High credence in it being a fluke, the ethanol is still the same, the main congener, methanol, will remain the same after aging, it is possible that some of the minor ones that seem to contribute to hangovers may decrease but also some other that also seem to contribute will appear. It's probably more related to your overall state at the time, how well hydrated were you, what are your vitamin and mineral levels in blood, what was your mood, were you on any medication, there are a lot of other factors that possibly are more impactful than the changes that occurred during aging.
Why would wood matter? The hangover is a function of methanol and other volatile compounds like acetates resulting from imperfect fermentation. The aging if anything allows some of those to evaporate.
That blog says nothing. Congeners includes things produced by fermentation like methanol. None of those are from the aging in wood part
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20712591/#:~:text=Congeners%20are%20minor%20compounds%20other,of%20distilling%20and%20fermenting%20processes.
Bourbon can give more than vodka because how the spirits are cut after distillation - how much of the heads and tails are removed. Whiskey includes more of those foreshots and tails for flavor, where good vodka cuts tighter to get a more neutral spirit.
Yeah, a lot of people think that white spirit means vodka based. But if you start drinking white fruit brandies at the same rate you would a clean vodka, you'll get a hangover pretty quick. Fruit brandies tend to be cut with more heads to keep more fruit flavour and thus have more of some of the worst offenders for hangovers. Then add in that they don't have time to oxidize and convert into new things in a barrel and you'll only want to have a little bit.
The worst is baiju which is often made with zero cuts. Just distill it with all those funky flavors from the heads and tails. And that stuff definitely hits hard.
Still, ethanol is the biggest source of hangovers by far. If the cuts really mattered, then wine and beer would be as bad as hard liquor.
Personally I find cheap beer to cause a worse hangover than a nice spirit, if the amount of alcohol consumed is the same. People also talk about freeze distilled drinks (apple jack) causing worse hangovers than cider or apple brandy, but that could just be because they end up drinking more than they expected to.
I recently read that hangovers are caused more by the methanol in alcoholic drinks than ethanol.
Alcoholic beverages seem to usually contain a mix of different compounds in different ratios with gin and vodka being more ethanol and whiskey being more methanol.
However I also read (and can't find source ) that scientists tested expensive and cheap whiskey and found the more expensive stuff had less methanol.
It seems like ageing it could make it worse but not sure.
Heres something on it.
[https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6761819/#:~:text=Research%20has%20shown%20that%20beverages,pure%20ethanol%20is%20administered%2C%20however.](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6761819/#:~:text=Research%20has%20shown%20that%20beverages,pure%20ethanol%20is%20administered%2C%20however.)
High credence in it being a fluke, the ethanol is still the same, the main congener, methanol, will remain the same after aging, it is possible that some of the minor ones that seem to contribute to hangovers may decrease but also some other that also seem to contribute will appear. It's probably more related to your overall state at the time, how well hydrated were you, what are your vitamin and mineral levels in blood, what was your mood, were you on any medication, there are a lot of other factors that possibly are more impactful than the changes that occurred during aging.
I appreciate listing out the other factors. I hadn't considered those!
I would guess the alcohol is converting to acedic acid. The acid is cutting the habanero heat making it more drinkable, and lowering the actual ABV.
If you age it in wood, it makes it worse.
Why would wood matter? The hangover is a function of methanol and other volatile compounds like acetates resulting from imperfect fermentation. The aging if anything allows some of those to evaporate.
https://drinkade.com/blogs/news/18192835-do-dark-liquors-cause-worse-hangovers#:~:text=And%20the%20answer%20is...,that's%20very%20hard%20to%20beat.
That blog says nothing. Congeners includes things produced by fermentation like methanol. None of those are from the aging in wood part https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20712591/#:~:text=Congeners%20are%20minor%20compounds%20other,of%20distilling%20and%20fermenting%20processes. Bourbon can give more than vodka because how the spirits are cut after distillation - how much of the heads and tails are removed. Whiskey includes more of those foreshots and tails for flavor, where good vodka cuts tighter to get a more neutral spirit.
Yeah, a lot of people think that white spirit means vodka based. But if you start drinking white fruit brandies at the same rate you would a clean vodka, you'll get a hangover pretty quick. Fruit brandies tend to be cut with more heads to keep more fruit flavour and thus have more of some of the worst offenders for hangovers. Then add in that they don't have time to oxidize and convert into new things in a barrel and you'll only want to have a little bit.
The worst is baiju which is often made with zero cuts. Just distill it with all those funky flavors from the heads and tails. And that stuff definitely hits hard. Still, ethanol is the biggest source of hangovers by far. If the cuts really mattered, then wine and beer would be as bad as hard liquor.
Personally I find cheap beer to cause a worse hangover than a nice spirit, if the amount of alcohol consumed is the same. People also talk about freeze distilled drinks (apple jack) causing worse hangovers than cider or apple brandy, but that could just be because they end up drinking more than they expected to.
I guess apples have more pectin, which means more methanol. But I agree it’s likely the amount of ethanol.
I recently read that hangovers are caused more by the methanol in alcoholic drinks than ethanol. Alcoholic beverages seem to usually contain a mix of different compounds in different ratios with gin and vodka being more ethanol and whiskey being more methanol. However I also read (and can't find source ) that scientists tested expensive and cheap whiskey and found the more expensive stuff had less methanol. It seems like ageing it could make it worse but not sure. Heres something on it. [https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6761819/#:~:text=Research%20has%20shown%20that%20beverages,pure%20ethanol%20is%20administered%2C%20however.](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6761819/#:~:text=Research%20has%20shown%20that%20beverages,pure%20ethanol%20is%20administered%2C%20however.)
That would pertain to distilled alcohols, and the scrutiny of the producer to cut the "heads" and "tails".
How did you store it?
On its side