Are certain types of hard alcohol easier on the stomach than others?

Interesting question. With brown liquors, it has to do with the aging process; older bourbons and scotches seem to be smoother. With the clears, it’s the distilling.

When I was younger, I couldn’t drink bourbon at all, but since my 50th birthday, it’s my drink of choice (either as an old fashion or with Ale81 and a splash of cranberry.)

I found gin to be the most forgiving, but not the cheap “bathtub” variety. Most people prefer mixed drinks with a tiny bit of alcohol to help make it easier.

Acidifying alcohol can cause an acid reflux reaction. When combined with acidifying sweeteners like sugar the effect might increase. So for hard liquor this means that stardard bourbon might be okay, while drinks like ‘Southern Comfort’ are not, because they also contain a lot of sugar. Depends on the robustness of your stomach I guess.