We’ve all been in this situation before: we wake up after a night of fun and merriment with a terrible hangover.

Normally we’d blame this hangover on ourselves, admitting we probably indulged a bit too much, but this time was different, because we seem to remember one of the guests saying the bottle they brought was pretty cheap, it even came in a jug. That must be the culprit we tell ourselves, cheap wine always results in a bad hangover. But that statement isn’t necessarily true.

Part of this myth originates from the understanding that cheap liquors do often cause worse hangovers, thanks to congeners, also known as fusil oils. These congeners are impurities that our bodies don’t easily process, meaning we need a lot of water to try and flush them out. But often we don’t drink enough water, which means we wind up with a hangover. These congeners are more likely to exist in lower-quality liquors – which are often on the cheaper side – and that’s primarily where the myth that all cheap alcohol causes hangovers comes from. While it is generally true for liquor, it doesn’t always hold true for wine.