That’s the upshot of new research that shows different types of alcohol tend to produce different emotional responses.

The findings, published in the online journal BMJ Open may explain why some people prefer certain types of adult beverages.

To explore the potential emotional factors underpinning alcohol preference, researchers from the British National Health Service analyzed the world’s largest online survey of legal and illicit drug and alcohol use among adults – the so-called Global Drug Survey (GDS).

The GDS includes specific questions on alcohol consumption and the feelings associated with drinking beer, spirits, and red or white wine.

NHS researchers tracked the responses of just under 30,000 18- to 34 year olds from 21 countries who participated in the questionnaire.

Among the findings:

• Hard liquor was the least likely to be associated with feeling relaxed (20%);
• Red wine was the most likely beverage associated with feeling relaxed (just under 53 percent) followed by beer (around 50 percent), but hard liquor was least likely to be associated with this feeling.
• Liquor was more likely to draw out negative feelings than all the other types of alcohol, with 30 percent of spirit drinkers associating high-alcohol beverages with feelings of aggression, compared with around 2.5 percent of red wine drinkers.
• Liquor drinks were more likely to elicit some positive feelings than either beer or wine, with 59 percent associating them with feelings of energy and confidence.
• More than four out in10 (42.5 percent) of hard-liquor drinkers also associated them with feeling sexy.
• Younger people (18-24) were the most likely to associate any type of alcohol with feelings of confidence, energy and sexiness when drinking away from home.
• Women were significantly more likely than men to associate each feeling – except for aggression— with all types of alcohol.
• Men were significantly more likely to associate feelings of aggression with all types of alcohol, as were those categorized as heavy/dependent drinkers, who were six times more likely to do so than low risk drinkers.
• Heavy drinkers were more likely to select any drink that was associated for them with feelings of aggression and tearfulness when at home or when out.

“Understanding emotions associated with alcohol consumption is imperative to addressing alcohol misuse, providing insight into what emotions influence drink choice between different groups in the population,” the researchers concluded, noting 3.3 million deaths and around one in 20 cases of ill health and injury around the globe are directly attributable to alcohol.

Lead researcher Mark Bellis, professor of policy research and international development with the Public Health Wales NHS Trust added: “For centuries, the history of rum, gin, vodka, and other spirits has been laced with violence. This global study suggests even today consuming spirits is more likely to result in feelings of aggression than other drinks.”