where swim lives 43% alcahol is the highest commonly sold - how much can it be dried with anhydrous magnesium sulphate or silica jel or whatever -
perhaps packing a thp with dessicant and pouring the alcahol thru - or sitting the salts in the alcahol in a sealed bottle.

can the vodka or whatever be partially frozen - so that at least a portion of the liquid is frozen filtered and re semi frozen to achieve at least a partial change in alcahol/water ratio ?

I'm going to go out on a limb here and just assume that trying to use MgSO4 in solvents containing over 10% water content just won't cut it and you would need to at least perform a distillation to get any appreciable results.

I may be horribly wrong, in which case I sure hope someone comes along more knowledgeable than myself

if you has access to a pressure cooker, all you would need is some alcohols (any percent) and some rubber tubing to create a make-shift still (assuming the pressure cooker utilises a weighted bobble to control PSI).

swim tried that once but on tasting the product the pc pushed out - it was about 40 % the volume i put in but it still tasted like it was largely water - any tips on how to use the pc for distillation would be very appreciated.

All that should be necessary is high density plastic tubing and the ability to heat the PC to a constant 180°F. you'll still be getting water vapors but it should work pretty well.

I am unsure of where you live, but there is something called perfumers alcohol which is almost always 95+% ethyl alcohol usually with the only adulterant being a bitterant to prevent direct abuse. Within the U.S., you are legally allowed to buy up to 5 gallons of ethyl alcohol per year without a license.

If you do decide to bypass trying to distill the 43% stuff you currently have access to, the following list of commonly available denatured alcohols should aid you in finding a preparation which is least adulterated. Perfumers alcohol is usually fairly cheap.
Alcohol denaturant listing

Given the interest in alcohol based fuel, there are COUNTLESS discussions of distillation on the internet. Search "Ethanol distillation" and you'll find something easy and practical.

I've also made a link in extractions >> general and noob, to an MIT chemistry techniques series of videos. You could probably use "simple" distillation, since the BP difference between water and ethanol is 22C. Here's a direct link to the video series.