# I don't drink but I'm curious what the following drinks taste like:
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-drink-but-im-curious-what-the-following-drinks-taste-like/627184
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Created:** [July 4, 2012, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-drink-but-im-curious-what-the-following-drinks-taste-like/627184 "2012-07-04T05:22:55Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)
#### Post date: [July 4, 2012, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-drink-but-im-curious-what-the-following-drinks-taste-like/627184/1 "2012-07-04T05:22:55Z")
I have issues with drinking. I don’t like it, and I don’t really regret not drinking, but I’m often curious about this rather common social past-time that most people take for granted. Plus, if the rumors are true, it would make women more attractive to me 😃
So I have a special request. Can someone explain to me how the following **should** taste like? I’ve had small sips of beer, tequila, vodka, other stuff I can’t remember, and mixed drinks. To me, they pretty much all taste exactly the same: alcohol-y, with perhaps a bit of fruit mixed in. Some are sweeter than others. Then I get a warm sensation in my chest and then its over after a few minutes
What is the taste of:
Rum
Whiskey
Bourbon
Lager
Ale
Absinthe
Cognac
Sake
Gin
Red Wine
White Wine
Sangria
Scotch
Brandy
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### Author:  [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)
#### Post date: [July 4, 2012, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-drink-but-im-curious-what-the-following-drinks-taste-like/627184/2 "2012-07-04T05:28:53Z")
Coming from someone who absolutely loooves gin…it tastes like pine trees. A good stiff gin and tonic\* with a lime is a great simple drink on a nice hot day.
\*anything and tonic needs to be stiff. Tonic tastes awful on it’s own and if you make the mistake of ordering a gin/vodka tonic weak it’ll taste terrible. But there’s something about tonic that kills the taste of alcohol. Also, for some reason, at least for me, if I have a straw it goes down much easier as well.
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### Author:  [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)
#### Post date: [July 4, 2012, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-drink-but-im-curious-what-the-following-drinks-taste-like/627184/3 "2012-07-04T05:31:13Z")
Scotch tastes like scotch, brandy tastes like brandy, and rum tastes like rum. You get the pattern? There really aren’t good points of comparison.
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### Author:  [@Arrendajo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arrendajo)
#### Post date: [July 4, 2012, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-drink-but-im-curious-what-the-following-drinks-taste-like/627184/4 "2012-07-04T05:33:09Z")
Wine tastes a lot like fermented grapes. I hope that’s helpful.
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### Author:  [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)
#### Post date: [July 4, 2012, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-drink-but-im-curious-what-the-following-drinks-taste-like/627184/5 "2012-07-04T05:45:38Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#):
>
> … gin…it tastes like pine trees. …
Having drunk more that a few cups of pine needle tea and a number of shots of gin . . . they’re not the same flavor.
However, for reasons that still defy any and every rational explanation, gin does smell and taste remarkably like juniper berries. 😉
CMC fnord!
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### Author:  [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)
#### Post date: [July 4, 2012, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-drink-but-im-curious-what-the-following-drinks-taste-like/627184/6 "2012-07-04T05:46:08Z")
Rum - sugary
Whiskey - lots of kinds here. Like beer, different brands will emphasize their oak tastes, etc.
Bourbon - this is a type of whiskey. Generally sweeter (but not sweet!)
Lager - most are lighter than ales.
Ale - this category is too broad. It contains IPAs, stouts, and Chimay.
Absinthe - licorice/anise. If you don’t like that, you won’t like absinthe. Same goes for ouzo, sambucca, Jaegermeister, anisette, etc.
Cognac - it’s brandy. Strong wine I guess, but not really.
Sake - “cloudy.” Some I don’t like.
Gin - pine (juniper, really). People love it or hate it.
Red Wine - usually on the bitter side. The smell often gives a good idea on the taste
White Wine - sweeter, light usually
Sangria - alcoholic fruit punch
Scotch - whiskey. Some brands taste like other whiskeys, some taste literally like peat or smoke
Brandy - I haven’t had enough brandy/cognac to know the difference.
FYI: main categories of whiskey are (and note spellings!): Scotch whisky, Irish whiskey, Canadian whisky, Japanese whisky, Bourbon (usually a whiskey from Kentucky, but not always), Tennessee whiskey.
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### Author:  [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)
#### Post date: [July 4, 2012, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-drink-but-im-curious-what-the-following-drinks-taste-like/627184/7 "2012-07-04T05:46:55Z")
Scotch tastes like tears of joy shed by angels. It’s the essence of a warm hearth when you come in from a cold day and are greeted by friends. Many Scotches are ‘peated’ by various means, many by drying the malt with heat from locally-cut peat bogs (though many buy their malts from off-site).
Many Scotches dry the malt in other ways and though they do not share the smoky character, the range of flavours that dance along your tongue is astonishing.
Describing their taste more than that is difficult. What does a kiss taste like? Right now I have a Talisker, four Glenkinchies (somewhat related, I was doing a taste-test between the different barrel maturing), a Speyside, a The Macallan, a bottle of Hedonism (an exquisite blend), Johnny Black for mixing and a couple others that slip my mind at the moment on my bar. They are all very different.
