Heh :). Wheat beer (specifically Widmer’s thoroughly American version of hefeweizen) was what taught me that beer could be tasty, and a good cream ale is really satisfying. I love me some hoppy IPAs, but the smoothness of a cream ale is just delicious.
I’ve never tried to convince someone to drink beer who doesn’t, but I have found myself at beer pubs with relatives whose idea of gourmet beer is Corona, and when they ask me what’s good, you better believe I’m not steering them toward something that features hops up front: I’m finding them a nice cream ale or golden ale, something with lovely yeasty sparkle that goes down easy.
FWIW, a 20-proof beer would knock you on your butt. Most beer is 12-proof or less, even including the high-alcohol ales like IPAs. Above 6% alcohol and you’re likely to be served a funky glass that doesn’t hold a full pint.
And yeah, I get the gasoline associations of alcohol, especially spirits. Hell, I’ve made crepes suzette, which use the alcohol in the brandy as a fuel. There’s definitely a burn there, and even when it’s masked by other heavy flavors, many folks’ palates detect it.
Cat Whisperer, de gustibus and all, but I think any liquor in hot chocolate is grody. But then, I don’t even put bourbon in my eggnog: I’d much rather drink the eggnog straight up, and then have a shot of bourbon on its lonesome later.
Man, now I’m thirsty for my local microbrew to start doing their absolutely delicious little imperial stout–every year or so they brew a batch and age it in whiskey casks, so it ends up tasting like bourbon-infused stout and being darn near 20-proof.
Yea, LHOD, it’s served in a 8-12oz snifter most of the time.
To contrast, you can get their 9-proof Apricot Wheat in 14oz, 22oz, or 32oz.
Obviously, you have made your position wrt and opinion of drinking a defining aspect of yourself, to the point that it has become a point of humor and challenge for those around you. You have made yourself “He Who Doesn’t Drink and Judges Those Who Do”…a fun addition to any social gathering.
Like a self-righteous vegetarian who finds everyone “pushing” meat on them (“Hmmm, this burger is good…sure you don’t want a bite?”)
Your preference regarding drinking alcohol should not be this big of an issue. Why is it? You ask yourself/us this in all innocence, but in my experience, when many or all around you are exhibiting a similar behavior, it is more often the case that YOU are the common denominator than that THEY are all assholes.
I don’t eat meat OR drink coffee (and I live in the Pacific NW, where the latter is often met with an uncomprehending stare :rolleyes:) but I have never had to refuse either more than twice from the same person. (and that is because people forget, not that they push)
Then again, I don’t make either preference a defining part of my identity or make rude comparisons between someone’s food or beverage of choice and fecal matter. Go figure.
Or maybe it is just that your personality is such that all your friends desperately want to get you drunk. Either way, it’s not them, it’s you.
P.S. I think it’s natural to not like the taste of alcohol…never seen a kid try a sip of anything alcoholic and not grimace. It’s nasty.
But it’s an aquired taste, and it’s the association that forms between the taste and the pleasant sensations generated, imho, that renders the flavor agreeable over time, not any “maturation” of the tastebuds. People come to enjoy the taste because they enjoy the effects.
I still loathe the taste of liquor, and never drink it as a result. (but if I did, I’d likely have developed a taste for it).
I disagree. Children are much more sensitive than adults to bitter tastes and sweet tastes, which is why kids like candy and don’t like greens.
Reducing it to some sort of behavioral response both oversimplifies and underexplains – there are people who enjoy wine, but never drink more than a glass, etc.
I am so much the same way as the OP. The feel of alcohol on my mucous membranes is unpleasant, more than the taste. I find grape products bitter once the sugar turns to alcohol, so wine is out; I’ve never warmed to yeasty drinks; & distilled alcohol is just too much burn.
The buzz isn’t so bad, it’s a bit like a concussion without the brain scarring, I sort of get the appeal. But I just don’t seek it out or care.
I can tell you my father was an alcoholic. But the truth is I was raised by my teetotaler mother, & I’m just more comfortable sober.
I’m not saying I’m morally superior, I’m just more comfortable sober.
