About + Methodology

SpiritFacts catalogs the chemistry behind every major spirit, wine, beer, and liqueur category — and the popular brands within them — across seven dimensions that drive how a drink hits the body: congeners, histamines, polyphenols, sulfites, tannins, sugar, and additives.

Why this exists

The information that determines how you'll feel tomorrow morning is scattered across academic papers, regulatory documents, lab reports, and industry forums. Brands have strong incentives not to consolidate it. We do it here, openly, and let you draw your own conclusions.

How we score

Each factor is graded on a 5-point scale (very-low, low, moderate, high, very-high) based on peer-reviewed research, published lab measurements (including independent additive testing by Tequila Matchmaker, finanzen.net wine analyses, and lab reports cited in toxicology literature), regulatory documents (TTB, BNIC, CRT, EU food labeling), and producer disclosures where available. Where data is uncertain, we err toward the published median for the style.

The Hangover Index is a 1–10 weighted composite of those seven factors plus typical serving ABV. It is a heuristic — not a prediction — and personal sensitivity to histamines, sulfites, or sugar matters more than the index for any given drinker.

What we explicitly don't do

• Recommend any specific drink as "safe."
• Provide medical advice. Talk to a doctor about alcohol and your health.
• Endorse brands, accept paid placements, or take affiliate revenue.
• Encourage drinking. The lowest hangover index is still alcohol.

Updates

New brands and categories are added regularly. If a brand reformulates or new lab data emerges, we update the entry. Spotted an error? Email us.