I’ve seen people claim that getting drunk off of X causes them to party, while getting drunk off of Y causes them to sleep, and getting drunk off of Z causes them to be more depressed, but X causes them to be more happy, etc.
Is this actually true? If so,
– I presume it’s dependent on the person, so what physical or mental differences in a person make them more or less likely?
– What about the alcohols could affect this?
– How does what you mix it with take a role? (Like do Citrus mix-ins have a different effect than caffeine mix-ins, etc).
If it’s not true:
– Why do people claim that it’s true so fervently?
Edit: So the consensus seems to be “The difference comes from the atmosphere and emotions you have going in. The alcohol itself likely has little difference. However, some alcohol has more or less histamines, melatonin, or are often paired with things with more sugar or caffeine, or contain more or less fluids to hydrate, so these all may play roles”.
In: Chemistry
The ethanol in the drinks is all the same and is going to have the same general effect on their body chemistry. However, the composition of the drink is going to matter for three big reasons. First, it can affect how fast people get the alcohol into their bodies. Drinks with a lower alcohol content are typically going to take longer to get you drunk simply because they take longer to drink (practices like chugging beer notwithstanding). Drinks served with something else that gives you energy (sugar from mixers or cocktail ingredients, caffeine, to a lesser extent the unfermented carbs in beer and wine) mean that you’ll have that energy available when you’re drunk. Finally, social/economic factors may affect how quickly you drink different things. You *can* drink a glass of scotch in one gulp, but you usually sip and savor it because it’s expensive and has a notable flavor. You *can* nurse a shot of well vodka all night, but you usually drink it all at once because it’s cheap and doesn’t taste like much.
None of this adds up to big, general statements about how certain liquors will “make you happy” and others “make you sad,” etc. That’s probably driven entirely by the drinker’s past experience and the social contexts in which they have certain drinks. But even holding all of that constant, you are likely to have a slightly different experience from a big fruity cocktail than you are from a snifter of bourbon.
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