Different Drunks
You ever hear people say that “Gin makes me angry” or “Rum makes me really mellow”? We all have. But is there any truth behind it? The experts I spoke to say no. “It’s the amount you drink. Period,” Bill Owens proclaimed. There are zero controlled studies published that test this, so from a pure science standpoint it is impossible to prove or debunk this. But I have some evidence of my own.
Sense memory is an incredibly powerful psychological phenomena, and it’s been well-proven that our senses of smell and taste are the most potent for evoking memories. I would therefore bet that the reason that whiskey makes me feel calm and relaxed is because I associate it with fishing with my dad.
Gin doesn’t make me angry, it makes me want to party. This is probably because I first started drinking gin and tonics at dance parties at uni, or maybe because because the notes of citrus remind me of playing soccer as a kid. In contrast, Southern Comfort makes me feel despondent, slow and gross, probably because I had one of the worst nights of my life when I was 18 and I drank half a fifth of it.
There’s another possible culprit: congeners. Congeners are a by-product of the fermentation and distillation process. These may include acetone, aldehydes, other forms of alcohol and esters. They are, generally speaking, not good for you. But they are an essential part of the distillation process, because all spirits contain a small cut of these ingredients. The distillation run’s beginning and ending phases, known as the heads and tails, blend with the heart of the distillate to give the spirit its characteristic flavour. But different processes and ingredients result in different congeners. Different toxins affect people in different ways and a distillate from, say, agave, affects physiology in a distinct way compared to fermented corn. We all have a unique response to different types of chemical stimulus.
Copy and pasted from gizmodo or some site. Basically says something but nothing really. In my opinion from my experience there is no difference......and who the hell drinks gin straight??