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### Author:  [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)
#### Post date: [July 4, 2012, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-drink-but-im-curious-what-the-following-drinks-taste-like/627184/8 "2012-07-04T05:47:38Z")
nm
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### Author:  [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)
#### Post date: [July 4, 2012, 5:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-drink-but-im-curious-what-the-following-drinks-taste-like/627184/9 "2012-07-04T05:48:45Z")
> [@ultrafilter](#):
>
> Scotch tastes like scotch, brandy tastes like brandy, and rum tastes like rum. You get the pattern? There really aren’t good points of comparison.
Not particularly helpful though. Given that brandy is made from distilled wine, does it taste like a wine reduction?
I’ve read all sorts of things by wine and whiskey drinkers comparing a particular wine or whiskey to any number of other flavors or smells, some of which, to be honest, don’t sound all that pleasant. Given that wine magazines are filled with effusive verbiage about how one particular wine differs from another, I think a reasonably good writer could make a decent stab at describing the tastes of scothc, brandy and rum.
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### Author:  [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)
#### Post date: [July 4, 2012, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-drink-but-im-curious-what-the-following-drinks-taste-like/627184/10 "2012-07-04T05:50:07Z")
Moved to Cafe Society from GQ.
Colibri
General Questions Moderator
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### Author:  [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)
#### Post date: [July 4, 2012, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-drink-but-im-curious-what-the-following-drinks-taste-like/627184/11 "2012-07-04T05:52:21Z")
“Oak” and “peat” or two of the rather unpleasant flavors that constantly come up. Really? Tree and dirt? I should pay a lot of money to taste lumber and mud?
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### Author:  [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)
#### Post date: [July 4, 2012, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-drink-but-im-curious-what-the-following-drinks-taste-like/627184/12 "2012-07-04T05:53:57Z")
> [@ultrafilter](#):
>
> Scotch tastes like scotch, brandy tastes like brandy, and rum tastes like rum. You get the pattern? There really aren’t good points of comparison.
Well, I suppose a relative comparison? The closest example I can use is soda. I’d use a base comparison like Coke and describe Pepsi relative to it, like Pepsi is like Coke but sweeter and less carbonated. Root Beer I would say has a lot less cola flavor and more sweetness, generally much more bubbly, but the bubbles aren’t as hard on your tongue as Coke. Dr. Pepper tastes like Root Beer but with a lot less sweetner and more medicine-y taste. Something like that
I’ve tasted wine and generally the very mild ones I can simply describe as juice but with alcohol mixed in. The general direction of these conversations usually go like this:
Other person: “Hey you should try this, it tastes great!”
Me: “Sorry, but it just tastes like alcohol to me”
OP: “No no, not this one. This one’s like juice, you’ll like it. Its very mild and fruity”
Me: “Then why don’t I just drink juice then? Why have it with the alcohol?”
OP: “…”
Going from what’s labeled on the bottle, cognac is supposed to be sweeter? And I heard that good vodka is supposed to have almost no taste. When I tried it at this wedding, I could still taste it, but it wasn’t sweet or anything, just pure alcohol flavor. And I often judge drinks based on how they look. An amber colored drink has an apple cidery taste in my mind, and anything blue or red will taste like fruit juice, and anything clear has no sugar at all.
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### Author:  [@Blackzilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blackzilla)
#### Post date: [July 4, 2012, 5:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-drink-but-im-curious-what-the-following-drinks-taste-like/627184/13 "2012-07-04T05:57:24Z")
I’ll give it a shot.
Rum - sweet, sugary
Whiskey - Bourbon is sweeter and warmer, Rye is earthier and more caustic
Absinthe - licorice, anise
Cognac - winey, raisiny, sweet but still “liquor” instead of wine
Sake - ricey, astringent, hairspray
Gin - like chilled Pine Sol
Red Wine - bloody, glue, tart
White Wine - sweeter spoiled grapes
Sangria - boozey Hawaiian punch
Scotch - can be incredibly smokey and peaty - like liquid wood chips
Brandy - see Cognac
P.s. when people talk about the taste of hops, like in IPA’s, they’re talking about a grassy, spikey flavor in beers
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### Author:  [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)
#### Post date: [July 4, 2012, 5:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-drink-but-im-curious-what-the-following-drinks-taste-like/627184/14 "2012-07-04T05:58:50Z")
I have to share [this bit from the movie Sideways](http://youtu.be/GsDxBtPTPs0?t=57s).
By the way, I’ve always thought that is hops were such a wonderful flavor, it would be in some other food or drink than beer. Hops chewing gum, hops flavored soda pop, hops break, hops anything.
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### Author:  [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)
#### Post date: [July 4, 2012, 5:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-drink-but-im-curious-what-the-following-drinks-taste-like/627184/15 "2012-07-04T05:58:51Z")
> [@thelurkinghorror](#):
>
> Rum - sugary
> Whiskey - lots of kinds here. Like beer, different brands will emphasize their oak tastes, etc.
