Do Different Types of Alcohol Cause you to Act Differently?

[invinotheresverde]

In a recent thread, linguafood mentioned that gin makes her melodramatic. Is this in her head or is there a legit, physiological reason this could happen? I've never noticed it personally, so I'm interested.

[linguafood]

Ahahahaha. I saw that header and just *knew* my reply had inspired this.

While I (obviously) don't have any scientific explanation for my reactions to various kinds of booze, I can honestly say from experience that the effects are different. We're talking drinking here, not sipping. That is, getting a buzz on. If this is shocking to anyone, read something else.

Here's the deal for me:

Beer - dull-headed, low-energy, tired buzz
Wine - similar, maybe less dumb-headed
Vodka - clear-headed, not even feeling drunk, intellectually eloquent, brilliant sense of humor
j/k
Gin - clear-headed until smashed and crying over silly things
Tequila - no way, josé

Who's next?

[invinotheresverde]

Hope you don't mind, doll. ;)

[sunshine842]

Not a huge difference with anything except tequila...I try to be VERY careful with tequila, because impulsive behaviour comes out in force...dancing on tables, everybody's best friend....oy.

(Sadly, I was granted total recall...no matter how incredibly <insert adjective here> my behaviour of the prior night, I'll remember every gory detail before I even manage to lift my pounding head off of the pillow. I thus learned at a very early age to just try to stay toward the sober end of the spectrum whenever possible.)

[linguafood]

I have to admit that I stayed clear of vodka for 5 years after a particularly bad night.

Thankfully, I'm back on (or is that off?) the wagon. Haven't had a hangover in at least a year.

[Quine]

Tequila makes your clothes fall off? Darn funny song.

[sunshine842]

Never went that far down that rocky road, but that stuff makes me do stoopid things.

[hamboney]

Cheap tequilla and Doritos coming out of my muzzle made me a firm believer to stay away from El Diablo's Nectar for good. Rum made me dumb, umm...no it made me stoopid, Jack D put me in a hospital.

I enjoy beer only now. A buddy of mine is a home brewer so quality reigns; except for an occasional quantity of Coors Light...oh, the shame.
Cheers,
Hammy

[ncyankee101]

I can't really say a difference in the way I act, but I definitely have a difference in the way I feel. Beer makes me lightheaded and dizzy, comes on fast but also fades away quickly - wine makes me feel more energetic - but hard liquor (mainly Scotch) doesn't really make me feel buzzed, until the point I find myself walking into walls and tables.

Not sure if it might have to do with the carbonation in beer vs the sugars in wine vs higher alcohol levels in hard stuff.

[linguafood]

That's the scary thing, I think, about hard liquor. If you are sitting down, playing cards w/friends or just having a conversation, things are swell. And then you get up / encounter a good dose of oxygen. Whoa.

[sunshine842]

first time I ever had a Long Island Iced Tea -- everyone sitting around a table yakking and listening to music. Finished my drink, and started to head to the bathroom...took two steps and went flat on my face -- my legs just gave up trying.

(Oddly, a little buzzed, but not the usual falling-down-drunk level you'd think would be necessary to end up with rubber legs...but the body was having problems...but yes, I made it to the loo, thanks.)

[zin1953]

Generally speaking -- or rather, at least when it comes to wine -- sparkling wines will get the alcohol into your blood steam *faster* than still wines, so for the same ABV, you feel the effects more rapidly, more strongly, but for a shorter period of time . . . and a more rapid "crash."

[linguafood]

Oh yeah, I totally forgot champagne. That shit is lethal to the max. I have a couple of friends who can drink it all night. Me? I get heartburn, and that's when I'm lucky. I stay far, far away from that stuff, save for the occasional Mimosa.

[alanbarnes]

And life is still worth living? ;-)

[linguafood]

Barely.

[jgg13]

This is similar to what I was going to say. I believe it's based on the actual ABV and how quickly stuff is getting into your system.

[alanbarnes]

I want to travel back in time and mix some (four) martinis for Dorothy Parker.

[zin1953]

Man after my own heart!

[BobB]

What a gracious host! ;-)

[dinnerwithfox]

Red wine - Sick, instant headache. Cant drink it for some reason

All clear spirits - Fun, talkative, lots of energy and usually my drink of choice seeing as though clear spirits never make me sick and I never go to far with them, including tequlia.

Dark spirits - Sick mainly haha, yeah my body just does not agree with anything dark.

White wine/champagne - Light headed, dazed, goes straight to my head literally. Then eventually it'll put me straight to sleep, moreso white wine than champagne.

Beer - Doesnt really have any effect on me, not that I drink it much.

[redfish62]

Tequila for me ... and if I really want to get crazy Mezcal.

