# Is "top shelf" alcohol healthier? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 21, 2009, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-top-shelf-alcohol-healthier/510992 "2009-09-21T21:08:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2009, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-top-shelf-alcohol-healthier/510992/21 "2009-09-21T23:21:15Z")
> [@Hero\_From\_Sector\_7G](#): > > Any consumed amount of X% Ethanol will have the same effect on your body, regardless of brand. What’s your cite for that? [Here’s one small study](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/654596?dopt=Abstract) suggesting that impurities (fusel oils, in this case, although fusel oils can be part of the flavor profile of various alcoholic drinks, like whisky and some ales) cause a worse hangover than “cleaner” alcohols. I found that because, in my experience, drinks with an increased presence of fusel alcohols seem to cause worse hangovers for me. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2009, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-top-shelf-alcohol-healthier/510992/22 "2009-09-21T23:24:44Z")
An, of course, [here’s a study disagreeing with the fusel alcohols](http://www.alcoholism-cer.com/pt/re/alcoholism/abstract.00000374-200308001-00009.htm;jsessionid=K4KcgT9n1Klyr0Z6Jx5rCx2tX7qClkpzs01bTQQvcr39L1lQ1T0f!1156756426!181195628!8091!-1) explanation for variance of hangovers. edit: [And here’s another one](http://www.annals.org/cgi/content/full/132/11/897) suggesting the type of alcohol does affect the hangover. > [@](#): > > Clear liquors, such as rum, vodka, and gin, tend to cause hangover less frequently, which may explain why patients with chronic alcoholism use these liquors disproportionately. In an experimental setting, 33% of patients who consumed 1.5 g/kg of body weight of bourbon (which has high congeners) but only 3% of those who consumed the same dose of vodka (which has low congeners) experienced severe hangover (41). ---
**Author:** ![Hero\_From\_Sector\_7G](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/65b543/32.png) [@Hero\_From\_Sector\_7G](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hero_From_Sector_7G)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2009, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-top-shelf-alcohol-healthier/510992/23 "2009-09-21T23:46:24Z")
From your sources: [quote=The Alcohol Hangover right arrow Jeffrey G. Wiese, MD; Michael G. Shlipak, MD, MPH; and Warren S. Browner, MD, MPH] The absence of a standard instrument for hangover assessment makes comparison of treatments difficult [/quote] Indeed, there is no standard of measuring a hangover. This makes it pretty tough to study when that is the standard you use. > [@](#): > > For the patient with occasional hangovers, recommended interventions include the discussion of potential therapies for alcohol hangover (adequate hydration) and a reminder that 1.5 g/kg of alcohol (approximately 5 to 6 drinks for an 80-kg man and 3 to 5 drinks for a 60-kg woman) will almost always lead to hangover. > [@](#): > > Conclusions: Hangover, a common disorder, has substantial morbidity and societal cost. Appropriate management may relieve symptoms in many patients. Edit: I was checking coding and hit quick reply instead of preview. I currently don’t have access to a journal search so I was going to debate you on your sources, but this is rather petty and lame. I won’t continue nitpicking and concede I don’t know enough on this subject to back up my original claim. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2009, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-top-shelf-alcohol-healthier/510992/24 "2009-09-22T00:45:05Z")
Re The OP’s question: Excepting cheap rotgut contaminated with lead or methanol or other poisons, ethanol is ethanol when it comes to hepatic injury. ---
**Author:** ![qazwart](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/5fc32e/32.png) [@qazwart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/qazwart)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2009, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-top-shelf-alcohol-healthier/510992/25 "2009-09-22T02:37:39Z")
> [@Superhal](#): > > A friend of mine told me to always order “top shelf” drinks (e.g. A Top-Shelf Long Island Iced Tea) and said it helps her to avoid hangovers. > > My questions: > > 1. Is there any difference between good quality alcohols and low quality alcohols? > 2. My main concern is liver damage. Do top shelf alcohols cause less liver damage? Well, if you go for the stuff they keep way up on the top shelf like the Snapple Iced Tea, you’ll definitely avoid both liver damage and the hangover. Alcohol is alcohol. Over indulge, and you’ll have a hangover. Drink way too much, and you’ll get liver damage. Ed Wood, the famous director/producer/writer of such hits as _Plan 9 from Outer Space_, drank himself into severe liver damage, but he only would drink the premium stuff even when he had little or no money. Is there a difference between top shelf stuff and lowest cost garbage? There’s probably some difference. Famous brand beverages will use better ingredients because their quality is what people want. The dregs are dregs because they use cheap ingredients. People drink the cheap hootch not for the flavor, but for the buzz. Then again, just because there’s a large qualify difference between a $50/bottle scotch and the $2 variety doesn’t mean there’s a big difference between the $50/bottle top brand and the $25/bottle not so well known brand. Marketing is king, and much of what we perceive as high quality is simply due to the effects of marketing. We all have fallen for it. The main thing is that it is the alcohol that causes the hangover and the liver damage. Buying the top shelf stuff isn’t going to save your liver if you are over indulging. Remember: Drink moderately, brush your teeth after every meal, and don’t wear stripes with plaids. ---
**Author:** ![Gfactor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@Gfactor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gfactor)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2009, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-top-shelf-alcohol-healthier/510992/26 "2009-09-22T03:54:38Z")
> [@Kimmy\_Gibbler](#): > > [Congratulations, you’ve discovered the placebo effect.](http://img.gamespot.com/gamespot/images/2008/225/reviews/941688_20080813_embed003.jpg) > [@Lobsang](#): > > :dubious: > [@Kimmy\_Gibbler](#): > > Next stop: Ceremonial Burial! > [@Superhal](#): > > Ok, FU everybody who thinks it’s the placebo effect. A bit less snark, if you please. \*\* Gfactor\*\* General Questions Moderator ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2009, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-top-shelf-alcohol-healthier/510992/27 "2009-09-22T03:55:22Z")
> [@Superhal](#): > > Ok, FU everybody who thinks it’s the placebo effect. [Moderator Note] **Superhal** , insulting remarks like this are not permitted in GQ. Don’t do this again. Colibri General Questions Moderator ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2009, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-top-shelf-alcohol-healthier/510992/28 "2009-09-22T03:56:17Z")
[Maxwell Smart]Missed it by _this_ much.[/Maxwell Smart] ---
**Author:** ![Gfactor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@Gfactor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gfactor)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2009, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-top-shelf-alcohol-healthier/510992/29 "2009-09-22T03:56:29Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > [Moderator Note] > > **Superhal** , insulting remarks like this are not permitted in GQ. Don’t do this again. > > Colibri > General Questions Moderator What he said. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Fuzzy\_Dunlop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/848f3c/32.png) [@Fuzzy\_Dunlop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fuzzy_Dunlop)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2009, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-top-shelf-alcohol-healthier/510992/30 "2009-09-22T12:17:06Z")
> [@purplehorseshoe](#): > > Say your friend has thirty bucks in her purse to go out with her girlfriends. If she orders something top-shelf at a fancy club, she can afford, what, two drinks? three? and still have enough for cab fare back home. But if she orders [well drinks](http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20061202124136AAmZ4Fh), she can afford to get good and hammered, thus ensuring a hangover the next morning. $30 for three top-shelf drinks and cab fare? Is the fancy club in Wyoming? Across the street from whereever the taxi is taking her? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-top-shelf-alcohol-healthier/510992.md?page=1)