Note About Chili
Dear Uncle Carl:

    It's a curious fact that although water boils at 100°C (212°F), and alcohol boils at 78.5°C (173°F), a mixture of alcohol and water will boil at a lower temperature than either pure alcohol or water on its own.
    You see, alcohol and water are a bit moleculist (the molecular equivalent of a racist), but only a bit, meaning they stick with their own kind just a bit tighter than with each other. So, when the water and alcohol are mixed, an individual water molecule is further away from other water molecules, making it much easier for it to escape and vaporize. Likewise for the alcohol.
    So what's this got to do with chili? All of this aroma-building serves no purpose whatsoever unless those aromas reach your nose, right? So after cooking the chili, my goal should be to get as much of the aroma out of the bowl, and into the air as possible. I reasoned that by adding a couple shots of hard liquor—say some vodka, bourbon or tequila—I'd not only help the alcohol-soluble flavor compounds in the chili reach my nose and mouth more efficiently, but because of the mixture's azeotropic nature, I'd actually help the water-soluble compounds vaporize more efficiently as well.
    Eric

Well, I'm not sure I fully understand what Eric is saying. I gotta think about that a while. Probably have to test the vodka to make sure it hasn't gone bad... but I'm going to try it  when I make my next batch of Chili.