9 hours ago, John Cuthber said:

Is there any evidence that this isn't purely psychosomatic?

 

I think you have a point, I have anecdotal evidence that one friend gets aggressive with vodka and another gets aggressive with whiskey. Both do get aggressive when imbibing said alcohol but both professed the effect beforehand. 

17 minutes ago, DrKrettin said:

I don't dispute this, but it does not explain to me why the effect of a small amount of beer or wine is different. I don't think that a linear scale of the amount of alcohol and/or rate of absorption is the whole story. Some days I have a beer before the evening meal, and other days I have a glass of wine. I'm guessing that the volume of beer is about three times the volume of the glass of wine, so the alcohol intake is similar. The effect on my mind is different - I feel the effect of alcohol but in different ways. The sensation after a whisky is different too, but the circumstances are different.

I wonder whether other factors are in play - if it is hot and I'm thirsty, I tend towards a beer, so maybe I am dehydrated at that point. 

The problem is that there is no way to quantify what your experience is, so there is no way to address that question. One thing however, is that if you drink a larger volume of lower concentrated beverage (such as beer vs wine), both absorption rate as well as peak alcohol levels will be lower (as I mentioned above). Whether what you experience is at all alcohol related is a different matter (you could do blind testing of beer with different alcohol contents, for example).

5 minutes ago, CharonY said:

The problem is that there is no way to quantify what your experience is, so there is no way to address that question. One thing however, is that if you drink a larger volume of lower concentrated beverage (such as beer vs wine), both absorption rate as well as peak alcohol levels will be lower (as I mentioned above). Whether what you experience is at all alcohol related is a different matter (you could do blind testing of beer with different alcohol contents, for example).

I feel morally obliged to perform a scientific test with every single type of alcoholic beverage available. I'll report back in a year or two, if I remember.

2 minutes ago, DrKrettin said:

I feel morally obliged to perform a scientific test with every single type of alcoholic beverage available. I'll report back in a year or two, if I remember.

Welcome to the quest, I'm currently exploring scrumpy. 

15 minutes ago, DrKrettin said:

I feel morally obliged to perform a scientific test with every single type of alcoholic beverage available. I'll report back in a year or two, if I remember.

Don't forget to take samples for BAC measurements.

54 minutes ago, DrKrettin said:

I feel morally obliged to perform a scientific test with every single type of alcoholic beverage available. I'll report back in a year or two, if I remember.

Does this mean you will be avoiding any and all double malts?

1 minute ago, Area54 said:

Does this mean you will be avoiding any and all double malts?

I think I'll confine myself to single malts - I like to keep things simple.

It's said  that gin makes people morose.

https://www.eater.com/drinks/2015/6/1/8700045/why-gin-a-look-at-the-roots-of-why-some-fear-this-familiar-spirit

Having tried this stuff

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sharish-Blue-Magic-Gin-50cl/dp/B01DZSISZM

which is a blue/purple colour, but turns pink when you add tonic, I have to say it left me feeling quite cheerful-  if less affluent.

 

This study just came out in the BMJ. Suggests there differences in emotional state by different alcohol, but only briefly touches on why that might.

35 minutes ago, Prometheus said:

This study just came out in the BMJ. Suggests there differences in emotional state by different alcohol, but only briefly touches on why that might.

The BBC article on this was quite good: pointing out that correlation is not causation and that it is quit possible people choose a drink to reflect their mood.