# What are you a purist (or not) about? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 24, 2010, 7:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-a-purist-or-not-about/561755 "2010-11-24T07:00:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Hazle\_Weatherfield](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Hazle\_Weatherfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hazle_Weatherfield)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2010, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-a-purist-or-not-about/561755/21 "2010-11-24T17:48:42Z")
Purist: Yep! NYT Crossword puzzle! Lobster and Crab legs: No butter, no nothing! Perfection on their own. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2010, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-a-purist-or-not-about/561755/22 "2010-11-24T17:50:20Z")
Purist: A martini is gin, vermouth and olives. Anything else is NOT a martini. Anti-Purist: sodas. Coke, Pepsi, RC, the store brand, etc. Honestly can’t taste the difference or could be bothered to notice if there is one. Purist: sushi. If it’s got a US State’s name in front of it, what you’ve got there is **bullshit**. ---
**Author:** ![Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/intergalactic_gladiator/32/112_2.png) [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intergalactic_Gladiator)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2010, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-a-purist-or-not-about/561755/23 "2010-11-24T18:05:50Z")
> [@jackdavinci](#): > > Christmas trees: PURIST turned ANTI-PURIST: I used to be a trees must be real purist when I was younger. But a combination of ecology (seems wasteful to cut down a whole tree for a two week decoration) and conflict and effort avoidance (picking the tree is a big effort and also a potential source of family contention, for which, let’s be honest, there are plenty of sources already during the holidays). I had heard that real trees are actually better for the environment. A quick googling backs that claim up. > **[Social Sciences](https://www.thoughtco.com/social-sciences-4133522)** > > Become a better citizen by learning how society works. Discover the science behind human behavior with resources on economics, archaeology, sociology, and more. [http://www.christmastree.org/debate.cfm](http://www.christmastree.org/debate.cfm) ---
**Author:** ![overlyverbose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/9dc877/32.png) [@overlyverbose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/overlyverbose)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2010, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-a-purist-or-not-about/561755/24 "2010-11-24T18:18:04Z")
\*\*Purist: \*\* I like real cream in my coffee and real sugar in my baked goods (assuming I’m the one baking them). I will only use certain types of office supplies. Pens must be rollerballs, and all rollerballs are not created equal. I also can’t make myself use wide-ruled paper. I hate it. When I review legislation, it has to be printed. There’s no two ways about it, even if it’s 2,000+ pages long, like the healthcare bill. I know it’s bad to kill trees, but I can’t remember certain pieces of legislation when I don’t physically write in the margins. A sticky in pdf won’t do. **Anti-purist:** I only like butter on my toast (won’t use margarine or a different type of “butter-like” spread or spray), but the butter has to be the salted kind. I don’t like the sweet cream version - I know intellectually it’s supposed to be higher quality, but that doesn’t mean I have to like it. ---
**Author:** ![Headrush042](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a5b964/32.png) [@Headrush042](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Headrush042)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2010, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-a-purist-or-not-about/561755/25 "2010-11-24T18:24:42Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > _Star Wars:_ If it ain’t in the movies it ain’t canon, not even if it comes from the mouth of Lucas Himself. How about after he goes back and changes the movie itself? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![StusBlues](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@StusBlues](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StusBlues)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2010, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-a-purist-or-not-about/561755/26 "2010-11-24T18:53:03Z")
I’m a jazz purist for certain values of jazz purist. Piano, bass, and drum rhythm sections supporting one or more soloists, including guitar, who improvise on chord changes–preferably standards or well-known jazz pieces. I won’t say that I don’t listen to electronic stuff once in a great while, but I do so with at least a tinge of regret. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2010, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-a-purist-or-not-about/561755/27 "2010-11-24T18:53:39Z")
Purist: Rock Guitar - classic Gibson or Fender through a Fender, Marshall or Vox TUBE amp, with maybe a fuzzbox. Anything more is an umbrella drink. Not Purist: I eat my french fries with mustard. The spicy/brown/deli/dijon kind. ---
**Author:** ![StusBlues](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@StusBlues](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StusBlues)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2010, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-a-purist-or-not-about/561755/28 "2010-11-24T18:55:18Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > Purist: Rock Guitar - classic Gibson or Fender through a Fender, Marshall or Vox TUBE amp, with maybe a fuzzbox. Anything more is an umbrella drink. You are my kind of person, sir. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Excellent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f19dbf/32.png) [@Mr.Excellent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Excellent)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2010, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-a-purist-or-not-about/561755/29 "2010-11-24T19:06:05Z")
Scotch: Should be consumed neat, and at room temperature. 😃 If the nice folks at the distillery had meant for there to be more water in the Scotch they very kindly made for you, they’d have added it. As for chilling - look, taste is a chemical reaction. I’m no chemist, so I’ll gladly be corrected on this point - but I’m not aware of any chemical reaction that performs more effectively at lower temperatures than higher ones. If some thoughtless person hands you a chilled Scotch, the thing to do is wait until it warms to room temperature. ---
**Author:** ![Baal\_Houtham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baal_houtham/32/13604_2.png) [@Baal\_Houtham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baal_Houtham)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2010, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-a-purist-or-not-about/561755/30 "2010-11-24T19:17:11Z")
Mmm, not much. I’ve got no use for flavored coffees, but am occasionally willing to splash flavored creamers in coffee. So maybe I’m a purist about liking things. If I like it I don’t care if it’s traditional or non-traditional. If a movie entertains me I don’t care how groundbreaking it is or is not. There might be a little extra credit if something entertains me in a very original manner, but there’s no points for trying and failing. ---
