liqueur
Liqueur
Sugar-bombs in a bottle
Sweetened, flavored spirits. Lower ABV but the sugar load is the real driver of hangover symptoms, alongside artificial flavorings.
- Typical ABV
- 15–55%
- Base
- Various spirits + sugar + flavoring
Category hangover index
7/10
Heavy
Chemistry profile
- Congeners
- Moderate
- Histamines
- Low
- Polyphenols
- Low
- Sulfites
- Low
- Tannins
- Low
- Sugar
- Very High
- Additives
- High
Liqueurs are dessert with ethanol attached. The sugar crash often masquerades as a hangover, but the underlying mechanism is glycemic — and the additive cocktail makes diagnosis hard.
What changes the chemistry
- ▸Minimum 100g/L sugar by EU definition
- ▸Cream liqueurs add dairy + emulsifiers
- ▸Bitter liqueurs use caramel coloring and quinine
- ▸Artificial flavoring rarely disclosed
Common allergens: dairynutseggsartificial colorssulfites
See the healthiest liqueur ranked
→