Why Does Alcohol Burn When You Drink It?
Why does alcohol cause that burning sensation on its way down? Annotation: Why Does Spicy Taste 'Hot' and Minty Taste 'Cool'?
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If you’ve ever tasted anything with alcohol in it, you know that it can burn on the way down. In the extreme -- like, if you down a shot of everclear or something -- it might even feel like your mouth and throat are being scalded. Maybe your eyes start watering, and your nose starts running… it was supposed to be a casual swig, and now all your fellow drinking-aged friends are laughing at you. But there’s a good reason that alcohol burns so much, and it has nothing to do with its actual temperature. Instead, that shot of tequila feels hot because it’s messing with a type of heat receptor in your mouth and throat -- specifically, the receptor called VR1. When you taste something with a high temperature, it triggers this receptor, which sends a message to your nerves that they’re detecting something hot. That messa...
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If you’ve ever tasted anything with alcohol in it, you know that it can burn on the way down. In the extreme -- like, if you down a shot of everclear or something -- it might even feel like your mouth and throat are being scalded. Maybe your eyes start watering, and your nose starts running… it was supposed to be a casual swig, and now all your fellow drinking-aged friends are laughing at you. But there’s a good reason that alcohol burns so much, and it has nothing to do with its actual temperature. Instead, that shot of tequila feels hot because it’s messing with a type of heat receptor in your mouth and throat -- specifically, the receptor called VR1. When you taste something with a high temperature, it triggers this receptor, which sends a message to your nerves that they’re detecting something hot. That messa...
