Best types of hard liquor with little-to-no hangover?

[Christopher2012]

Okay, let me preface this by saying that I know the methods to prevent hangovers. I'm not asking for advice about that. I know - stay hydrated, eat before you drink, drink slowly, keep electrolytes in mind (Powerade/Gatorade), etc.

However, I do know from my great (and not-so-great) experiences that some drinks leave you with worse hangovers than others. For instance, tequila usually leaves me with a pretty bad headache in the morning. And oddly enough, the headache is unique. It starts about ten minutes after I wake up. I'm not sure why that is.... but regardless, my point is that hangovers differ.

There are some people who say that top-shelf drinks leave you with less of a hangover than cheap stuff. I honestly haven't really figured out whether that's true or not...

And of course, every single person is different. I know that.

But generally speaking, what is your drink of choice when thinking about the next morning?

(Again, not a question about how to prevent a hangover.)

[fire_breeze]

Originally Posted by Christopher2012

Okay, let me preface this by saying that I know the methods to prevent hangovers. I'm not asking for advice about that. I know - stay hydrated, eat before you drink, drink slowly, keep electrolytes in mind (Powerade/Gatorade), etc.

However, I do know from my great (and not-so-great) experiences that some drinks leave you with worse hangovers than others. For instance, tequila usually leaves me with a pretty bad headache in the morning. And oddly enough, the headache is unique. It starts about ten minutes after I wake up. I'm not sure why that is.... but regardless, my point is that hangovers differ.

There are some people who say that top-shelf drinks leave you with less of a hangover than cheap stuff. I honestly haven't really figured out whether that's true or not...

And of course, every single person is different. I know that.

But generally speaking, what is your drink of choice when thinking about the next morning?

(Again, not a question about how to prevent a hangover.)

I am one of the lucky ones; although I suppose it's because when I did drink heavily, I used to drink a lot of water while drinking: I don't get hangovers, and believe you and me, I was able to hold my liquor better than most sailors.

That said, yes higher quality liquor will impact you differently. One of my poison of choice was good quality rum (and tequila!). I was able to drink it like water and I didn't feel thirsty the next day. Most people who drank as much as me also said that higher quality liquor was the way to go because it didn't impact them as badly as cheap liquor.

Many people I know complained that rye gives you a terrible headache and nausea. My roommates had to be careful when drinking Southern Comfort because when it hit them, it hit them hard and their hangover the next day was awful.

ETA: I was just chatting with an old friend of mine, and he reaffirmed that rye gave him bloody hangovers (I didn't ask what that meant), and that his liquor of choice was amaretto - virtually no effects the next morning. That and dry gin.

The point is, everyone reacts to alcohol differently. My Father, for example, cannot stand whiskey, but he was able to drink vodka and Hungarian fire-brandy straight out of the bottle. My brother can't tolerate vodka, but will drink whisky (and Hungarian fire-brandy) like it's going out of style.

Sorry I can only give you second-hand and observational insight.

Happy drinking and be safe.

[imemkay]

Oh, Christopher.

Put down the alcohol and go check your lint trap.

[luvnmyboys]

i'm a fan of vodka. it doesn't have a strong taste and mixes well with lots of stuff. there are some yummy flavors out there too. i've been digging marhsmallow lately. i have a few drinks at night occasionally when it's been a rough day.

[ga400us]

What ever your favorite flavor might be, I have found that paying a little extra for the quality product makes the world of difference. For instance, multi-distilled vodkas are better than the stuff in the speed rail. Single barrel bourbons, single malt scotches, the good tequillas and rums. An most importantly, high end gins.

I know that cost doesn't mean something is better, but, I find that there are a higher percentage of 'clean' spirits in the high end liquors than there are in the low end stuff.

[fgarvb1]

Back in the day when I was partying several nights a week I drank and mixed lots of stuff.

One night I mixed White lightening, Canadian whiskey, beer and tequlia...made it home about three o:clock

Why did I survive?

Well first I danced my ass off most of the night. I started off with a small hamburger on my stomach. Before I went home I had a small meal breakfast type at a restruant...made damned sure I drank a large cup of coffee before I left.

When I arrived home I took three Advil before going to sleep with a half liter of water.
Sure I was a little run down when I reported to work at 7:00AM but I made all day with out to much pain...went back out that night.

So you see, it's for me not so much what I drank but what I do while Im drinking.

I don't kick back with the hard stuff like I once did... but when I do It's Wild Turkey 101 and coke Tall.

[Porkwarrior]

Originally Posted by fire_breeze

...Hungarian fire-brandy...

Haa haa slivovitz?
I just tapped a batch last week, it came out gooooooood. We get a lot of peaches out here so I use those instead of plum's at the end of fruit season.


