Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Food & Drink

The Manual may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site.

The best vodka and vodka mixers for no hangover

The best hangover cure is to never get one in the first place

By
Cold cocktail with lime, lemon, tonic, vodka and ice on vintage background
Pcholik / Shutterstock

Hangover side effects are unpleasant in every sense of the word, leaving us feeling unproductive and even sick the night after drinking. Most of us know drinking too much will lead to a hangover, but did you know the type of alcohol you drink and the mixer used can also contribute to the severity of your hangover? Carefully selecting the type of liquor you consume and opting for specific mixers can help you feel your best after drinking. Here’s why vodka might be the smartest choice for no hangover symptoms.

Shelves of vodka
Carlos Irineu da Costa / Unsplash

Why vodka is the best liquor choice to avoid hangovers

While a hangover is nearly impossible to avoid if you drink too much, even moderate or casual drinking can lead to hangovers, too. No matter what your alcohol drink preferences are, it might be worth considering a switch to high-quality vodka if you’re looking to minimize hangover effects. All types of alcohol contain ethanol. However, the differing fermentation and distilling processes of every alcohol can leave every kind of liquor with different chemicals remaining. The substances created as a byproduct of the fermentation process are known as congeners.

Recommended Videos

What do congeners do to the body?

Unfortunately, however, some types of alcohol are left with more congeners than others, resulting in worsened next-day hangover symptoms. Like ethanol, your body must also work to break down the congeners in the drinks you consume. If you’ve ever noticed tequila seems to lead to a worse hangover, it might be because tequila is a type of alcohol that is higher in congeners. Our bodies are left trying to break down two substances at once, which makes each process less efficient. In turn, this is why consuming alcoholic drinks that are high in congeners can lead to a worsened hangover.

Related

Which types of alcohol are lowest in congeners?

A comprehensive study performed in 2013 explored the amount of congeners in many types of alcohol, including all liquors. The results of this study found that vodka was the option that had the least congeners per serving. But this doesn’t mean that vodka can’t give you a hangover; instead, it just means that it is less likely. Furthermore, the more times it is distilled in the production process, the more congeners will be removed. For this reason, choosing a high-quality vodka brand can help you reduce your chances of a hangover even more.

Gin vodka tonic lime cocktail drink ice
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Our favorite vodka brands for no hangovers

Selecting a trustworthy vodka brand that has been distilled several times can help limit your hangover symptoms. While the price may be tempting, bottom-shelf vodka should be avoided whenever possible. Here are our favorite, reputable vodka brands worth a try.

Grey goose

Grey Goose is one of the most well-known vodka brands, and for good reason. Made from French wheat, Grey Goose vodka is distilled five times to ensure its quality. This brand also has many great varieties, like the Le Citron Grey Goose.

Ketel 0ne

Ketel One offers premium vodkas made from wheat grain. This brand uses multiple types of distillations, helping to reduce the total amount of congeners remaining.

Belvedere

Belvedere offers one of the highest-quality vodkas on the market with zero additives. For clarity and purity, this brand distills its vodka four times.

Ciroc

Ciroc vodka is clear and smooth, made from fine French grapes. Each product is five times distilled, making it a great option to limit your hangover symptoms.

Absolut

Absolut vodka is a high-quality, top-shelf option that comes at a fairly affordable price. You can find this brand almost everywhere, and it’s made with a continuous distillation process that offers the best quality.

A vodka drink
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Best vodka mixers

In selecting the best vodka to reduce hangovers, let’s not forget the importance of the mixer you use to create your drink. Using sugary alcohol mixers such as full-sugar fruit juice, soda, or pre-made alcohol mixers can leave you with worsened hangover symptoms from too much sugar. (If you’ve ever had a sugar headache, you’re likely to be acquainted with this feeling already.) When selecting drinks, choose drinks made with diet sodas or lower-sugar fruit juices. Jordan’s Skinny Mixes offers dozens of great flavors of mixers that contain virtually no sugar at all.

Two espresso martinis sitting next to a bottle of grey goose.
Grey Goose

The bottom line

While you’re unlikely to give up drinking everything but vodka, opting for vodka whenever possible can help you reduce next-day hangover symptoms. Choosing high-quality distilled brands of vodka and mixers that are low in sugar can also help you feel your best after a night out on the town.

Editors' Recommendations

Emily Caldwell
Emily Caldwell
Contributor
Emily is a full time freelance writer with a special focus on health, fitness, lifestyle, food, and nutrition topics. She…
Basil Hayden brought back a popular limited edition bourbon — where you can get it
Basil Hayden brings back a smoky favorite
Whiskey

Not only is Basil Hayden one of the all-time coolest names, but he was a whiskey pioneer who is often referred to as the “father of high-rye bourbon.” You also might not realize that his image adorns the bottle of Old Grand-Dad sitting on your home bar. His grandson opened a distillery and named the whiskey after him. Oh yeah, and his name is literally also used for a fairly popular whiskey brand. You might have heard of it. It’s made by Jim Beam (like Old Grand-Dad), and it’s called Basil Hayden (formerly Basil Hayden’s).

We love everything this whiskey brand makes. Its Kentucky Straight Bourbon is one of the first bourbons we ever tried. Its Dark Rye is great and so is its toasted barrel bourbon aptly named Toast. But, back in 2022, Basil Hayden released a truly unique, memorable whiskey that we couldn’t get enough of. And then, it was gone. We’re talking, of course, about Basil Hayden Subtle Smoke.
What is Basil Hayden Subtle Smoke?

Read more
Here’s our perfect Pisco Sour recipe
Homemade pisco sour cocktail with lime and bitters

Claimed as a national drink by both Peru and Chile, the pisco sour has captivated cocktail lovers for over a century. Tart and sweet, with herbaceous and earthy notes and a rich, smooth finish, this South American gem suits any occasion. The success of this foamy, vibrantly hued beverage owes everything to pisco, its bold, complicated base spirit. Like brandy, pisco is a high-proof spirit made by distilling fermented grape juice, and it comes in a dizzying array of varieties.
Pisco sour recipe

Ingredients:

Read more
11 best air fryer recipes for everyone to try – from appetizers to desserts
You won't eat fat fried foods again once you get on the air fryer bandwagon
Cooking potatoes and carrot sticks with spices in an air fryer

Food deep-fried in oil is undeniably some of the most delicious around. But overeating fried food comes with some health risks. Fortunately, if you can't steer clear of crispy fried goodness, air fryers are a great compromise to get the same great taste of traditionally fried foods with a fraction of the oil, thereby helping you keep your waistline and your cholesterol in check.

With developments in air fryer technology over the past 15 years or so, you'll have a hard time telling which foods are air-fried and which are the real thing. A great thing about air fryers is they have precise controls and different cooking functions that account for the different types of food you may be cooking. So, from French fries to fried chicken to Brussels sprouts, you can fry up every aspect of your meal if you so choose.

Read more