According to a recent scientific study reported last week by the BBC, whiskey produces a worse hangover than vodka. Apparently the molecular composition of whiskey differs from that of vodka and that is why you get a different (read worse) kind of headache the next day.

The study also stated that regardless of what you imbibe, “Drinking too much of any alcoholic drink can have a number of undesirable short- and long-term effects."

I certainly don’t know if a scientific study was needed to yield those results – frequent any party this time of year and the undesirable effects are overtly apparent – but it’s a good reminder for the holiday season, nonetheless.

In the interest of “science,” and to do some “necessary” shopping for upcoming holiday extravaganzas, I took a trip to the downtown Spec’s on Smith Street. This Spec's really is one of my favorite holiday shopping stores. Go there on the eve of any major holiday and experience for yourself all the frivolity and buzz. Whether it is the free samples or the insightful educational documentaries playing on the televisions, this Spec’s is the one place in Houston where I actually don’t mind the crowds.

And with my curiosity piqued by the recent scientific study, I went right to the whiskey section to peruse the selections of this popular hangover-inducing bevey. On well-stocked shelves I saw some familiar names: Evan Williams, Jim Beam, Jack Daniels and some guy named Jameson who I seemed to remember meeting a few times.

But there was a whiskey name missing. One I’ve heard about and read about, but according to the knowledgeable folks at Spec's, I’ll just have to keep dreaming about.

George Washington.

Hold up, wait a minute. THE George Washington? The George Washington with wooden teeth? Well, actually they were made of animal bone and ivory. Try putting a toothpick in your mouth for a day and you’ll understand why wood was not the best choice for dentures.

But how’s he associated with whiskey, you ask?

Yes, the first President of the United States George Washington…the intrepid surveyor in Virginia who kicked off the French and Indian War George Washington…the Commander of the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War George Washington. He was a whiskey maker.

Washington and Whiskey?

Washington got into the whiskey business in 1797 after retiring from the presidency and politics.

Although Washington was not a big drinker himself, he had long understood the salutary effects of spirits. Washington actually doled it out during some of his political campaigns to get supporters out to vote. Perhaps that’s a tactic we might think about to help increase voter turn out rates in local elections. I’m just saying.

At age 65, the former president returned to his estate at Mount Vernon and hired a Scottish immigrant named James Anderson to manage his plantation. Anderson, steeped in the ways of making whiskey, convinced Washington to try his hand at distilling to diversify Washington’s commercial enterprise.

Washington most likely recognized the market for whiskey in a population that drank close to five gallons of distilled spirits a year. Comparatively speaking, the average American today drinks a little less than two gallons.

And according to archeologists at Mount Vernon, Washington didn’t just distill whiskey; his operation produced “unusually large” quantities of whiskey. Efforts by both archeologists and historians during the past decade have unearthed evidence that Washington’s distillery was perhaps the largest in the country by 1799, the year of Washington’s death. It brought in more than $100,000 dollars in annual revenue and produced 11,000 gallons a year in rye mash and corn whiskey.

And as of this past April, you can actually taste the stuff. Unfortunately you’ll have to go to Virginia to sample. It’s not on the shelves yet.

So if you’re spending much of the holiday catching up on the AMC series Mad Men and drinking Old Fashioneds to get in character, just know you have the presidential seal of approval to indulge in whiskey. Just be wary of that sneaky, “undesirable” affect setting in.