I am not sure if different liquor's affect my hangover that much, other than how much volume I can consume of it. The good stuff still hits me...but that could just be guilt over guzzling something in an evening that took the better part of two decades to mature.

[njlauren]

It does depend on the person, but there is a reason why certain things give you worse hangovers. Pure grain alcohols, like vodka, tend in my experience to give less of a hangover, but mix it with fruit juice and it is deadly. Mixing beer and wine with hard liquor does a number in my experience (my worse hangover happened when I was drinking beer, then a friend and I knocked off a bottle of southern comfort...lost a whole weekend to that one). I think that in general, staying with straight shots is better then mixed drinks in terms of a hangover, when I used to drink I drank bourbon by itself, and never had a hangover from it.

[Christopher2012]

Originally Posted by njlauren

It does depend on the person, but there is a reason why certain things give you worse hangovers. Pure grain alcohols, like vodka, tend in my experience to give less of a hangover, but mix it with fruit juice and it is deadly. Mixing beer and wine with hard liquor does a number in my experience (my worse hangover happened when I was drinking beer, then a friend and I knocked off a bottle of southern comfort...lost a whole weekend to that one). I think that in general, staying with straight shots is better then mixed drinks in terms of a hangover, when I used to drink I drank bourbon by itself, and never had a hangover from it.

Single Barrel Select Jack NEVER gives me a hangover. I think it's a little out of my price range, though. I'm unsure of whether Gentleman's/Standard Jack is the same. I'll have to experiment.

Vodka is iffy for me. Sometimes yes, sometimes no. It doesn't matter whether it's Gray Goose or low-grade stuff. Right now, I'm drinking Belvedere for the first time (drank a good amount at around 8pm). I'm feeling fine at time moment.

Tequila is the worst option, in my experience. I've never met a tequila that didn't give me a hangover. Not even Patron Silver.

[BeachMomma]

If you want to hear something weird......

Even when I drink very heavily, I don't get a hangover. I rarely drink (maybe 4-5 times a year), but when I do, I drink a lot. Every time I drink, my best friend from college feels like she's hungover - even though she didn't drink a drop of ETOH the night before. It's the weirdest thing, but it's been happening for years.

[Scrubber]

I was always told that the clearer the spirit the less likely one is to have a hangover, so to go for vodka. Actually I don't think that is true, it depends on the person.

I can sink red wine or lager followed by red wine without a problem, usually, unless the red wine is very poor quality.

However the order in which I drink seems to make a difference; lager followed by white wine followed by red is OK but lager after red wine can be a problem and white wine on top of red wine is usually lethal. Mixing spirits is also lethal for me; hence I am very careful if I drink cocktails.

[Miles Long]

Bombay Sapphire has never given me a hangover, and there have been nights when I drank a lot of it...

[Scotsman69]

My extensive drinking experience tells me that generally, dark-coloured drinks give worse hangovers than light-coloured ones. Thus equal alcoholic quantities of lager give fewer problems than ale or stout; vodka fewer than whisky; white wine fewer than red. A chemist friend once explained why, but I can't remember; maybe something to do with tannin content?

I've never noticed price affecting it; an expensive bottle of Laphroaig does as much damage as a cheap blended whisky. Maybe more, as I like it so much that I'll drink more!

[Desiremakesmeweak]

Jameson's Irish Whiskey.

I thought this was VERY WELL KNOWN to any serious drinker...

DMMWk.

[Ruffian_13]

Ditto those who mentioned clear/light coloured beverages. My drink of choice is usually gin & tonic, I can pound back a ton of those and be ok the next day. White rum or vodka are also fine. I can't do tequila anymore, but I used to drink a crap ton of it in university. Mostly I try and end off the night with a big glass or two of water, and take some aspirin in the morning. Water is key.

[NightL]

What is the biggest evil - the hangover or the behaviour while drinking? Just cut back on the drinking and both problems will be less of an issue - for many.

[Porkwarrior]

Haa haa for all the light/dark believers, what colour do you think moonshine is? I have more than a few gallons of home made clear brandy if you want to put that theory to the test...and fail badly.

The light/dark idea may sprout from cheap liquor that adds caramel as a colouring agent for it to appear darker than it naturally is, sugars are not good when you are drinking. Decent spirits that aren't aged more than 10yrs will be straw or at most very light brown colour. Darker than that and there is caramel. Could also be where the "good stuff" idea came from.

I just drink a bunch of water, as much as I can stomach, when I get home and have been imbibing too much than I should. I have an odd hangover, it doesn't hit until lunch time. I can get up, bounce around, feel fine, but by 11am the splitting headache & tight tummy starts.

