Lobster Death! Freezer vs. Alcohol I love lobster but I must admit I am not very good at cooking it.  I want to make this easier on my self by just adding the lobster to a flavorful broth.  I've heard in the past that if you are going to boil lobster for best results you should purchase the lobster alive and keep it alive until you are ready to toss the lobster into the vessel of hot liquid.  

Now the question at hand.  I've been told that if you just toss the lobster into the hot liquid, the lobster suffers and tenses up making the meat chewy.  Is this really true? 

The two methods I've heard of prevent this.

First: Get the lobster drunk with alcohol.

Second:  Throw the lobster into the freezer for 30 to 45 minutes before I throw the lobster into the hot liquid.

If these methods actually work, which one is better and why?  

If the alcohol method is better, which alcohol should I use?

Revision:

Oh yea, I want to keep the lobster whole and intact for presentation reasons.
The way fish (shelfish included) is dispatched impacts both its flavor and texture.  The Japanese have a long history of this knowledge.  This type of fish killing is called ike jime. 

Dave Arnold did some interesting research on this.  You'll find it here: http://www.cookingissues.com/index.html%3Fp=5731.html

Bottom line:  How you kill a lobster does impact its flavor.