The old adage, “Beer before liquor, never sicker; liquor before beer, never fear,” is a piece of drinking folklore passed down through generations. This rhyme suggests that the sequence in which different types of alcoholic beverages are consumed dictates the severity of intoxication and the next-day hangover. Many people believe that starting with a higher-proof spirit and then switching to a lower-proof beer somehow mitigates the effects. However, the human body processes alcohol based on chemical and physical realities, not on a beverage’s position in a timeline. To understand the truth, it is necessary to separate the physiological effects of ethanol from the behavioral factors that often accompany a change in drink type.
The Primary Driver of Intoxication
The actual level of intoxication is determined entirely by the total amount of pure alcohol, or ethanol, consumed over a period of time. This quantity is scientifically measured by the Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC). The order in which a person drinks beer or liquor has no direct physiological bearing on the body’s ability to process that ethanol.
A standard drink of any type contains approximately 0.6 ounces, or 14 grams, of pure alcohol. For comparison, this is the amount found in a 12-ounce can of 5% ABV beer, a 5-ounce glass of 12% ABV wine, or a 1.5-ounce shot of 40% ABV distilled spirit. Whether a person consumes three standard drinks as all beer or a mix of beer and liquor, the total ethanol load on the liver remains the same. The body metabolizes alcohol at a relatively constant rate, meaning the concentration of alcohol in the bloodstream is solely a function of how much ethanol is introduced and how quickly.
How Drink Type Affects Absorption Speed
While the total amount of ethanol is the main factor, the speed at which that alcohol reaches the bloodstream influences how quickly a person feels intoxicated. This is where physical factors and drinking behaviors often make the folklore seem true.
Physical Factors: Carbonation
The carbonation found in beer and many liquor mixers, such as soda water or tonic, can accelerate alcohol absorption. Carbon dioxide gas in these beverages irritates the stomach lining, which may speed up the rate at which the stomach empties its contents into the small intestine. Since the small intestine is where most alcohol is absorbed into the bloodstream, this faster gastric emptying can cause a quicker spike in BAC. Consequently, consuming a carbonated beer or a spirit mixed with soda can cause a more rapid onset of intoxication than a non-carbonated drink like wine.
Behavioral Factors: Pace of Consumption
A significant behavioral factor is the difference in volume between drinks. A standard 12-ounce beer is consumed over a longer period than a 1.5-ounce shot of liquor. Switching from a high-volume, low-alcohol beer to a low-volume, high-alcohol spirit fundamentally changes the pace of consumption. People often lose track of their total ethanol intake when they switch to higher-concentration, smaller-volume drinks. This leads to a much faster accumulation of alcohol in their system than they intended. This disruption in the drinker’s mental accounting is the true reason why switching to liquor can feel like a sudden, negative turning point.
Congeners and the Intensity of Hangovers
The “sicker” component of the old saying is more closely related to the intensity of the hangover, which is influenced by compounds called congeners. Congeners are chemical byproducts, such as methanol, acetone, and tannins, that are naturally created during the fermentation and distillation processes. Ethanol is the primary cause of a hangover, but the presence of these minor compounds can exacerbate symptoms like nausea, headache, and general malaise.
Generally, darker, more aged alcoholic beverages contain higher levels of congeners than lighter, clearer spirits. For example, studies have shown that bourbon, which is rich in congeners, leads to more severe hangover reports than vodka, which has almost none, even when the same amount of ethanol is consumed. Darker drinks like whiskey, brandy, and red wine have a higher congener load than clear spirits like gin or light beer.
Mixing many different types of alcohol in one session increases the overall load of these various chemical byproducts. The hangover severity is linked to the total congener content that the body must process, not the order in which the drinks were consumed. Therefore, having a mix of high-congener beer, wine, and liquor will likely result in a worse hangover than sticking to a single, low-congener beverage, regardless of the sequence.