I’d suspect the “different alcohol gives wildly differing effects” is pretty much psychosomatic. I’ve heard many times that certain drinks (tequila and Jagermeister are two) make people “completely crazy”. I’d guess that it has a lot more to do with the situation that the alcohol is consumed in. When people drink tequila or Jager shots, they’re rarely sitting with their family in an expensive restaurant; they’re more likely to be at a college party or something like that. The active ingredient in alcoholic beverages is basically alcohol and nothing else, so far as I know.