# Vile Concoctions-Hard Alcohol Division **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 25, 2011, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vile-concoctions-hard-alcohol-division/594053 "2011-08-25T16:27:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Toxylon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f05b48/32.png) [@Toxylon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Toxylon)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2011, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vile-concoctions-hard-alcohol-division/594053/81 "2011-08-30T13:56:05Z")
> [@Spiny\_Norman](#): > > It’s an acquired taste, granted. But nothing better accompanies an open-faced pickled herring sandwich on dark bread than an ice cold akvavit. Danish, ey? To be honest, I only ever drank akvavit straight at room temp when raiding my parents’ booze stash as a teenager - nothing else was quite as hard to swallow (although calvados was no picnic, either). I actually believe that your version of consumption is palatable enough. ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2011, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vile-concoctions-hard-alcohol-division/594053/82 "2011-08-30T14:01:14Z")
Drambuie. Also, anything licorice- or coffee-flavored. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2011, 6:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vile-concoctions-hard-alcohol-division/594053/83 "2011-08-31T06:39:19Z")
> [@aesop](#): > > Yes, central Europe is home to many semi-poisonous spirits. Apricot palinka is sweet and fruity exactly the same way formaldehyde is sweet and fruity. Truth be told, I am a fan of the stuff, but for the uninitiated it can be an ordeal. > > Drinking palinka is like frying bacon in the nude – the end result is sublime, but there is serious pain along the way. I mean, I admit it’s an acquired taste, but it’s nowhere near that bad. To me, it’s like a vodka with the essence of fruit, but without any of the sweetness. I don’t find it any harsher (at least not the reputable brands or good homemade varieties) than vodka, if it’s the normal 80-100 proof product and it’s distilled 100% from fruit. The worse brands have a mix of neutral grain spirits mixed with fruit essence or cut with pure fruit brandy. Those can be pretty nasty. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2011, 11:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vile-concoctions-hard-alcohol-division/594053/84 "2011-08-31T11:42:53Z")
> [@zombywoof](#): > > A woman from Germany once told me Jagermeister is seen over there more as medicinal, something you might take a spoonful of for an upset stomach. There’s a grain of truth in that. The kind of liquor that is Jägermeister is called “Magenbitter” (stomach bitter), and was traditionally advertised to be used in that way (there are other popular German brands like Underberg or Kümmerling or the Italian Ramazotti). When in the seventies it became unpopular as an old people’s drink, Jägermeister started a witty campaign addressed to the younger demographic which worked so well that it soon became a hip party drink. > [@Drain\_Bead](#): > > Campari. It looks like it would be delicious, but it tastes like kerosene. > [@bump](#): > > Uhhhgg… I’d forgotten about Campari. It’s like cough syrup with quinine in it. Medicinal and overwhelmingly bitter. > > I had a Campari & soda in Italy, when I read that’s something that Italians typically do, and figured I’d give it a shot. > > That’s the only time I’ll ever do that. Undiluted Campari as a shot = vile. Campari + orange soda + ice = divine. Addressing the OP: for me it’s everything that has a strong anise flavor, especially Ouzo, Sambucca and Pernod. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2011, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vile-concoctions-hard-alcohol-division/594053/85 "2011-08-31T16:53:25Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > Addressing the OP: for me it’s everything that has a strong anise flavor, especially Ouzo, Sambucca and Pernod. Yeah, it seems to be either love or hate when it comes to that category. ---
**Author:** ![Drain\_Bead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e47774/32.png) [@Drain\_Bead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drain_Bead)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2011, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vile-concoctions-hard-alcohol-division/594053/86 "2011-08-31T18:04:08Z")
> [@bump](#): > > Uhhhgg… I’d forgotten about Campari. It’s like cough syrup with quinine in it. Medicinal and overwhelmingly bitter. > > I had a Campari & soda in Italy, when I read that’s something that Italians typically do, and figured I’d give it a shot. > > That’s the only time I’ll ever do that. That sounds remarkably similar to the one time I tried Campari. **quixotic78** and I and our respective spouses were at an all-inclusive in the Dominican Republic, along with another couple. We hit up one of the 8 billion bars and he saw a bottle of Campari there, and ordered a Campari and soda. He said something along those same lines–he always saw old Italian guys getting it, had never tried it, and wanted to, seeing as it was already paid for and if he didn’t like it he could just order something else. All six of us ended up taking a sip and gagging. It was one of those “OMG, this tastes like shit…you HAVE TO TRY IT!” moments. ---
**Author:** ![lisiate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f05b48/32.png) [@lisiate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lisiate)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2011, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vile-concoctions-hard-alcohol-division/594053/87 "2011-08-31T21:19:25Z")
If forced to stick to one choice I’m in the anti-Chartreuse camp. It’s a vile concoction foisted upon the world by a cabal of evil misanthropic monks, with no redeeming features whatsoever. There’s plenty of others I dislike as well. Oh, and I disagree to smoe extent with **Unintentionally Blank’s** characterisation of scotch. While that may be true for single malts many of the blends are palatable well below $50/bottle. I’m partial to Teacher’s myself. ---
**Author:** ![Ruken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f475e1/32.png) [@Ruken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruken)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2011, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vile-concoctions-hard-alcohol-division/594053/88 "2011-08-31T22:09:31Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > Campari + orange soda + ice = divine. Oh wow that sounds wonderful. Especially with orange soda like they do it in Italy, so that it actually has some juice and pulp in it. I’ve mostly just had my campari with seltzer or in negroni variations. Pouring a shot into a pint of IPA is also pretty tasty, if odd. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vile-concoctions-hard-alcohol-division/594053.md?page=4)