Ex-Red Bull CEO has just launched a drink that can apparently cure your hangover in one gulp

Say what you will about hangovers, at least they force us to think outside the box. Over the last however many million years human beings have been drinking alcohol, we’ve come up with some truly inspirational ways of getting over the night before. Some of these involve as much meat and grease as you can physically get your hands on. Others, somewhat hypocritically, require even more drinking. Given the vast spectrum of hangover cures already on offer, you might think there were no more ideas left to try. As an ex-chief of Red Bull is proving, this couldn’t be further from the truth.

When UK CEO and all-round drinks guru Harry Drnec left Red Bull in 2007, it looked like being bad news for the drinks industry. Under his stewardship, the world famous energy drink had swelled to become one of the biggest businesses in Europe, and dominated a new caffeine-rich market with the promise of “wiiiiings”.

However, he has recently announced plans to return to the world of beverages, with a new product designed to instantaneously cure hangovers. “Sober Up”, is advertised as a “detox shot”, designed to cleanse the body and promote a healthy liver – thereby fixing the problem of hangovers. As anyone who’s had a hangover will tell you, it’s an ambitious aim.

According to the drink’s description on their Indiegogo public funding page, “Sober Up works and works fast. Take it before, during or after drinking to help prevent a hangover. You can also take it anytime for a general detox and to support liver health.” The ingredients are described as “a naturally sourced (blend)…known for their antioxidant action.” Sober Up claim that, “together, they boost the body’s own detoxification process in order to eliminate toxins”. Bold claims indeed.

These mysterious super ingredients include some familiar, and some unfamiliar names. Common herbs, such as turmeric and peppermint, make an appearance, as do more unusual plants such as wormwood and ginseng. The crown jewel in the drink’s long list of added extras is Sober Up’s newly patented “Rizasalutem” – a blend of 13 separate ingredients that derives its name from the Greek for “root” and the Latin for “healing”.

On paper, there’s no reason why these ingredients shouldn’t help with a hangover, at least a little bit. According to The Metro, “turmeric…is known for its anti inflammatory properties,” whilst  peppermint “can relieve stomach problems and nausea.” It just remains to be seen whether they can actually completely undo a night of irresponsible drinking.

As if the plan to end all hangovers wasn’t ambitious enough, Sober Up’s page reveals that they also plan to combine their new product with marijuana. The page states the business’ intention to work with CBD, a legal extract from the plant, in the future, claiming the substance has “also recently been shown to promote liver health”. Hangover cures are becoming more interesting by the year.

Credit: Pixabay/jarmoluk

Whether or not Sober Up is actually as effective as Drnec and his team claim remains to be seen.The business has only just reached its crowdfunding target, meaning that no cans have actually been produced for the public. Whatever they produce, however, is surely worth a try. Anything’s better than vomiting into a toilet.