> Bourbon - this is a type of whiskey. Generally sweeter (but not sweet!)
> Lager - most are lighter than ales.
> Ale - this category is too broad. It contains IPAs, stouts, and Chimay.
> Absinthe - licorice/anise. If you don’t like that, you won’t like absinthe. Same goes for ouzo, sambucca, Jaegermeister, anisette, etc.
> Cognac - it’s brandy. Strong wine I guess, but not really.
> Sake - “cloudy.” Some I don’t like.
> Gin - pine (juniper, really). People love it or hate it.
> Red Wine - usually on the bitter side. The smell often gives a good idea on the taste
> White Wine - sweeter, light usually
> Sangria - alcoholic fruit punch
> Scotch - whiskey. Some brands taste like other whiskeys, some taste literally like peat or smoke
> Brandy - I haven’t had enough brandy/cognac to know the difference.
>
> FYI: main categories of whiskey are (and note spellings!): Scotch whisky, Irish whiskey, Canadian whisky, Japanese whisky, Bourbon (usually a whiskey from Kentucky, but not always), Tennessee whiskey.
Thanks, that gives me a better idea. If you don’t mind, of the ones I listed, what would you say is the sweetest to the least sweet?
What does it mean when you say a lager is “lighter”?
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### Author:  [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)
#### Post date: [July 4, 2012, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-drink-but-im-curious-what-the-following-drinks-taste-like/627184/16 "2012-07-04T06:01:35Z")
> [@YogSosoth](#):
>
> What does it mean when you say a lager is “lighter”?
Think rye bread versus white bread.
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### Author:  [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)
#### Post date: [July 4, 2012, 6:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-drink-but-im-curious-what-the-following-drinks-taste-like/627184/17 "2012-07-04T06:03:22Z")
> [@gaffa](#):
>
> I have to share [this bit from the movie Sideways](http://youtu.be/GsDxBtPTPs0?t=57s).
>
> By the way, I’ve always thought that is hops were such a wonderful flavor, it would be in some other food or drink than beer. Hops chewing gum, hops flavored soda pop, hops break, hops anything.
How much of that clip is real, about the swishing and oxygenating, and how someone can tell if there’s asparagus in it?? Asparagus in wine??
> [@Miller](#):
>
> Think rye bread versus white bread.
Here’s how I’d describe the bread and you can tell me if that applies. White bread is fluffier, less flavorful so it absorbs flavor and can become any flavor you want, whereas rye already has a taste so you’re going into it with expectations. Is that accurate?
---
### Author:  [@Blackzilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blackzilla)
#### Post date: [July 4, 2012, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-drink-but-im-curious-what-the-following-drinks-taste-like/627184/18 "2012-07-04T06:05:13Z")
> [@YogSosoth](#):
>
> Thanks, that gives me a better idea. If you don’t mind, of the ones I listed, what would you say is the sweetest to the least sweet?
>
> What does it mean when you say a lager is “lighter”?
Rumis the sweetest and scotch is the least sweet.
Lager being lighter means it’s generally more watery/clean/light tasting, more effervescent, more generally “refreshing,” physically clearer, etc. On the opposite end, a stout may be dark, heavy/thick, creamier and heavier mouthfeel, much more complex flavor, hearty/filling.
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### Author:  [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)
#### Post date: [July 4, 2012, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-drink-but-im-curious-what-the-following-drinks-taste-like/627184/19 "2012-07-04T06:05:59Z")
> [@gaffa](#):
>
> “Oak” and “peat” or two of the rather unpleasant flavors that constantly come up. Really? Tree and dirt? I should pay a lot of money to taste lumber and mud?
The peat taste comes from the smoke used to dry the malt. Many people find the smell of a campfire or open hearth warm, inviting, and pleasant. Yes, some Scotches go overboard and to me those are unbalanced, but YMMV.
It’s not like getting too much smoke in your eyes, nor does it carry the bitter dryness or acridness that and be overwhelming. Remember, smell and taste are intrinsically linked so saying something tastes similar to how something smells isn’t all that far off, but doesn’t quite capture what it’s really all about.
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### Author:  [@JustinC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JustinC)
#### Post date: [July 4, 2012, 6:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-drink-but-im-curious-what-the-following-drinks-taste-like/627184/20 "2012-07-04T06:06:36Z")
Johhnie Walker Black Label (Whisky) is described as _“Rich and full on the nose, sweet, with honey, malt and oranges, plus a hint of peat. Big and bold on the palate, the sweetness from the nose continues, with fruit, vanilla and well-mannered grains. Beautifully balanced. The finish is long and spicy, with sultanas, sherry, and a suggestion of smoke. A luxurious whisky of real character.”_
It’s very, very popular and doesn’t taste of bark - as far as I’m aware, I haven’t eaten many trees. 😛
If you’re not into booze I believe that are chocolate and coffee appreciation societies and groups.
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