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My friend came back from France going ON AND ON about how French wine doesn’t cause hangovers because it doesn’t have sulfites. Is it true that sulfites cause hangovers?
I am going to call bullshit on this. It has never ever been proven that sulfites cause hangovers. But this alternative fact is a myth so pervasive that there are now devices and additives out there that claim to be able to completely remove sulfites from wine and solve your non-existent sulfite-hangover.
Sulfites are a necessary ingredient and present in every wine, whether naturally or added. They protect the wine, preserve it, and allow it to age. Without them, you’d wind up with some pretty funky juice.
However, I don’t want to discount sulfite issues across the board. While it’s unlikely, it could be that your friend is one of the rare people who actually have an allergic reaction to sulfites. If that’s the case, they could be mistaking the allergy headache for a hangover, when it’s actually an allergic response. Figuring out whether or not this is an issue for you is pretty simple: Just take a histamine blocker before drinking, and if the headache doesn’t appear, you know you have an allergy.
But this is probably not the case with your friend. In all likelihood, they probably didn’t get a hangover while in France because they were enjoying the country so much, they forgot to notice.
Is it ever okay to drink wine with a straw?
While it’s not recommended — especially because you’ll definitely get a buzz much faster — if you’ve had dental work or don’t want to mess up your makeup, feel free to use the straw. Who am I to judge?
What’s so special about single-barrel bourbon?
Single-barrel bourbon is special because it only came from one barrel. It’s so special, in fact, that its creation revitalized the bourbon industry in the ’80s when Blanton’s made its debut.
Most bourbon is a blend of a lot of different barrels. This is done for consistency, to make sure every bottle of a specific bourbon you have tastes exactly like the last one. But single barrel celebrates the singularity of what happened in just one barrel, meaning every bottle of a single-barrel bourbon could taste a bit different — in the same way that high-end wines can taste different from vintage to vintage, which is what makes those bottles so collectible.
If that’s something you’re into, then single-barrel is most definitely for you.
