That aside, we all sip our first drink with the best intentions. We will only have one or two, and we will be mature. But it will happen, from time to time, that you'll get a tad too excited and next thing you're waking up in the flax bushes by the shed because you gave up attempting to get the key in the back door properly. If you do manage to make it to your actual bed then chances are you'll wake up fully clothed with a mouth so dry your tongue is suffocating you from the inside. Every sound is like the screams of 17 seagulls inside your ear canal and your brain feels like the pile of leftover chips that they're pecking at.
So how do hangovers happen? Besides the obvious lack of self-discipline, what's the science behind it? And how can we prevent them?
A hangover is caused by a combination of the toxic byproduct of alcohol metabolism, acetaldehyde, dehydration and the depletion of vitamins A, B6 and C, and other nutrients. This causes your body to go into metabolic shock, which can also trigger disorientation and the "jitters".
A dehydration hangover is the most common and it can be avoided by not drinking to excess in the first place or by drinking a couple of pints of water before you go to bed. It takes about 200ml of water to counteract each 30ml of alcohol.
When your body can't get water from its normal supply, it steals it from anywhere it can - like your saliva glands, your eyes and your brain cells. Although the brain itself cannot feel pain, when it becomes dehydrated, the pain-sensitive filaments connecting the outside membranes to the inside of the skull become stretched, causing a headache.
My mate Bill from Bondi says: "When I'm out on the squirt, I keep all the tabs from the tinnies I drink in one of my pockets - that's how many glasses of water I've gotta drink before bed and I'm happy as a dingo the next day."
Reduce the amount of sugar you consume with your alcohol. Sorry, all you bourbon-and-Cokers, but forcing your body to metabolise sugar and alcohol will accelerate the depletion of B vitamins and make the hangover worse. Before bed, eat bananas. Bananas replenish all the potassium that is stripped from your system by alcohol. Plus they're a natural antacid, which will help ease nausea, and they're packed with magnesium which helps alleviate headaches.
Take two aspirin before bed, too; the prostaglandin inhibitors in aspirin can lessen the pain of a hangover. Then, in the morning, take two more aspirin and a multivitamin with a large glass of water.
My friend Una also has a helpful tip: "In Finland, we are also taking a long, hot sauna and are doing lots of sweating." She swears that this will have you feeling half-human in no time.
Mike's Single American IPA 500ml (6.7%) $9.50With its rich, sweet, malty nose it's a hard ask not to sip it immediately, so do that straight away. In the mouth it's a hop-bomb clad in a Hawaiian shirt, pineapple, with citrus and all sorts of tropical taste sensations over a zesty, herbaceous tone. Fantastic length of flavour and a new favourite for me. Organicbeer.co.nz
Rockburn Tigermoth Central Otago Riesling 2013 $35 Winemaker Malcolm Rees-Francis is seriously talented and it only takes a single sip of this stunning wine to see why the trophy cabinet at Rockburn is heaving with heavy metal. Crafted in a Spatlese style, from fruit sourced from their Parkburn vineyard in the Cromwell Basin, each mouthful explodes with punchy tangelo, lusciously sweet mandarin and tangy lime and apple flavours. It's extremely concentrated, crisp and tangy, with eye-popping apricot notes on the finish. Powerful stuff, and yet at only 9.5 per cent alcohol it won't send you sideways. Glorious. Rockburn.co.nz
Sacred Hill Orange Label Marlborough Pinot Noir 2013 $19 This is excellent-value Marlborough pinot from a producer who really knows how to pack bright berries, plump, plummy flavours and lovely spices inside an affordable bottle. Fruity, vibrant and deliciously drinkable. Sacredhill.com
