Ever hear somebody say, “Whiskey makes you frisky?”
“Gin makes you sin.”
“Wine makes you divine.”
“Tequila makes you fight everybody.”
Do different liquors really have different effects?
Hello!
Julian here for DNews from YouTube Space LA.
It’s one of those longstanding “facts” everyone knows about alcohol: different liquors
make you act differently.
Give someone a gin and tonic and you’re in for a long night of red-faced tear-fueled
soul searching.
Give that same person tequila and they’re Macho Man Randy Savage, oh yeah!
But is it… y’know… true?
Does one liquor have that special something in it that turns on rage mode that others
lack?
According to science, drumroll please….
No.
Nope.
There’s no reason vodka or gin or tequila or whiskey or wine or beer or absynth should
make you behave differently provided you’re drinking the same amount of alcohol.
Alcohol and liquor are often used synonymously but alcohol is just a molecule in liquors
and it doesn’t change from one booze to the next.
They all use yeast in the fermentation process, and once the yeast process sugar for energy,
their waste product is that familiar maker of nights and ruiner of mornings: ethanol.
Yes, alcohol is the same compound added to gasoline to make it more explosive.
Just a reminder that the same chemicals or molecules can have multiple applications.
*cough* anti-vaxxers *cough*
But clearly different liquors taste differently, do any of those flavors affect behavior?
There’s no scientific data to back that up.
Darker liquors have more congeners in them that make hangovers worse, but there’s nothing
that points to them affecting the pre-hangover stage.
In fact a study from 1970 monitored 8 men.
4 of them drank bourbon for 9 days and then switched to vodka for another 9, while the
other 4 started on a 86 proof liquor that was mixed with caramel and then switched to
bourbon.
Regardless of the liquor or congeners added, they all behaved the same; starting off more
sociable, and then becoming more depressed and hostile as they continued to drink.
But then how do you explain all these anecdotes of people who say, “Oh I can’t have whiskey,
last time I had whiskey I robbed a zoo?”
It’s probably all in your head.
People on alcohol are suggestible.
In fact, they’re even suggestible when they just think they’ve been drinking.
A 2003 study gave some participants vodka and others flat tonic water labeled as vodka,
and both of them were just as easily mislead when asked to remember an event.
And yes, there was a control who were told they drank flat tonic water.
They did much better on the test.
So really the effect liquor has on you is linked to its reputation or situation: tequila
is claimed to make people rowdy, so when people drink it they’re probably looking to get
rowdy and then they, unsurprisingly, get rowdy.
Champagne is often drunk at festive occasions, so it’s more likely to put people in a bubbly
mood.
Likewise if you’re in a bad mood and you start drinking any liquor, you’re gonna
have a bad time.
It could be linked to past experiences too; if you had a great night and happened to be
drinking vodka, you’ll likely opt for vodka as your booze of choice.
Familiarity with the drink is important too, in a 1997 study one group of people were given
beer, another group was given a blue peppermint concoction with the same alcohol content as
beer, and people on the peppermint reported themselves as drunker while performing worse
on cognitive and motor tasks.
It’s really just a placebo effect, or more accurately, a nocebo effect, which is like
a placebo effect, but with a negative spin to it.
So if you’ve been blaming one liquor or another for bad decisions or bad behavior,
it’s not the alcohol’s fault, it’s just you.
So different alcohols don’t actually make you different kinds of drunk, but they definitely
affect where you fall on the hungover spectrum.
Anthony explains why down here.
Check the description if you’re on your mobile.
Alcohol is a big, huge, multi-sided topic and there are likely many myths you’re curious
about.
If you want us to cover one, let us know in the comments.
And a friendly reminder: if you choose to drink, be safe and smart about it.
I’ll see you next time on DNews.