Cheers Restore Review: The DHM Hangover Pills, Compared (2026)

Cheers (formerly Thrive+) is the DHM hangover-pill brand most US buyers know first. Its Restore capsules pioneered the category at scale and set the template most competitors copy. This review sticks to what Cheers Restore’s label actually discloses — the DHM dose, the full ingredient list, the serving size, and the real per-serving price — and then compares it, factually, to a deliberately different approach: a single-ingredient DHM capsule. No efficacy claims about either; just what you can verify.

Disclosure: Hovenia (single-ingredient DHM) is the brand behind this site and appears here as the alternative. It’s pre-launch and US-first, so it’s a reserve/waitlist, not a checkout. Cheers figures below are read from the brand’s published Supplement Facts and product page — verify current versions before relying on them.

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration or Health Canada. Neither product is intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Consult your healthcare provider before use.

What’s actually in Cheers Restore

Cheers Restore is a fully itemized, no-proprietary-blend formula — a genuine point in its favour; you can see every ingredient amount. From the brand’s published Supplement Facts (read 2026-07-31), one 3-capsule dose contains:

Vine Tea (Ampelopsis grossedentata) extract, standardized to 98% dihydromyricetin — 1,200 mg. Note the wording: that’s 1,200 mg of extract at 98% DHM, which computes to roughly 1,176 mg of DHM — but the label doesn’t print a plain “DHM — X mg” line, so you have to do that math yourself. (Cheers’ own marketing rounds this to “1,200 mg DHM,” which slightly overstates the panel.)
L-Cysteine HCl — 450 mg
Milk thistle (seed) extract — 50 mg; prickly pear (fruit) — 50 mg; ginger (root) extract — 50 mg
Vitamins C, E, B1, B6, B12, plus small amounts of sodium and potassium

So Cheers is a multi-ingredient blend built around a high DHM extract dose, sold as 12 doses (36 capsules) per bottle. At the current direct price of $35 one-time (~$2.92 per dose), or $30 on subscription (~$2.50 per dose) — though Cheers’ DTC price has moved between roughly $35 and $50 recently, so verify the current figure. It’s transparent and well-formulated; the only real legibility gap is that the DHM figure is an extract-plus-percentage rather than a discrete number.

Quick comparison

	Hovenia	Cheers Restore
DHM per serving	1,000 mg (stated as a discrete DHM figure)	1,200 mg vine-tea extract @ 98% DHM (≈1,176 mg DHM, computed — not stated plainly)
Formula	Single ingredient — DHM only	Blend: DHM extract + L-Cysteine, milk thistle, prickly pear, ginger, vitamins
Serving size	1 serving ([FORMAT-PENDING] capsule count)	3 capsules
Servings per bottle	~30	12
Price per serving (DTC)	~$1.00	~$2.92
Availability	Pre-launch, US-first (reserve / waitlist)	Established, shipping now

The two headline rows: Cheers is a blend with a high DHM extract dose and a full supporting stack; Hovenia is one studied compound, stated as a plain 1,000 mg, and nothing else — at roughly a third of the per-serving price. Neither is a claim that one works better. They’re different philosophies at very different price points.

Single ingredient vs. a blend: the honest difference

This is a difference in approach, not effectiveness.

Cheers Restore bets on a blend: a big DHM extract dose plus L-Cysteine and botanicals meant to round out the formula. Blends are the category norm — a 2025 analysis in a Sage Journals title found DHM appears in roughly 47.8% of US recovery products, almost always as one component of a larger stack. If you want several bases covered in one product from an established brand, Restore is built for exactly that.

Hovenia does the opposite on purpose: dihydromyricetin and a vegan capsule, with the dose printed plainly as 1,000 mg of DHM. The reasoning is simple — DHM is the most-studied compound in this category, so it gives you a full dose of that one thing and skips the rest. One serving, no proprietary blend, no supporting cast to price in. For why 1,000 mg rather than the ~300 mg many budget products use, see DHM dosage: 300 mg vs 1,000 mg.

Neither is the “right” pick. A blend gives you more inputs; a single ingredient gives you a plainly-stated dose and a simpler label at a lower price. Both Cheers and Hovenia land in the same ~1,000–1,200 mg DHM ballpark — the differences are the supporting stack, how plainly the DHM is stated, and the price.

