spirit
Vodka
Closest to neutral alcohol you can drink
Multiply distilled and filtered to strip flavor and congeners. Usually the lowest-impact spirit when consumed neat.
- Typical ABV
- 37.5–50%
- Base
- Grain, potato, corn, grape
- Distillation
- Column, multiple passes
Category hangover index
2/10
Light
Chemistry profile
- Congeners
- Very Low
- Histamines
- Very Low
- Polyphenols
- Very Low
- Sulfites
- Very Low
- Tannins
- Very Low
- Sugar
- Very Low
- Additives
- Low
Vodka is engineered for purity. Repeated distillation and filtration remove most byproducts that the body has to clear after drinking. That makes it the safest baseline for hangover-prone or histamine-sensitive drinkers — provided you avoid sugary mixers.
What changes the chemistry
- ▸Distillation count and column vs pot still
- ▸Charcoal or wheat-paper filtration
- ▸Grain source (gluten reactivity for sensitive drinkers, even though gluten is non-volatile)
Common allergens: gluten
See the healthiest vodka ranked
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