Howdy Vintnerds!
First off, Happy Birthday to Vintnerd Co-Founder Melissa!
Melissa is a WSET Level 3 in Wine (a certified expert), organizes the best parties, and is the millennial incarnation of Ina Garten. Happy birthday Melissa, we love you!
Editors Note: This issue was heavily inspired by recent events. Some of you may have been there.
Colloquial wisdom says you have to pay to play, and in some cases that means hangovers after a night of over indulgence. While sometimes it’s as unavoidable as heartburn after pizza, there are ways to mitigate losing the morning after a party to the porcelain throne and despair.
Ever interested in learning how to drink more while suffering less, Erin has spent the better part of two decades perfecting the art of never being hungover. Below are her tips, and since avoiding hangovers is a collaborative effort, we encourage you to share any tips or tricks you have in the comments!
#1 A Strong Foundation
Having a hearty meal before or while you begin to drink is the first step to avoiding hangovers. While you may be tempted to go with a dinner salad to be a cheap drunk, you’ll pay more the next day. Start your night off right with a heavy base of carbs and protein.
#2 Hydration is Key
In order to drink all night long, keep a water glass nearby and have a glass of water to each cocktail, or half a glass of water to each beer or glass of wine.
#3 Quality Matters
Higher quality liquors and wines will contain less impurities (called Congeners), which are processed into toxic aldehydes that wreck you the next day. This has been passed along as a call to drink clear liquors only, but really just means watch what shelf you drink from. Ordering a Hendricks and tonic is much less likely to leave you bereft the next morning than a generic gin and tonic.
And it should go without saying that a high quality whiskey will be better for you than a bottle of $3 vodka.
#4 Avoid Carbonation & Sugar
We love a Vodka Diet Coke as much as Taylor Swift, but carbonation expands the stomach surface area and allows for more alcohol absorption. Sugar also can help you metabolize alcohol faster, and dull the taste of it so you drink more. If you’re doing a long night of drinking stay away from these mixers (this includes avoiding carbonated water in drinks as well). Try water, vermouth, fresh pressed juice, and low-sugar alternatives instead.
#5 Finish Strong
Eat after drinking, and get a glass of Pedialyte or Gatorade in along with some ibuprofen* to stave off any headaches incoming before heading to bed.
*Do not take acetaminophen after a night of heavy indulgence
And if you wake up hangover anyways, we strongly recommend DoorDashing Taco Bell breakfast (pro tip: schedule DoorDash for the next morning so you don’t have to worry about waking up early).
While these tips will help you avoid a gnarly hangover, you should also practice restraint in your drinking! We strongly advocate for responsible drinking at Vintnerd, we just also enjoy the occasional martini crawl.
Got a hangover trick we need to know? Leave a comment!
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