[friskyfilly]

Its an interesting question. I've often heard people say things to the effect of tequila makes them act crazy, wine makes them morose and introverted, vodka makes them hyper, and on and on. But, I suppose I've never really given much thought to my own intoxication characteristics! I will say that beer makes me feel more tipsy/buzzed/woozy or however you want to put it, than ANY liquor ever does. I don't know why, but I think I have quite a high tolerance for tequila or even wine, but with beer, I definitely have to pace myself more. Its seems that the opposite would be true, but I guess there are no rules and everyone is different. I don't drink like a crazy person or anything, but I do enjoy a few cocktails or glasses of wine or beer a few nights a week. Yikes...seeing that in print sounds worse than I perceive my drinking habits to be!

[hypomyces]

At a little 'Soirée', I was served a shooter (many?) of Jägermeister and Goldschläger. Can you say 'Liquid Cocaine' anyone?

[comestible]

Sometimes my eastern European relatives send me homemade slivovitz. Talk about lethal!

I can't take more than a couple of sips.

[MonMauler]

Oh man is that stuff awesome. The only time I had it was at this Serbian festival a year or so back, we were really slugging it, and it absolutely destroyed me. I still don't know who drove me home, but I do remember waking up naked on a chaise lounge next to the pool at my house in the middle of the night.

[davis_sq_pro]

I don't believe that different spirits should result in different types of drunkenness, assuming that they're cleanly produced (real moonshine, made in someone's backyard, may not be in the same category as a bottle of industrial vodka). The bottom line is that ethanol is ethanol. And belief is a powerful intoxicant. I think most of the perceived differences in intoxication are due to mindset and setting.

Tequila is supposed to make you crazy, and many people shoot it in settings where they're supposed to get crazy, so people bend in that direction and blame it on the al-al-alcohol (with apologies to Jamie Foxx). Personally, if I drink a Margarita I feel basically the same as when I drink a Pegu Club cocktail or some other sour made with a different spirit. (Perhaps this makes me less fun at parties!) Jager shooter is liquid cocaine? Maybe it's the sugar rush talking. I don't feel hyped up after I sip some Fernet. (Usually because I've just completed a large dinner, but that's another topic.)

Wine and beer might be different. I can say firsthand that wine gives me a tremendous hangover if I overindulge. And beer contains hops, which supposedly have their own minor psychoactive effect. I do feel rather tired after two beers, but after attending a beer fest last year and seriously overindulging I was full of energy, so I can't say there's much consistency there either.

[invinotheresverde]

This was pretty much my take on the matter, too.

[Augie6]

I also agree with mindset and SETTING... Distractions, Music , Converstions, (Ladies ) all play a portion on how everything will turn out...

White Wines/Champagne makes me SICK or light headed after 2 glasses
Mostly All Beer -- I can drink most of night and not be in trouble

My kryptonite is long Island Ice Teas they do something scarry to me ...

[MacTAC]

"Wine and beer might be different >snip< And beer contains hops, which supposedly have their own minor psychoactive effect."

I wonder if that's where the phrase "hopped up" comes from. Saw nothing definitive with a quick google search...

[alanbarnes]

"Hops" was 20s slang for opium. "Hophead" = drug addict; "hopped up" = under the influence of drugs.

[scubadoo97]

I suspect the different congeners may have some effect on the way alcohol is taken up and indirectly may have some effect on behavior. Sure adds to the hangover.

Personally I find only a little difference between alcohol beverages in the way I feel. I don't know but for some reason I find I get a bigger buzz on bourbon than rum at the same ABV. Wine and beer will give me a bigger headache.

I think you may also drink at different rates with different drinks. Vodka is like water so it's easy to drink a big rocks glass full in a short period of time. If your shooting shots of tequila then that may contribute to not being able to find your cloths in the morning.

Me I prefer to sip something interesting neat and enjoy the nuances of the craft. I'm a boring drinker.

[cannedmilkandfruitypebbles]

a shooter with Jager and Goldshlager is literally called, "Liquid Cocaine" FWIW. It was the shooter of choice for a group of us in Montreal more than a few years ago.

[Coconuts]

The bar where I had it used Jager, Rumplemintz and 151 in a Liquid Cocaine.

