The Absolute Best Way To Prevent A Hangover, According To A Doctor

Broadly speaking, Dr. Cox explains, different types of alcohol have different amounts of congeners—dark liquors (like bourbon, red wine, and reposado or añejo tequila) tend to have higher levels of congeners, while clearer alcohols (like vodka, silver tequila, and white wine) tend to have lower levels of congeners. The fewer congeners you consume, the better to lessen your hangover symptoms.

If you're going to mix alcohols, Dr. Cox says, there's some truth to that old adage "beer before liquor, you've never been sicker; liquor before beer, you're in the clear." In the first scenario, he says, you've engaged your body in metabolizing the beer (typically a lower alcohol content), and then you shoot in much higher levels of alcohol while it's already busy processing, which causes that build-up of congeners you want to avoid. But in the inverse scenario, where you've had harder liquor first, when you add beer to the mix, you’ve already front-loaded the highest alcohol volume you’re asking your body to metabolize, and you're just adding a low level of alcohol with a high overall volume of liquid, which is easier to process.