investigation.
However, if you are healthy and need to experiment with baking soda and alcohol, it is your right to do so and try it!
