Booze, taste, society, conditioning...

As a service to Retrobike, I will go and find out, Don't wait up ..............

Lager is pretty meh but drinkable, cider likewise. 'Real' ale is marketed at old men with beards so obviously don't touch it. Guinness is aimed at plastic paddys so they don't get my coin either. Magners sponsor Celtic. Whisky is for pub bores, alkies and uber Scots.

My preferred drink is a spiced rum. Preferably Chairman's Reserve but in pubs more likely Oakheart or Morgans. Although in England and Spain either is a bugger to find. In which case I revert to vodka or gin.

In general I don't find alcohol nice tasting so these are mixed, but not overmixed and always in a straight glass so the mix is easily measured. Can't stand Wetherspoons type places with their curved glasses, loads of ice, too much coke and a shitty wee stirrer. Ask me when to stop you utter ****. (BTW why does **** get one * and **** gets two?)

Having said all that the best tasting drink I've ever had was some Orkney concoction at a wedding I worked at. The chookters came down and insisted on access to the kitchen to make it, bottles of rum and different Orkney beers, brown sugar, spices and God knows what else all heated up. It then gets passed round in a wooden bucket thing for everyone to get a sip of. What the steaming twats didn't realise is more than half ended up in pint glasses behind the bar for when they'd all gone up to their rooms.

rosstheboss":2ga1cgpn said:

There's more to it than just taste, it's a combination of a few things - the perceived and anticipated change in mood, the social aspect etc.

I was at a wedding a while ago at a very nice hotel in Scotland which had £10k of whisky behind the bar, I couldn't convince the barman it all, bar none, tasted like crap. I like whisky but not for the taste, an extreme example but why else would you drink something that tastes so deeply unpleasant?!?

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I understand what you're saying, here - and it does resonate - social factors and effects - and agree with your other reply, sometimes people don't truly like the taste much, but the other factors are more important.

I guess I was wondering about those that either do like the taste of a lot of it - wondering whether it was an acquired taste - in which case, was it worth the effort...

I suppose for some, that must be a resounding yes - I'm probably just lazy or a philistine like that, I don't believe in working, culturing or acquiring tastes in things like booze, food, art... et al.

Woz":2ga1cgpn said:

Your son's question is a bit like "is tea nice"....the answer is some are, some aren't. There just happens to be alcohol in them.

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Not really.

I doubt, at his age, I'd find any beer he could taste, that he'd take a sip of, and say - "That's nice".

I remember being a wee kid, and asking for a sip of my dad's beer (which was a very occasional occasion as I grew up), I thought it tasted fecking awful - and it did.

But that's not just simply a kids palate - as an adult, in my mid 20s, I decided to try Guinness, since one of my then friends was a HUGE fan. It tasted fecking awful - I'm not about to have to put in effort or learn to like something that's supposed to be enjoyable.

He comes the curious bit, though - you'll explain that to a child - well I realise I'm atypical, there's very little of it I'd actually like or choose to drink - but accepting that, I think it's fair to say that much of it, isn't necessarily pleasant tasting - or at least from the outset - more an acquired taste. So a child naturally asks, "So if it doesn't taste nice, why do people drink it?"

Yes, I know, some people will say they do like the taste - albeit I suspect many had to work at that - and yes, I realise the answer isn't simple, in terms of child-like logic, anyways - and accepting, it's not exactly the most tricky question a child could ask about adult behaviour - but all the same, when examined by a child's logic, some of it does look and sound a bit contraindicated.

Techno>

It is called a cog, and if you reckon that was the best tasting drink you have ever had it places your remarks about other drinks in a revealing context. Mind you, perhaps the dozens of occasions I have partaken in the passing of the cog the recipe was inferior.

Guinness is popular amongst plenty genuine Irish folk, much more likely to find synthetic Irish drinking Magners.

Whisky is a beautifully crafted drink on the whole, if an acquired taste. I wouldn't say whisky drinkers are more likely to be alcoholics than gin drinkers or anyone else who consumes more than they can handle.

Neil":e0o2bh87 said:

when examined by a child's logic, some of it does look and sound a bit contraindicated.

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But we are born adult.
To answer to Your sons question I say beer taste bitter.

That from the country that makes the best beer in the world!

highlandsflyer":13jvefc7 said:

That from the country that makes the best beer in the world!

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And from the guy that when he finish first glass of Pilsner Urquell cannot say no to second,third... :facepalm:

highlandsflyer":noux68rv said:

It is called a cog, and if you reckon that was the best tasting drink you have ever had it places your remarks about other drinks in a revealing context. Mind you, perhaps the dozens of occasions I have partaken in the passing of the cog the recipe was inferior.

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That's it, couldn't remember the name. I maybe went overboard on the best but it was nice, all warm and spicy but absolutely stuffed with high strength alcohol. A pint of that and we were suitably happy. Especially given it was free/stolen.

highlandsflyer":noux68rv said:

Guinness is popular amongst plenty genuine Irish folk, much more likely to find synthetic Irish drinking Magners.

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I dare say it is, but all the promotional tat around Paddy's day is enough to put me right off. I don't touch green lighters never mind pints of Guinness.

And on a related note could women just drinks women's drinks. That doesn't include pints or bottles of beer. Wine or spirits only thanks very much.

Oh and wine is vile. All of it.

rider":2ote64j1 said:

highlandsflyer":2ote64j1 said:

That from the country that makes the best beer in the world!

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And from the guy that when he finish first glass of Pilsner Urquell cannot say no to second,third... :facepalm:

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Me neither! Last time I drove through Prague we filled the bonnet of our Beetle brim full of Urquell at a few k. a bottle, lasted us well into Romania. Love the stuff!

Beer and fags. Exposure as a child at pretty much all social events in the 70s probably a huge factor as the link with happy occasions, belonging, etc obvious to me. Did a lot of both over the years but now occasional drinker and non smoker.