I have been known to put away my share of screwdrivers, too, but learned the hard way that it is worth it to pay a little more for good vodka rather than cheap rot gut. The same is very much true of whisky, and liquor in general and, as Tim says, if they were giving it away it was probably one step up (or down) from trash can punch, so of course it was awful. A lot of people, particularly in college, swear by Jack Daniels Black Label, but, IMHO, it is little more than turpentine with strong name recognition; I find Jim Beam much smoother, but even that is still pretty cheap whisky. Save up for some 20 or 40 year old scotch and you might get a whole other perspective on whisky. You might also look for a blended whisky; mixing an older whisky with a younger tends to make the latter much smoother as well, without having to pay the price for a bottle older than you are.

Anyway, hope you feel better now--and feel OK tomorrow....