Alcohol-induced drinking sensations vary among individuals due to genetic variation, a new study finds. Results from the study will be published in the October 2014 online issue of Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research and are currently available at Early View.

Genetic variation in chemosensory genes can help explain individual variations in perception of and preference for alcoholic drinks, the study indicates. The new study focuses on the relationship between alcohol-related sensation variations and polymorphisms in bitter taste receptor genes that are previously linked to alcohol intake, and polymorphisms in a burn receptor gene for the first time.

John E. Hayes, the study’s corresponding author, assistant professor of food science as well as director of the Sensory Evaluation Center at The Pennsylvania State University, said in a statement, “People may differ in the sensations they experience from a food or beverage.” He continued, “And like color blindness, these perceptual differences have a biological basis. Prior work shows that some people experience more bitterness and less sweetness from alcoholic beverages like beer. In general, greater bitterness relates to lower liking, and because we generally tend to avoid eating or drinking things we don’t like, lower liking for alcohol beverages associates with lower intake.”

Russell Keast, a professor of sensory and food sciences at Deakin University in Australia, said, “The link between genetic variations in receptors and taste is an area of growing importance.” He continued, “Variations in bitter taste may be particularly important because previous research has shown people who experience bitterness as more intense consume less bitter vegetables. However, it does get more complex because alcoholic beverages contain flavours and tastes that may mask any aversive effects of bitterness – for example, the sweetness of a sherry, or the aromas of a cocktail.”

According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, in 2012, 87.6 percent of people ages 18 or older reported that they drank alcohol at some point in their lifetime; 71 percent reported that they drank in the past year; 56.3 percent reported that they drank in the past month.