About to head for a classy boozy brunch? Or for a cosy pub lunch with your pals?

Well it might interest you to know that there are ways you can temper your risk of feeling utterly dreadful at work tomorrow.

That’s because there are certain tipples that are more and less likely to leave you with a brutal Monday (or any day) hangover. 

All kinds of booze contain an active ingredient called ethanol. But during the fermenting process, toxic side products called ‘congeners’ are often formed as well. And according to several studies, alcoholic drinks with high amounts of congeners seem to increase the frequency and intensity of hangovers – because the body struggles to break them down.

Here, we take a look at some of our favourite drinks – and how likely they are to leave you with a pounding head.

Vodka

For many of us, this spirit will be associated with questionable life decisions (unsurprising, considering that most brands are 40% alcohol mixed with water).

But a study by the British Medical Journal found that vodka is actually the least likely drink to give you a hangover: it’s so pure that it contains virtually no congeners.

Mixing vodka with soda or fruit juice is ideal, as sugary soft drinks can contribute to a headache the morning after the night before. But go easy. Because vodka is almost tasteless, it’s still easy to accidentally drink too much.

Clear spirits in general

Other colourless drinks, like rum, sake and gin, are similarly low in congeners (although not as low as vodka), and thus less likely to leave you feeling ill. No wonder artisan gin is having a moment.

Whiskey

Higher-congener, darker-toned liquors like whiskey and bourbon lead to much more severe hangovers than lighter-coloured or clear spirits. One particular congener, methanol (found in highest levels in whiskey and red wine) has been found to linger in the body after all alcohol has been eliminated – which could help explain why a Jack Daniels hangover can knock you out for days.

Champagne

Many of us are drawn to the bubbly stuff, especially during wedding season. But Boris Tabakoff, a pharmacology professor at the University of Colorado, explains that bubbly drinks like prosecco, champagne and cava can also bring on a killer hangover.

“The carbon dioxide in carbonated beverages like champagne helps absorb the alcohol,” he tells ABC. “You get a faster rate of absorption, higher blood alcohol levels – and brain levels – if you drink champagne as opposed to something non-carbonated.”

As a result, about two thirds of people get drunker faster when they drink champagne or other carbonated alcoholic drinks.

Wine

Sipping a glass (or several) of red maybe be a growing summer trend, but the darker the wine, the more congeners it has, as these also determine alcohol’s colour and flavour.

Professor Steve Allsop of the University of Technology in Perth tells ABC that some people may also have a reaction to certain components and additives in alcohol, and the histamines in red wine can make some people who suffer hay fever feel miserable. Preservatives and colourings can also give you a bad hangover if your body can’t tolerate them.

So a chilled glass of pinot grigio is safer than merlot if you’re looking ahead to the next day.

Images: Getty