Difference betw. Alcohol / Liquors???

[Ciggies and coffee]

The type of liquor that I saviour is whiskey. I'm not
sure if there's something about whiskey that's "different" from other
types of booze, but I found it to be somewhat more euphoric and more
stimulating than other liquors.

So, anyone have a decent explanation as to why whiskey seems to be a
bit more euphoric than other spirits?

My main question is, premium whiskey (Jack Daniel's, etc.) THAT much harder/more toxic on your body than, say, premium brand vodka (Smirnoff, etc.) ?

I remember I bought a cheap $7 bottle of whiskey a few years ago and could actually see the oils floating in it. I don't know what it was composed of, but it gave me the worst hangover. Something about wood barrels that absorbs the toxic oils and other byproducts, the cheap stuff isn't aged and those compounds remain to give you a hangover.

What kind of crap am I throwing into my system when I drink whiskey
straight (shots), as opposed to straight vodka?

For those of you experienced with alcohol (or alcoholism, if that be
the case), what would you say is the most stimulating of the various
liquors, what would you say is the most sedating? I'm not counting
wine or beer in this because you have to load up on them to get high,
and I don't like to do that too often. I'm not counting cognac or
liqueurs, either, I don't do those.

Any particularly stimulating mixed drinks? I've tried vodka/red bull
before but it didn't seem to do the trick. Gin and tonic anyone?

For the cleanest buzz, what's the liquor of choice?
Besides wine or beer of course.

any insight appreciated, thanks.

[tanyev]

1. Trying to figure out what to buy before tonight's SOTU?

:D

[soothsayer]

2. I find whiskey (or any of the brown drinks) more somber than the

clear ones (imho, not euphoric at all). Tequila makes you wild, gin makes you fight, vodka is pretty neutral (get a good potato vodka like Luksosowa), and rum makes you happy.

[insanity]

3. I don't know if this helps.

Vodka is made generally through the fermentation of yeast in a starchy substance. Because yeast die at about 14% ABV, the purity needs to be increased. So they take the wort (the liquid that resulted from the fermentation) and distill it by boiling it and condensing the resulting gas to a purity of 98.1ish percent (Alcohol has a strong bond with water and can pull it in from the air). Then this pure liquid is watered down to various strengths and hints of flavor may be added. Generally, vodka is the cleanest buzz though.

Whiskey is made by the fermentation of grains (I think whiskey is from corn). The process is to distill the wort but only to a desired purity (about 40%) which allows for the full body and flavor of the materials to be tasted.

[NashVegas]

7. Different Grains For Different Types

Regular whiskey - Canadian, Irish, Scottish - is going to have some type of barley malt in there somewhere. Maybe some rye. Bourbon is where the corn comes in.

[Canuckistanian]

4. Fusel oil

That's the bad stuff in any distilled liquor that gives you the worst characterisitcs of a hangover. The good stuff has a low fusel oil content.

SYLLABICATION: fu·sel oil
PRONUNCIATION: fyuzl
NOUN: An acrid, oily, poisonous liquid mixture of amyl alcohols, occurring in incompletely distilled alcoholic liquids and used as a solvent and in the manufacture of explosives and pure amyl alcohols.
ETYMOLOGY: German Fusel, bad liquor, from Low German.

:toast:

[skygazer]

5. The main differences are in what they're distilled from

And how much filtering it goes through. Clear liquors like vodka tend to give you less of a hangover. I'm not sure what you mean by "sedating" or "stimulating" - no alcohol is an actual stimulant though you may feel pretty rowdy at some point in your buzz. Alcohol is a depressant.

Whiskys are different too. Scotch is a whisky but is different from bourbon which is different from sour mash (which is what Jack Daniels is). Most American whisky is a blend of corn and rye - straight whisky is made from a single grain, usually either corn or rye. Scotch is made from barley. Tequila, of course, is agave.

[NashVegas]

9. Tequilla's Stimulating Effect

Comes from the agave cactus - same plant mescaline comes from. It's the only booze I've even gotten completely shitfaced on with no hangover.

[EstimatedProphet]

6. Any of the commercial liquors start essectially the same way

The all start as a fermented product of some sort, for example grain, or potatoes, or fruit. Then they are distilled to increase the alcohol content. After that, they are aged-bourbon whiskeys are aged in oak typically, and a lot of their character comes from the oak tannins.

The different liquors have different qualities for me. I like good quality gin, and a Martini is a nice social drink. Whiskey (good whiskey) I like to have to relax. Brandy I like with cigars. Tequila or mescal I like as a picker-upper.

[ps1074]

8. vodka for me

I rarely drink but when I do - vodka is my poison. IMHO it is the 'best' alchohol for your liver too. I also drink quality vodka only - I love Sobieski. I also like it with a juice of some sort - tomato, peach, apple... I don't like it with soda.