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It’s the season for celebrating – and many of those celebrations include imbibing¹ alcohol. Which sometimes leaves us the next morning with uncomfortable reminders² of our excesses. But does what we drink—say bourbon versus³ vodka—make a difference? Apparently⁴ so, according to a study in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research.

Researchers enlisted⁵ 95 volunteers. Their sleep patterns were measured to make sure that lack of rest didn’t distort the results. Those who got drunk on bourbon reported worse hangovers—headaches, nausea⁶ and general discomfort⁷. And they performed worse on tasks that required careful attention for decision-making. They didn’t sleep any worse than vodka drinkers, though.

Here’s why bourbon might hurt more: many alcoholic⁸ beverages⁹ contain byproducts of fermentation called congeners, complex organic compounds that in large doses can have toxic¹⁰ effects. And darker distilled¹¹ drinks and wines generally have more of these congeners than do lighter¹² ones. Bourbon, in fact, has 37 times more than vodka does. Which, the researchers note, may add to the hangover effect. So if you’re worried about a dark hangover cloud in the morning, maybe stick to lighter drinks tonight.

—Cynthia Graber