No, that's fair. I didn't mean to characterize everyone that way-- that was why I said 'starts becoming' and not 'is' -- I think that too many people feel that they have to drink things with alcohol in them just because everyone around them does. I see my dad do it all the time. And I would like to see people feel more comfortable declining alcohol or asking for non-alcoholic cocktails if they don't like the taste of it. And it is much, much easier to accidentally overdo it if you can't taste the alcohol in your drink-- even if overdoing it is just giving yourself a headache or getting dehydrated-- dehydration is the number one cause of hangovers, not the actual liquor. The reason you're probably getting less hungover on vodka and silver rum is the combination of higher water content with lower sugar content than other liquors. If you vary up what else is in your drinks, or make sure you drink a 16 oz glass of water for every drink you have (alternating sips, not drinking the water after), you should be able to drink pretty much anything.

As for the burny thing, no good liquor is going to burn, unless it's scotch, especially if it's mixed properly. I'm not talking about the burny taste when I talk about the taste of alcohol-- I am talking about the juniper notes in gin, or the caramel flavor in bourbon, or the citrusy flavors in rum. To me, I would much rather have a liquor that has a flavor than something that costs $50 a bottle and tastes like really smooth water. A good drink won't sting no matter what you're drinking-- if it does, it's a bad drink.

If you like wines, I would probably recommend trying bourbons. They have a lot of similar characteristics in terms of being very layered textures. Although they're better with desserts than with savory foods.