Food - Drink
Why Vodka Is Less Likely To Give You A Hangover Than Other Spirits
By SYLVIA TOMCZAK
It's a common misconception that dehydration and cheap alcohol cause the effects of hangovers, but that is not the case. It all boils down to a science, which also explains why the colorless, odorless, and flavorless spirit known as vodka does not give the drinker too much of a hangover.
Food & Wine advises that a general rule of thumb is to avoid darker alcohols as they lead to more intense hangovers. This is scientifically true since, along with alcohol (ethanol), congeners are chemical substances produced during fermentation that can trigger inflammation and may take longer for the body to break down, causing hangovers.
Vodka is made by distilling liquid from fermented grains, fruits, or even potatoes, and it has 40% alcohol by volume (ABV) and between 0 and 102 milligrams of congeners per liter. Other darker spirits, however, have high levels of congeners per liter, such as brandy, which has close to 5,000 mg of congeners per liter.