Why Do Different Types of Alcohol Affect People Differently?

In a Seinfeld episode called “The Betrayal,” we learn about Elaine’s Achilles’ heel — peach schnapps. Apparently, it makes her tell the truth, no matter what that truth might be.

While the peach schnapps “Truthgate” is an exaggeration for comedic effect, there’s something to it. Do different alcohols have different effects? Let’s find out!

The Brain and Body on Alcohol

Before we get into the nitty-gritty of the question, “Do different alcohols affect you differently?” let’s review some of their important similarities. After all, alcohol is alcohol — and certain characteristics are the same across the board:

• Alcohol changes our brain chemistry. After a few sips, alcohol starts tinkering with our brain chemistry, causing a rush of the feel-good neurotransmitter dopamine that keeps us coming back for more. It also acts as a depressant, boosting the levels of GABA (an inhibitory neurotransmitter) while lowering glutamate (its excitatory counterpart). Once the depressant functions kick in, our cognitive functions take a nosedive, or coordination falters, and we act and look, well, “drunk.”
• Alcohol is processed by the liver. The body sees alcohol as a poison and prioritizes its metabolism. The liver is the key player in this task, using enzymes to break down alcohol into acetaldehyde, a highly toxic compound that’s later broken down into acetate and excreted through urine. Acetaldehyde buildup can happen when the liver gets overwhelmed and is responsible for the unpleasant effects we often feel the next day. 
• Alcohol affects most systems of the body. The rest of our body systems feel the effects, too — and are not happy about it. Alcohol acts as a vasodilator that expands our blood vessels, leading to a short-term decrease in blood pressure followed by a rebound rise. It also speeds up our heart rate, causes muscle degeneration, lowers our immunity, and interferes with our sleep.
• Alcohol dehydrates us. All those trips to the bathroom throughout the evening (and night) that leave us feeling parched and sluggish in the morning? That’s the diuretic effect of alcohol in action. While the effect is more pronounced in some types (such as beer), all alcohol leads to dehydration by suppressing the hormone that tells the kidneys to hold on to water.
• Alcohol messes with our metabolism and leads to weight gain. Because alcohol metabolism is the top priority, other metabolic processes are put on hold when alcohol enters the picture. The result? Whatever isn’t alcohol is more likely to get stored as fat.
• Regular drinking can lead to dependence and withdrawal. Because the brain adjusts to the “new normal” of the dopamine rush (and other alcohol-related shifts), it adjusts natural dopamine production, making us feel as if we “need” alcohol to function. Stopping suddenly brings on unpleasant (and sometimes dangerous) symptoms of withdrawal.
• In the long term, alcohol is linked to several health problems. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), no amount of alcohol is truly safe for us. The main problems include liver and heart disease, as well as certain types of cancers. Too much alcohol can also lead to brain damage over time.

As we can see, alcohol has a wide-ranging effect on the body, especially in high amounts. But do different types of alcohol affect people differently to some extent? It turns out they do — let’s explore them further.

Do Different Alcohols Have Different Effects?

Let’s take a deeper look into what’s lurking inside our glass. Why does alcohol affect people differently?

1. All About ABV

Among all the factors that influence the type of effect we get from our drink is simply the amount of alcohol that’s in it. Alcohol by volume (ABV) quantifies how strong different drinks are by providing a percentage of alcohol in each. Here’s the basic breakdown:

• Beer. Most beer is about 4%–8% ABV, but some craft beers and stouts will be higher.
• Wine. Wine is about 12% ABV on average, but can range anywhere from 8% to 24%.
• Hard liquors. Most will fall into the 36% to 50% range.
• Mixed drinks. ABV all depends on the ratio of alcohol to the mixer it’s combined with. Typically, a mixed drink with a hard liquor base will be somewhere in the 30% range: 33% for a margarita and slightly higher (37% or so) for a gin and tonic. A champagne-based mimosa, on the other hand, will be lower (around 10%).

Okay, so we’ve established that “a drink is a drink” and that the ABV is the main factor in determining how we’ll feel after we empty our glass. 

But many would argue that a beer and a tequila shot — or even a glass of red vs. white wine — don’t feel the same at all. One might make us break out in laughter, another will make us teary-eyed, and another might make us jump up on the bar and dance. What gives? Let’s look deeper.

2. Considering Congeners

Congeners — the chemical by-products of fermentation — are among the factors responsible for the difference in the effects different types of similar alcoholic beverages might have on us.

There are many types of congeners out there, with the most common being acids, other alcohols, aldehydes (such as acetaldehyde), esters, and ketones. In general, darker liquors (such as rum and brandy) will have more congeners than vodka, and gin will be somewhere in the middle. The same is true for wines: red wines will have more than white wines. (For a closer look, check out our blog “How Do Congeners in Alcohol Affect Hangovers?”).

It’s hard to define the exact physical and psychological differences congeners make on the effects of different types of alcohol, but the relationship is well-documented. Here’s the gist of what science says about them:

• The hangover effect. Studies show that congeners contribute to the hangover that often comes after a night of drinking. Part of the reason has to do with the fact that the liver has a bigger task at hand: digesting congeners as well as booze.
• Other effects. A study in Behavior Research and Therapy showed that tweaking the amount of congeners in different types of alcohol influenced rats’ aversion to some drinks over others. What does that mean? If what’s true for the rat version of the bar scene is also true for our own drinking experience, some of us might simply like certain congeners more than others.

Of course, congeners aren’t the whole story, either. There are other factors behind the differences in the effects that alcoholic beverages might have on us.