Dose: same ballpark, stated differently

On DHM specifically, the two are closer than the labels make it look. Hovenia states 1,000 mg of DHM outright. Cheers states 1,200 mg of a vine-tea extract standardized to 98% DHM — about 1,176 mg of DHM once you compute it, just not printed as a plain figure. Both sit at the high end of the roughly 300–1,200 mg range seen in DHM research; many budget products use closer to 300 mg.

A note on what the dose does and doesn’t mean: a number on a label is a factual comparison, not a promise of a bigger effect. The human research on DHM is preliminary and mostly small or in animal models. We state doses because they’re verifiable facts; we don’t extend them into efficacy claims, and you should be skeptical of any brand that does — including a brand’s own marketing rounding “1,200 mg extract” up to “1,200 mg DHM.”

Price: per equal dose

Compared per serving at each product’s own dose:

Hovenia: $29.99 for ~30 servings = ~$1.00 per serving (subscription lower). One serving is 1,000 mg of DHM.
Cheers Restore: $35 for 12 doses = ~$2.92 per dose direct (~$2.50 on subscription).

That’s a comparable DHM dose at roughly a third of the per-serving cost — because you’re paying for one ingredient instead of a blend and a bigger bottle. We’re stating the numbers, not claiming the cheaper one works better. What you trade for the lower price is Cheers’ supporting stack (L-Cysteine, botanicals, vitamins). If those matter to you, that’s a real reason to choose Cheers. (Prices are DTC and change; verify current pricing.)

What Cheers does better

Being fair about it: Cheers has almost everything that comes from being first. More social proof, more reviews, deeper brand history, and far more content than a pre-launch brand. Its label is fully transparent — no proprietary blend — and co-founder Shri Kulkarni has a biochemistry background and has publicly engaged with the science. If you want the established name with the deepest review history and a product you can buy today, that’s Cheers.

Hovenia, by contrast, is pre-launch: US-first, with a waitlist rather than a checkout. If you want to buy this minute, Cheers wins on availability alone. The case for Hovenia is the approach — a single, plainly-stated full DHM dose at a much lower per-serving cost — not “we’re more established,” because it isn’t yet.

Who should choose which

Choose Hovenia if:

You want a single, full DHM dose stated as a plain number, with no blend
You came to the category mainly for the DHM and don’t need the supporting stack
The much lower per-serving cost matters for regular use

Choose Cheers Restore if:

You prefer a transparent multi-ingredient blend that covers several bases
You want the established brand with the deepest review history
You want to buy today (Hovenia is pre-launch and US-first)

There’s no universally correct pick — it comes down to blend vs. single ingredient, and whether buying today outweighs price and simplicity.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much DHM is in Cheers Restore? The label lists 1,200 mg of vine-tea extract standardized to 98% dihydromyricetin per 3-capsule dose — about 1,176 mg of DHM once computed, though it isn’t printed as a plain “DHM — X mg” figure. Cheers’ marketing describes it as “1,200 mg DHM,” which rounds the extract weight up slightly.

How much do Cheers hangover pills cost? Cheers Restore is $35 for a 12-dose bottle direct (~$2.92 per 3-capsule dose), about $2.50 per dose on subscription. Cheers’ price has moved between roughly $35 and $50 recently — check the current listing.

Is Cheers Restore a proprietary blend? No — it’s fully itemized, with every ingredient amount shown. That’s a genuine plus. The only legibility gap is that DHM is expressed as an extract plus a percentage rather than a discrete DHM number.

What’s a single-ingredient alternative to Cheers? Hovenia is single-ingredient pure DHM at a plainly-stated 1,000 mg per serving, roughly a third of Cheers’ per-serving price — the trade-off being no supporting blend. See how the whole category compares in our best hangover pills breakdown.

Do Cheers and Hovenia use the same DHM dose? They’re in the same ballpark: Hovenia states 1,000 mg of DHM; Cheers’ extract computes to roughly 1,176 mg of DHM. Both are at the high end of the range seen in research. The bigger differences are single ingredient vs. blend, and price.

→ Best Hangover Pills (2026): ranked by disclosed DHM dose → → Best DHM Supplement Canada: full comparison → → Hovenia vs No Days Wasted → → Cheers supplement review →

Reviewed for accuracy against the cited primary literature and each product’s published Supplement Facts. Hovenia is a liver-health supplement company; our product supports healthy liver function and is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. This statement has not been evaluated by the FDA or Health Canada.

The brand behind this: Hovenia is single-ingredient pure DHM — 1,000 mg per serving, dose stated plainly, about $1/serving, for the nights you drink. It’s pre-launch and US-first. Reserve yours / join the waitlist → · See the formula →