What Different Alcoholic Drinks Do For Your Sex Life

Does tequila really make your clothes fall off?

We’ve established that people get horny when they drink. It’s just science. And you’ve probably heard that different alcohols make you different kinds of horny, and you, along with everyone else, believe this. Whiskey makes you frisky, gin makes you sin, tequila makes you black out and wake up naked next to an ugly stranger…sound familiar?

While this might be anecdotally true, it’s not because of the chemical makeup of the different types of booze, but rather because of how much alcohol is in them, and how much you consume. Fourteen grams of pure alcohol constitutes one standard drink, and most of the time, one or two standard drinks is enough to set your libido on fire, without leaving you unable to perform, if you know what I mean.

What gives different drinks different reputations is a mix of a couple different factors, and we’ve elaborated on four common types of booze, and how they can make or break things between the sheets.

Beer
Maybe you’ve noticed that beer makes you slow and clumsy, which is why it’s not exactly ideal for your sex life. There have been studies that show beer could actually make you better in bed, but that’s only if you drink the right amount, which is only one or two beers. Since beer is considered light on alcohol, people tend to drink a lot more than that, rendering themselves bloated, sleepy, and too drunk to function. Leave the beer-fest for bro time, and remember that moderation is key if you’ve got ‘after party’ ambitions.

Wine
Wine and sex go hand in hand for more than just one reason, if you don’t go overboard and drink an entire bottle. A 2009 study by Italian researchers showed that women who drank red wine in moderation were waaay hornier than women who drank other alcohol or none at all. What’s more is that women get turned on by aromas described as cherry-like, musky, earthy, and woody, which are all found in red wine. So yeah, serving red wine for date night is definitely a good idea.

Champagne
Thanks to the carbonation in champagne, most people can’t get through more than two or three glasses of the stuff before they start to feel pretty buzzed. Luckily, this is great for your sex life, because that’s the perfect amount of alcohol to have in your system for optimal sexual prowess—just a couple glasses. Plus, good news for you, gentlemen, because men have been shown to get aroused by scents such as vanilla, lavender, caramel, and orange, all of which are commonly found in fine champagne.

Whiskey
Whiskey is delicious, but it really won’t do you any favors if you’re trying to get lucky. Why? Because whiskey and other dark liquors contain byproducts of the fermentation and distillation process, called congeners, which is the main ingredient of horrible hangovers that will make you really unsexy in the morning. With that said, whiskey, as most people drink it (ie not just one drink, but mixed in, or more than one shot on the rocks), is not the best idea in regards to your sex life.

Aside from all this physiological stuff, alcohol also holds the power of suggestion, which is a huge reason for why we feel horny (or angry, or emotional) when we drink. A 2003 study found that people who merely thought they drank alcohol, when they were actually drinking tonic water, acted drunk and suggestible, which means the sexy beast that comes out when you have a couple drinks is partly due to your subconscious.

There you have it. A comprehensive guide to how booze affects your bedroom. The bottom line? No matter what you drink, keep it in moderation, and let those sweet, inhibition-stripping effects wash over you. Cheers, my friends.