GMO statistics Part 1. The paired sample hypothesis.

Organic booze could be your new hangover helper

- Sean Evans, New York Daily News, Aug. 15, 2008 Via Agbioview

At 11:50 p.m. on a recent Thursday night, I found myself completely drunk at a bar on the lower East Side. But for once, I had a decent reason to brutally abuse my liver: testing out the theory that organic spirits produce less of a hangover than regular booze.

CLICK TO FOLLOW SEAN ON HIS HIGHLY SCIENTIFIC ORGANIC BEVERAGE EXPERIMENT

Many swear the missing chemical additives in organic spirits make mornings a breeze. "You can drink easier knowing that organic spirits come from ingredients raised without pesticides or petroleum-based fertilizers, which can end up in your glass," says Heather Stephenson, co-founder of Idealbite.com, a fun Web site offering bite-size email ideas for light-green living.

Hence the experiment: imbibe organic drinks, then try their non-organic alternatives, to see which results in a lesser hangover the following morning. As many variables as possible were controlled: diet, alcohol amounts, proof of the booze, even the same behavior following my inebriation.

To sate the organic alcohol requirement, a visit to an all-organic restaurant and bar called Counter, on First Ave., was in order. Frank Cisneros, the manager, was delighted to have the hangover theory finally tested.

"It does make sense, given that you're drinking pure products," he offered. "But no one's ever done anything like you're about to," he laughed.

Eleven drinks disappeared into my system over the course of three hours: a scotch, a rum and coke, a tequila shot, a gin and tonic, a merlot, an açaí berry liqueur called VeeV, a vodka cranberry, another scotch, a beer and two glasses of champagne - all of which are 100% organic, even down to the mixers and fruit garnishes.

Immediately, the difference in taste is both noticeable and appreciated. Organic booze is so mild, my drinking partner Ben Kammerle asked, "Are we sure this is really alcohol?" after a round of impossibly smooth tequila shots....continued at Daily News.