“Vodka is known to be the best alcoholic beverage for the most minimal hangover. Gin, light rum and white wine are runner-ups—with brandy and whiskey being at the bottom of the list.
Surprisingly, -- because hard liquor is more alcoholic than wine or beer, some people can drink vodka or gin (the crystal clear, light liquors) without developing a headache but cannot drink red wine, beer or the amber-colored hard liquors (rum, and the ever-gentle tequila).
While you might think that overindulging in any kind of spirit will result in a horrid hangover, think again. The colorless, odorless and flavorless spirit known as vodka is actually less likely to give you a hangover than any other spirit.
Water and food are your friends
For every alcoholic drink, have a glass of water or a soft drink (you don't have to tell anyone it's not alcoholic). Make sure you also have a meal if you're drinking. It helps to slow the effects of the alcohol and is (hopefully) also delicious.
When you consume any alcoholic drink in excess, it can lead to hangovers. Gins, with its 40+ per cent alcohol content, can get you there a bit faster than the rest. A set of unpleasant symptoms as a consequence of overdrinking is referred to as a hangover.
But is it true that your hangover will be less severe because of vodka? The short answer is yes, because there are less congeners (by-products to make the vodka) than you will find in whisky, bourbon or even beer and so a hangover from vodka is not as intense as other spirits.
Weight of the person. Sometimes, the weight of the person plays a huge role in vodka tolerance. The more is your weight, the more vodka you will be able to drink without feeling drunk. This is also a reason women start to feel intoxicated more in few shots than most men.
Slow your pace: Drink alcohol at a slower rate, perhaps taking a drink of water between each alcoholic drink. This will ensure that you are better hydrated. Sweeten up: Eating honey before drinking alcohol can reduce the chances of getting a headache due to the high levels of vitamin B6 found within it.
Drinking alcohol causes the kidneys to excrete more fluid. This leads to excessive urination and dehydration, which may cause a headache after a small amount of alcohol.
Drink Water
Down a full glass of water before you leave the house and make sure you're constantly sipping H2O throughout the night. Then, end the evening with one more glass of water before bed.
You are going to need a drink that is not too heavy when it comes to ABV (alcohol by volume) is critical here. The lower the better. So drinking a beer (typically between 4-7%) or a low ABV wine can mean the difference between making the entire day and having your friends put you in a taxi and send you home.
Most people become drunk after drinking two shots of vodka (1.5 ounces). To reach a BAC of 0.08%, which is the legal limit, it usually takes around five shots for an average-sized man and three-to-four shots for an average-sized woman.
Hard liquors can get you drunk faster than beer or wine, as they have a higher alcohol content. Doing shots can be particularly useful, as you'll be absorbing high alcohol products very fast. Vodka in particular has been shown to increase the speed of intoxication.
For some people, even one shot of vodka may cause noticeable effects such as slurred speech or impaired judgment. However, for others who are more tolerant to alcohol or have a higher body weight, one shot of vodka may not be enough to feel any significant effects.
"Darker alcohol — like red wine, scotch, whiskey and bourbon — will have higher levels of conjoners. "[They're] more likely to cause hangovers the following day," he continues. "Clear liquors — like gin and vodka, for instance — are less likely to have these compounds and less likely, therefore, to cause hangovers."
With that said, low-quality spirits certainly do not help matters and can definitely lead to more severe hangovers than their top-shelf counterparts. With more impurities (mainly congeners and trace alcohols), low-quality spirits will act as more of a toxic/poison that most people are unable to metabolise quickly.
So, now on to the all-important question, which alcohol is easiest on the liver? The quick answer is, none of them. The reason is that the main liver-damaging ingredient in all types of alcohol is ethanol. It doesn't matter which alcohol you chose, be it weak beer or grain alcohol.
Congeners are compounds, other than ethyl alcohol, that are produced during fermentation. These substances contribute to the taste and smell of alcoholic beverages. Darker spirits, such as bourbon, which tend to have higher levels of congeners than clear spirits, could worsen hangover symptoms for some people.
Are Gin Hangovers Worse Than Vodka? Since hangovers are predominantly caused by how much you drink, you won't necessarily get more hungover from gin than vodka. However, congeners, which are impurities in the spirit from the distillation process, are believed to contribute to feeling hungover.