[jiminy]

i theory all booze should affect us the same, the reality is far from that.
scotch-good for a couple but ruinious for more, killer hangover other less pleasent side effects
vodka-makes me the funniest person in the room
beer-Well I'm canadian we don't get drunk on that, its more like mothers milk
wine-nice warm heady buzz for red, never like white enought to drink that much
sake-warm fuzzy feeling all over
sambuca-why was it a good idea to do shots of this?
tequila-I think I fell over but can't really tell from down here
Gin is nice, pleasent somewhat clearheaded buzz
Maybe I drink to much

[Beach Chick]

Tequila has made me do things that I cannot put in print...hee hee

[jackbauer]

For some reason, the only potent potable that makes me act any differently is B&B. It tends to anger up my blood and make me kind of a d-bag. I haven't had it for some time, but I miss it, it's damn tasty. Guess I'd rather keep my friends. : )

[imhungryletseat]

The circumstances obviously have a lot to do with how you act. During college, you drank Tequila with the guys before you went out to get FIRED UP!! But you drank wine with your gf to get mellow, happy and horny!
Beer was dual purpose....cheap beer was used for drinking games and there was a fine line between fired up to fall down whereas better beer was used as a social lubricant

[AnneInMpls]

Beer always makes me incredibly sleepy. Even just one beer makes me feel like I've taken a sleeping pill. I'm still trying to determine if the hoppiness of the beer is related to my level of sleepiness, but I keep dozing off and forgetting what I drank. Bummer, because I really like beer, but can never manage to drink more than two.

Wine makes me relaxed, but not sleepy. Unless I drink most of the bottle...

I haven't noticed any difference in the effects of hard liquor and liqueurs. However, I can't drink Amaretto, much as I love it - I get terrible hangovers from relatively small amounts, like a shot or two (love the stuff neat). So I don't drink it any more. (Instead, I'll have Cointreau or Grand Marnier.)

Anne

[sunshine842]

Grand Marnier (cordon rouge) is poison for me -- any more than one, and I'll have a headache so bad it leaves me curled in a fetal ball praying for mercy (so I tend to not drink it at all). Grand Marnier centenaire (their very well-aged stuff) doesn't bother me, nor does Cointreau.

Incidentally, Grand Marnier has just introduced a vanilla version -- it would be killer AWESOME to cook with, but it's very syrupy and would be high on the potential headache list.

[invinotheresverde]

I find the Navan really artificial tasting. You're not missing anything.

[sunshine842]

I tried it a few weeks ago -- the vanilla flavor was nice, but yeccch. It was so thick and syrupy and overly sweet it was almost nauseating to drink.

[tanker64]

No, they all make me act stupid.........

[Elispappy]

Let's see...
Beer: love some tripels and IPAs, but the quick bloat precludes a reportable buzz.
Wine: with a meal, nothing better; as a "drink", nothing worse.
Vodka: clean buzz if blended with a decent mixer.
Rum: Barbados products have never bothered me.
Whisky: even single-barrel Bourbons can give a headache the next day, because of the sugar content.
Tequila: no thanks.
Cordials: avoid.
Aperitifs: avoid.

[ncyankee101]

No distilled alcohol cotains any sugar.

Also single-barrel bourbon should be no different from other bourbons in terms of effect on you, it is not more or less pure, it just gets taken from one barrel rather than being blended from several.

[zin1953]

>>> No distilled alcohol cotains any sugar. <<<

Let's be careful here. Every distillate is first fermented. That fermentation converts sugars into alcohol. That fermentation (left unabated) will continue until virtually all the sugar is consumed by the yeast and converted into alcohol, unless . . . the fermentation is deliberately stopped before its natural completion; the fermentation is "stuck," and doesn't finish; or the fermentation generates so much alcohol that the yeast die off before finishing the task at hand.

Distillation, in effect, concentrates that alcohol.

But there are LOTS of distilled spirits that contain sugars. Liqueurs? Cordials? Even some rums, brandies, and other spirits . . .

Cheers,
Jason

[davis_sq_pro]

With regard to barrel-aged spirits, and leaving out the fact that many (other than bourbon) are dosed with caramel: Does the wood not contribute anything in terms of sugars? Wood does contain have some natural sugar; it's generated as part of photosynthesis. It would make sense to assume that some of it will leech into the spirit and contribute to the sweet flavor that barrel aging creates. Not a huge amount, of course, but enough that you could no longer call the spirit free of sugar.

By the way, it seems to me that saying that a liqueur gives you a headache because of sugar content is the same as saying that a chocolate chip cookie gives you a headache. Ridiculous in either case (allergies to wheat and/or chocolate are of course not included in this particular statement <g>).

[ncyankee101]

Sugar doesn't evaporate, so does not get past the distillation - but davis_sq_pro may be correct that some sugars could leach from the barrel - but I doubt it's a nutritionally meaningful amount, because I see zero carbs listed for distilled spirits on nutritional sites, such as diabetes sites.