[Keel_to_breaker]

I've never had a hangover drinking scotch. I also don't find that I'll get wildly drunk off it either. A lot of it depends on how you drink as well. A few glasses of scotch, just sipped slowly shouldn't give you any problems. Then again, neither will 7-8 if you just take you time and know how to pace yourself.

[GiggLeGasm]

Originally Posted by Keel_to_breaker

I've never had a hangover drinking scotch. I also don't find that I'll get wildly drunk off it either. A lot of it depends on how you drink as well. A few glasses of scotch, just sipped slowly shouldn't give you any problems. Then again, neither will 7-8 if you just take you time and know how to pace yourself.

no matter how much I pace myself, Glenfiddich makes my thighs hurt.

[Keel_to_breaker]

Originally Posted by GiggLeGasm

no matter how much I pace myself, Glenfiddich makes my thighs hurt.

For sure. Those overly-fullsome and robust flavors take some getting used to, but I suspect that if you keep yourself on top of things you'll eventually get the hang of it.

[Scotsman69]

and how fast you drink it. The average male body metabolises one unit of alcohol an hour. You'll get as drunk as quickly drinking 40% proof Scotch as you will drinking any 40% proof spirit. But you WILL have a bigger hangover drinking Scotch than vodka.

Take it from me. I'm over thirty years older than you, and I've probably drunk a wee bit more than you in my life. And I've always lived where Scotch is distilled, and where more of it is drunk per capita than anywhere else in the world.

Originally Posted by Keel_to_breaker

I've never had a hangover drinking scotch. I also don't find that I'll get wildly drunk off it either. A lot of it depends on how you drink as well. A few glasses of scotch, just sipped slowly shouldn't give you any problems. Then again, neither will 7-8 if you just take you time and know how to pace yourself.

[Keel_to_breaker]

Originally Posted by Scotsman69

and how fast you drink it. The average male body metabolises one unit of alcohol an hour. You'll get as drunk as quickly drinking 40% proof Scotch as you will drinking any 40% proof spirit. But you WILL have a bigger hangover drinking Scotch than vodka.

Take it from me. I'm over thirty years older than you, and I've probably drunk a wee bit more than you in my life. And I've always lived where Scotch is distilled, and where more of it is drunk per capita than anywhere else in the world.

My experience has a less to do with the alcohol itself. I'll drink scotch neat, and just sip at it, whereas I'm more tempted to mix vodka or just shoot it down. Those "mixes" tend to go down a bit too easy and I usually end up drinking more.

[Scotsman69]

mixed with a carbonated drink (Coke, lemonade, irn-bru, or whatever) it'll get you drunk more quickly than drinking it straight or with water. It'll get you drunk quicker. But it won't get you more drunk. It's the volume of proof alcohol which determines how drunk you are at the end of the session.

Few Scots put anything but water in their whisky. Carbonated stuff spoils the taste.

Originally Posted by Keel_to_breaker

My experience has a less to do with the alcohol itself. I'll drink scotch neat, and just sip at it, whereas I'm more tempted to mix vodka or just shoot it down. Those "mixes" tend to go down a bit too easy and I usually end up drinking more.

[Keel_to_breaker]

Originally Posted by Scotsman69

mixed with a carbonated drink (Coke, lemonade, irn-bru, or whatever) it'll get you drunk more quickly than drinking it straight or with water. It'll get you drunk quicker. But it won't get you more drunk. It's the volume of proof alcohol which determines how drunk you are at the end of the session.

Few Scots put anything but water in their whisky. Carbonated stuff spoils the taste.

Interesting. That explains a lot. I'd never mix scotch with anything, but that explains why the mix drinks tend to sneak up on me a bit quicker.

[Primalex]

Originally Posted by Christopher2012

There are some people who say that top-shelf drinks leave you with less of a hangover than cheap stuff. I honestly haven't really figured out whether that's true or not...

Of course.

At the bottom line you have bootlegged liquor that in the worst case kills you. Once you are past a certain quality level, it doesn't matter anymore - then it comes down to the breakdown process of ethanol. The mean thing that this is affected by a lot of things. A high level of blood sugar speeds up the breakdown, so your hangover will be worse - so mixing vodka with coke for example will be worse than just the vodka.

Drinking order again matters, because not everything is processed by the liver, some stuff will get past unprocessed and then to the kidney, which filters it out. This is why you get to drink alcohol if you have a methanol poisoning. If the liver is busy processing ethanol, it can't process methanol and so you can survive the poisoning. So if you drink something you don't get problems with first and then something else, the liver might still be busy processing the first stuff, skipping the next. No hangover. Reverse the drinks: bad hangover.