3. The Case of Carbonation

Our bodies process carbonated alcoholic beverages — such as champagne or ciders — a bit differently, leading to different effects:

• Faster intoxication. Carbonation increases the rate at which alcohol enters our bloodstream, making us feel the effects faster and creating a more intense experience.
• Higher blood alcohol concentration (BAC). As a result, we get drunk faster and might be more likely to have more than we meant to. (Maybe that’s part of the reason New Year’s Eve can get crazy pretty fast — all that champagne can literally go to our heads more quickly than other types of booze.)

Who knew that something as simple as air bubbles could make a difference!

4. Distillation Differences

As far as distilled spirits are concerned, subtle differences in the distillation process can lead to different effects. During the distillation process, certain flavors might be incorporated into the alcohol — for example, the trademark juniper berry flavor of gin or the whopping 56 botanicals in Jägermeister. 

These flavors might have different effects on us depending on the personal associations we might have with certain flavors. Occasionally, they might even interact with our medications or trigger an allergic reaction.

5. The Many Effects of Mixers

Mixers can change the effect of different alcohol types quite a bit:

• Sugary mixers. In addition to masking the effects of alcohol and leading us to drink more than we otherwise might, sugar provides an additional dopamine surge, amplifying alcohol’s effects.
  
  Moreover, alcohol and sugar have a complex relationship (spoiler alert: it’s not a good one). Alcohol messes with our metabolism, leading to an initial drop in blood sugar levels since the liver prioritizes digesting it and puts other metabolic processes on hold. Over time, however, heavy drinking tends to increase blood sugar levels, increasing our risk of diabetes.
• Caffeinated mixers. With caffeinated mixers, there’s a different kind of masking at play — the stimulant effect might make us feel less impaired than we really are.
• Calorie-dense mixers. Drinks that include mixers higher in sugars and fats lead to a slower absorption of alcohol. However, the extra sugar and calories lead to other problems and add extra calories, adding to the already hefty amount of empty calories alcohol itself is notorious for.
• Diet mixers. When it comes to drinks like Rum and Coke, for example, many opt to swap the sugary soda for its diet version. Surprisingly, this could make a difference! A study in Drug and Alcohol Dependence showed that drinkers who went for the calorie-free option had a higher blood alcohol concentration as a result.

While mixers are technically separate from the alcohol they’re combined with, in practice, they can make a big difference when it comes to the effect of different drinks. As a result, they’re an important part of the overall picture.

This picture, however, isn’t complete until we consider what we bring to it. Just like the drinks we’re having are not the same, we are all different, too — and that plays a big role.

Why Does Alcohol Affect People Differently?

Let’s switch gears and talk about why the same type of alcohol might have a different effect depending on who is drinking it.

1. A Question of Tolerance

First and foremost, there’s the question of tolerance — how much alcohol it takes to affect a particular person. Here are some key facts to understand:

• Habits matter. The more we drink, the higher our tolerance gets: our body and brain get accustomed to alcohol as the “new normal.” That said, a higher tolerance doesn’t make us any less safe from alcohol-related illnesses or possible alcohol poisoning!
• Genetics plays a role. The key here is alcohol metabolism. Some people are genetically predisposed to metabolize alcohol more slowly due to genetic differences in the liver enzymes responsible for alcohol digestion. Remember acetaldehyde? It builds up as a result, causing faster intoxication along with headaches, facial flushing, and other unpleasant effects.
• Intolerance is real. Some people might feel negative effects after only a few sips. This is the case of alcohol intolerance.

Tolerance plays a big role in our drinking experience and explains why the same drink might have different effects on different people. But there’s still more to the story!

2. Social Context, Personal History, and Expectations

Everyone has certain expectations when it comes to different types of alcohol. Beer? Let’s sit back and watch a football game. Tequila? Let’s get up and dance, keeping the party going ‘til dawn. These expectations, in turn, can prime our brain for a certain type of experience and make it more likely that we’ll end up feeling the way we expect.

Moreover, cultural associations play a role as well. Wine with dinner at a fancy restaurant doesn’t usually call for a spontaneous table dance or loud cheering the way a round of shots at a club might. These cultural narratives help shape our subconscious perceptions and experiences. Social media plays a role as well, encouraging some behaviors and views of booze over others. 

Finally, we all have our personal histories with booze. Perhaps it’s that time we got drunk on gin at a college party and can’t stand the smell to this day — whatever it is, the experience shapes our views and reactions to alcohol in lasting ways.

3. Daily Factors (and Tips To Avoid Negative Effects)

Last but not least, our habits or actions on a particular day can change the effects that alcohol has on us. This is also the area where you have the most control when it comes to keeping negative effects at bay:

• What you eat matters. Drinking on an empty stomach will lead to faster intoxication and more miserable side effects. Foods higher in fats or protein will stay in your stomach longer and help dampen the effects. So have a slice of pepperoni pizza, a bowl of ice cream, or (on the healthier side) a bowl of turkey chili before you imbibe.
• How much water you’re drinking makes a difference. It’s not just the booze in your glass that counts — water makes a huge difference in the overall experience. Alcohol dehydrates us, and if we’re not replenishing fluids, we’re looking at cocktail headaches and likely a hangover the next day. 
• Any medications can interact with alcohol. Any medications you’re on can intensify side effects or lead to unpredictable and possibly dangerous results. Always check with your doctor to be sure!

As always, moderation is key. Alcohol’s effects vary, but the main truth is clear: you can’t go wrong with cutting back or opting for a mocktail instead!

Listen to Your Body

As we can see, different types of alcohol can, indeed, have different effects on people. Some reasons behind the differences are rooted in science, some are more subjective, while others might be a mystery. The most important thing is to listen to your body and what it’s telling you — especially if the message is that it’s time to take a break from booze.