Red wine was the most soothing of the libations: about 53% of the participants said it made them feel relaxed. (It was also linked to feeling tired—more than white wine.) And beer was a close second, with 50% of participants reporting that beer made them feel relaxed. Liquor was the least likely to be linked to feeling relaxed—only 20% of the participants said they felt more relaxed after drinking it.
But hard liquor was linked to fierier emotions: 30% of people said liquor made them feel aggression (red wine was the least connected to that feeling, at 3%). Almost 60% of the participants said liquor made them feel energetic and confident. And 43% of people associated liquor with feeling sexy.
Interestingly, people who fell into the category of alcohol-dependent were five times as likely as non-dependent drinkers to report feeling energized by alcohol. Heavier drinkers were also six times as likely to report feelings of aggression, which suggests heavier drinkers feel more emotions on both ends of the spectrum when they drink. Men were also more likely to report feeling aggression after any type of alcohol, though beer drinkers felt less aggression than men who drank liquor.