And oh yes, coffee. Vile vile stuff. Despite the acute neurological slowing effect, I am willing to try a mixed alcoholic beverage once in a blue moon, though I am always disappointed. But coffee I have no desire to put in my system. I like red tea on occasion, I like Mountain Dew, I used to drink a lot of Pepsi. I can even tolerate Coca-Cola to some degree even though it’s basically sugar vomit. But I have no desire to drink coffee ever & never have.
I’d just like to say that while there’s nothing wrong with people like foolsguinea who don’t like alcohol or coffee or whatever, conversely just because I can finish off a bottle of wine with a meal by myself doesn’t make me an alcoholic. Especially if it’s a particularly good meal at a fancy restaurant and the wine is more expensive per glass than it is per bottle.
Just because I have a high tolerance doesn’t make me an alcoholic, dammit.
My husband (who is half Irish ancestry) is the same way - his tolerance is remarkable, and he does drink fairly regularly*, but he isn’t even close to being an alcoholic, and alcohol isn’t a problem in our house at all (well, we still have all the leftover booze from our wedding seven years ago, and it is kind of a pain in the butt to keep moving it around).
*He’s in a twice a week curling league, which means he has a couple of beers before coming home. Then there’s the semi-regular wing nights, and the occasional beer with dinner.
Yeah, but lousy for those who hate the taste of cranberry juice. gag
I’ll stick with Bailey’s or Amaretto. (The latter worked well with Pepsi I discovered yesterday, although I think I overdid it)
No - there is a “taste” of liquor. Distilled spirits have a pretty distinctive taste I will agree, though there are very many differences across that group. But I can’t see that as applying to wines and beers.
No, you’re certainly right. There wasn’t any kind of alcohol taste to the beer I had, it was just bitter, which is to be expected when I’ve spent the majority of my life drinking soda. Very tasty despite that. The glass of wine had was a little more noticeable, but it mainly just tasted like juice gone rancid. The aftertaste of each mouthful was nice, but the primary flavor I had to endure to get there wasn’t pleasant. That may just be the particular brand of wine, though; it’s my mother’s favorite, and it’s also cheap as hell.
I can see disliking beer, wine, and liquor all, but there is certainly no one unifying taste across the three categories.
My sisters are wine connoisseurs , and I’ve tried quite a few of the ones they like, and I like the very rare one (mostly I like zinfandels and the occasional sweet white - reds are just nasty, every damned one of them). I did like a New Zealand ice wine we got as a gift, too, though. I normally don’t like sweet drinks, but apparently I like my wines sweet.
See, look, you answered your own question. There **are **decent cheap wines out there, but you have to look for them. IMO, go find a wine shop and ask someone who works there to suggest something. Feel free to give them a price range or limit and a general idea of what you’d like to try (sweeter, more dry, will go well with Food X, etc.). Or ask around to find a restaurant with a good wine list and knowledgeable servers, then ask your server to suggest a wine that will go well with your meal the next time you eat there.
Amaretto and coke is one of those sweet drinks where it is very difficult under all that sugar to taste the alcohol.
Bailey’s doesn’t mix well with much except coffee and hot chocolate. But it is good in hot chocolate.
On the sweet side of drinks, one of my favorites is “pineapple upside down martinis” - which I know how to make as vodka, amaretto, pineapple juice and a splash of grenadine (or a cherry if you are really in the mood for girly drinks in martini glasses). While, as mentioned above, vodka by itself is an acquired taste (as is lighter fluid - even good vodka has that hint o’ lighter fluid), unlike Bailey’s it mixes wonderfully.
Oh, I could taste it all right. At least, it definitely had a kick. I probably put a weeeeeee too much in. (And the Pepsi was caffeine-free, so there was nothing to counter the effects of the alcohol)
I didn’t get out and out drunk so much as a little tipsy.
Either way, it’s not them, it’s you.
There **are **decent cheap wines out there, but you have to look for them. IMO, go find a wine shop and ask someone who works there to suggest something. Feel free to give them a price range or limit and a general idea of what you’d like to try (sweeter, more dry, will go well with Food X, etc.). Or ask around to find a restaurant with a good wine list and knowledgeable servers, then ask your server to suggest a wine that will go well with your meal the next time you eat there.
At least, it definitely had a kick. I probably put a weeeeeee too much in. (And the Pepsi was caffeine-free, so there was nothing to counter the effects of the alcohol)