The Vegans’ Manual On Getting Drunk

Healthy as it may be, it is definitely not easy being vegan at times. Unless you have exceptionally high will power, a nicely layered glass of Bailey’s Irish coffee or a glass of Eggnog is bound to take you off your vegan diet.

Can Vegans Consume Alcohol?

It might come across as a silly (and for some even obvious) but for those who are not in the know, the good news is that vegans too can enjoy a glass of poison. Here’s what every vegan needs to know before getting drunk.

Finding vegan alcohol is not a difficult task, one just has to be well-informed because even though most of the spirits do not use any animal product or dairy, there are certain breweries, winemakers, and distillers who might.

What Makes It Non-Vegan?

These manufacturers include animal produce directly in their products, or use them indirectly in the processing and filtration.

During the production process, ingredients like honey, dairy, and eggs are often incorporated in the best of recipes.

If not in production, then often while filtering the drinks before bottling, companies can use ingredients like isinglass (from fish bladder), gelatin, egg whites, and seashells, among various other things. These foodstuffs grab onto the impurities and make it easier to filter. Though there are many animal-free alternatives in use, manufacturers often go with the former.

Know Your Poison

Luckily, except for cream-based liqueurs and products that mention honey on the label, nearly every brand of hard liquor – bourbon, whiskey, vodka, gin, and rum – is vegan. Nearly all distilled spirits are vegan.

But ‘nearly’ is not the same as ‘all’. For example, certain popular names like Godiva, Bailey’s, Sauvignon Blanc and many others are not vegan friendly. Guinness has too only recently added the vegan feather to its hat. So before you drown yourself in a glass of alcohol, check for its vegan-cy. 

The easiest way to know is turning to Barnivore for help. The interactive portal has an exhaustive database that lets you check for the vegan quotient of tens of thousands of alcohols.

Now go ahead and have yourself a vegan hangover!