I wasn't including cordials or liqueurs because sugars are added post-distillation,

[davis_sq_pro]

I can't imagine that a glass of Ron Zacapa -- a sticky sweet rum -- has zero grams net carbs -- unless they're dosing it with stevia or something? I seriously doubt it... Given the lack of labeling requirements it seems like liquor must be a real mine field for diabetics.

[ncyankee101]

Taking into consideration how much sweetness a teaspoon of sugar adds to an Old-fashioned, it's possible to make something pretty sweet without a significant amount - that is one teaspoon to two ounces of whiskey, so 15 cals sugar to ~195 calories alcohol.

Where's JMF when we need him?

[zin1953]

I'm confused. I never said sugars evaporate.

Sugars are FERMENTED into alcohol PRIOR to distillation. Since alcohols evaporate at a temperature lower than water, the alcohols evaporate and are condensed and concentrated through distillation.

I was merely quoting you when you said "No distilled alcohol cotains any sugar."

[davis_sq_pro]

ncyankee101 said "Sugar doesn't evaporate, so does not get past the distillation." Point being that even if there is some residual sugar left in the wine after fermentation, it's not going to make it into the distilled spirit. So I think you agree on that point. Whether or not that spirit picks up sugar after the distillation phase, by any number of means, is an entirely different question.

[ncyankee101]

Yes, that was my point exactly. In his prior post Zin sounded as though he was saying the residual sugars were still present in distilled liquor.

[zin1953]

That is a serious MIS-reading of my post.

Fermentation creates the alcohol; distillation concentrates that alcohol.

In fermentation, yeast consumes the sugars present and converts them to alcohol, and will continue to do so until virtually no sugars are left* (unless something goes wrong**). The result will be anything from, say, 5-15 percent, depending upon how much sugar is present in the unfermented liquid to begin with.

Distillation takes it up to ________ percent, depending upon the type of spirit being produced.

All I said was "LOTS of distilled spirits [that one can purchase] that contain sugars. Liqueurs? Cordials? Even some rums, brandies, and other spirits . . ."

Cheers,
Jason

* Scientifically, it's impossible to get to 0.000 percent residual sugar, but in layman's terms, there is none left.

** Such as the fermentation is deliberately stopped before its natural completion; the fermentation is "stuck," and doesn't finish; or the fermentation generates so much alcohol that the yeast die off before finishing the task at hand -- all of which can, and do, happen in winemaking. I think you got confused when, in an attempt to be thorough, I added "extra" information that did not directly apply to distillation. Sorry about the confusion.

[ncyankee101]

I don't think I "MIS-read" your post at all - perhaps you wrote it in a very ambiguous confusing manner?

*** "That fermentation (left unabated) will continue until virtually all the sugar is consumed by the yeast and converted into alcohol, unless . . . the fermentation is deliberately stopped before its natural completion; the fermentation is "stuck," and doesn't finish" ***

certainly makes it sound as though you are implying that those residual sugars are still present in distilled spirits, otherwise I don't know why you would even have mentioned that given the context of the discussion.

I've had lots of chemistry courses while studying engineering, I understand fermentation and distillation quite well thanks - don't really need a dissertation with every post.

And as I mentioned afterwards - I don't consider anything added after distillation to be part of the "distilled spirit" so liqueurs and cordials are their own category. The original post was talking about sugar in single-barrel bourbon.

[davis_sq_pro]

Okay, I think we're all on the same page. Let's relax and move on with life, over a nice glass of eau du vie. (Definitely no sugar there. :-))

[osho]

Scotch - this is my favorite spirit. Mostly uplifting.

IPA beer - love the hoppy taste but I feel really tired and sleepy and listless

Ale or Lager - scant effects. I suppose my body is used to them.

Vodka - dont really like it - I avoid it because I can never detect the tipping point. Blackouts etc :-)

Tequila - just does not ever, ever Agree with me. I call it poison.

[Candy]

1 martini, 2 martini, 3 martini, floor ! That is my story and I'm sticking to it. My DH says after the 3rd I have many conversations and phone calls to complete unknowns, and I am not using my phone or mobile. Weird.

[zin1953]

Is that what AT&T meant when they used to say, "Reach out. Reach out and touch someone"???

[sunshine842]

ROFL -- touch someone...we don't know who or how, but just reach out there....

[sanglier]

Fill me full of gin and I wanna kiss every woman in the place. Without gin, I want to but don't. With it, pucker up!

[YAYME]

I think it depends on the enviroment. I got nicely sloshed last night with my S.O.... usually alcohol doesn't have much effect as I nurse a drink through the night. My poison lately of choice is gin.

[CarrieWas218]

I lived with an alcoholic and whenever he drank Scotch, we had the most horrific fights...

I would get to a point where I would BEG him to not drink Scotch because I knew it would end up in a really, really bad evening of screaming and irrational arguments.