The belief that Champagne gets you drunk quicker is something of an old wives’ tale. It’s the kind of trick you “learn” one night in college and slam a bottle of Andre Brut, only to wake up with the worst hangover of your life. And while that’s likely the least scientific way to test the theory, the notion that booze with bubbles delivers its effects faster persists for a reason.
For the most part, alcohol gets into the bloodstream via the lining of the small intestine due to its extensive blood supply and surface area for absorption. Some alcohol is absorbed in the stomach as well, but at a much slower pace: According to the National Library of Medicine, liquids that exceed 40 percent ABV delay bowel movements, and therefore inhibit absorption. That study says bubbles affect that equation: “Drinks aerated with carbon dioxide — for example, whisky and soda, and Champagne — get into the system quicker.” Why that is, though, is slightly more complicated.
The way our bodies handle bubbles largely has to do with digestion. One theory suggests that carbonation creates pressure in the stomach, which, in turn, accelerates gastric emptying. This allows alcohol to move to the small intestine more quickly. There’s a muscular valve at the bottom of the stomach called the pyloric sphincter that opens to allow food and drink to pass through to the small intestine, so there’s reason to believe that carbonation and bloating might cause this valve to open prematurely, letting
