The Anatomy of The Hangover (no… not the movie)
Let’s start by acknowledging that genetic factors, age, ethnicity, dehydration, empty stomach can all play a role in the severity of the hangover feeling.
Another fact is that cheap spirits (short term gain, long term pain) generally cause a worse hangover feeling than high end spirits. So how does that work……
Hangover feelings are primarily caused by the unwanted by-products in your drink that are formed during fermentation. These are called esters & fusel oils (which aren’t really oils) and methanol. The good news is that these by-products can be minimized so that you don’t have to worry about how you feel tomorrow morning.
The not so good news is that this requires professional designed equipment, it takes time and it can only be achieved when fermenting in small batches and the highest quality ingredients. This makes a high end spirit more costly than a cheap one.
In the end, however, it is worth it.
Why do you feel so bad the next morning ?
Besides water and alcohol, your drinks contains a mixture of fusel oils, esters and methanol. Methanol contributes to the most severe hangover feeling. Fusel oils & esters mainly affect the flavor and bouquet.
Once consumed, an metabolization process is started by the enzymes in your body. They turn alcohol into acetaldehyde and methanol into formaldehyde.
Make no mistake, both acetaldehyde as well as formaldehyde contribute to the hangover feeling but the formaldehyde does this in a much more profound way then acetaldehyde.
The enzymes favor ethanol instead of methanol. Only after all ethanol has been metabolized they switch to methanol. This explains why the hangover feeling only starts the next morning when the enzymes start producing formaldehyde.
Drink and enjoy high end spirits, with a (very) low or no methanol content such as Red Anchor. The methanol, if any, has already have left your body when the enzymes have metabolized all ethanol. Leaving you with no hangover feeling at all.
Over time all substances leave the body…. the natural way.
Mythbusters
Does this explain why some people actually try to prevent their hangover by consuming more alcohol the next morning?
The theory is that a new supply of ethanol for the enzymes to metabolize will cause them to leave the methanol alone.
As unappetizing as this may sound to someone with a hangover, chemically seen it actually works. While the enzymes are metabolizing the ethanol, methanol will exit the body (urine) without being converted into formaldehyde.
However, the new supply of ethanol should contain little to no methanol such as in a high end spirit. This to avoid getting caught in the same cycle over and over again. The best advise we can give you is to always enjoy a premium spirit with little or no methanol, such as Red Anchor, and most importantly…
DRINK RESPONSIBLY
Passionately handcrafted, distilled, bottled & aged in small batches on Aruba.