**Author:** ![Kolga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e56c9b/32.png) [@Kolga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolga)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2010, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-a-purist-or-not-about/561755/31 "2010-11-24T19:25:05Z")
I’m a cheesecake purist. Cheesecake is perfection in and of itself and needs nothing. No sauces. No flavor additions. Nothing. No. NOTHING. No chocolate, white or otherwise. Just leave. it. alone. And give it to me before you fuck it up with adding your raspberry reduction/pomegranate seed/white chocolate mousse/Grand Marnier bullshit. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2010, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-a-purist-or-not-about/561755/32 "2010-11-24T19:33:52Z")
> [@Mr.Excellent](#): > > Scotch: Should be consumed neat, and at room temperature. 😃 If the nice folks at the distillery had meant for there to be more water in the Scotch they very kindly made for you, they’d have added it. As for chilling - look, taste is a chemical reaction. I’m no chemist, so I’ll gladly be corrected on this point - but I’m not aware of any chemical reaction that performs more effectively at lower temperatures than higher ones. If some thoughtless person hands you a chilled Scotch, the thing to do is wait until it warms to room temperature. Interesting thing I learned lately, and it had to do with red wine and room temp. Apparently, red wine is supposed to be served at room temperature. But in the US, it’s supposed to be better to chill it just a bit. The reason for this, AIUI, is that we Merkins tend to keep our rooms a few degrees warmer than they do in Europe, where the room temp rule was first developed. Anyone know anything about this? And does the principle carry over to rules for Scotch? PURIST: Major league baseball. Pitchers take their turn in the batting order. If you don’t want your pitchers to do that, name whatever game they’re playing something else. PURIST: Major league baseball. Playing a non-exhibition game against a team from the opposite league is something you earn the right to do by achieving a better season record than the other teams in your own league. If you can’t live with that, call whatever game you’re playing something else. I sure do miss major league baseball, and I pray for the day it exists again. PURIST: Jazz. Electronic pianos and synthesizers have their place, and that place is in the practice room/composer’s studio. Sure, compose your music on a synthesizer so you have an idea what it’s going to sound like. Then TRANSCRIBE the damn thing, and pay some musicians to play it for recording/performing. ---
**Author:** ![Ponch8](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponch8/32/9883_2.png) [@Ponch8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponch8)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2010, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-a-purist-or-not-about/561755/33 "2010-11-24T19:49:07Z")
Purist: bowling. I’m completely against those bumpers they put in the gutters for little kids. You should actually have to roll the ball straight down the lane in order to get a strike. Your little kid bowls a thirteen because he has bad aim? Tough shit. Anti-purist: macaroni and cheese. The best kind is Kraft macaroni and cheese out of a cardboard box. ---
**Author:** ![StusBlues](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@StusBlues](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StusBlues)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2010, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-a-purist-or-not-about/561755/34 "2010-11-24T20:28:01Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > PURIST: Major league baseball. Pitchers take their turn in the batting order. If you don’t want your pitchers to do that, name whatever game they’re playing something else. Amen, brother. > [@Ponch8](#): > > Anti-purist: macaroni and cheese. The best kind is Kraft macaroni and cheese out of a cardboard box. Nah. My mom isn’t an exceptional cook, but she does…something that makes mac and cheese transcend the ordinary. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2010, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-a-purist-or-not-about/561755/35 "2010-11-24T20:50:29Z")
> [@overlyverbose](#): > > the butter has to be the salted kind. I don’t like the sweet cream version - I know intellectually it’s supposed to be higher quality, but that doesn’t mean I have to like it. Maybe I’m mis-reading you here, but I want to make sure you know: the opposite of salted butter isn’t sweet cream butter, it’s unsalted butter. And the point of unsalted butter (as I understand it) is not necessarily that it’s higher quality, it’s that using it gives the cook better control over how much salt goes into the dish. ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2010, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-a-purist-or-not-about/561755/36 "2010-11-24T21:06:04Z")
Re: Scotch Swords at dawn! Dull swords … it’s dawn, after all. First, the production of Scotch is tightly regulated. They _can’t_ add water to it, else it can’t be sold as Scotch. Second, Scotch and water is a mumble mumble _endothermic?_ mumble mumble reaction. Whatever, a bit of heat is released. Third, adding a touch of water releases a host of volatiles and god-particles (why they are wasting their money on the Hadron collidamajig is beyond me) that are otherwise trapped and lost. Your nose’s involvement is proportionately multiplied (exponentially in Durante’s case). Drink your rotgut neat all you want and enjoy your appearance in a noir thriller. If you’re going to hold something crafted, there’s a world of technicolor bliss awaiting. Now put down that sword–I happen to have a case of Springbank in the cellar that needs attending to. Billiards? ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2010, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-a-purist-or-not-about/561755/37 "2010-11-24T21:43:18Z")
Vanilla. I’m a spice purist in general, but I’m a vanilla fundamentalist. Butter. If it says “fry in butter”, then fry that shit in butter. ---
**Author:** ![LH75](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lh75/32/4438_2.png) [@LH75](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LH75)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2010, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-a-purist-or-not-about/561755/38 "2010-11-24T21:50:20Z")
A Reuben sandwich is: Corned beef Swiss cheese Sauerkraut Russian Dressing Lightly grilled on Rye bread The sandwich on the menu with: Smoked turkey Black Forrest ham Swiss cheese Coleslaw Thousand Island dressing Lightly grilled on sourdough Is a tasty sandwich I will admit, but it is not a Reuben ---
**Author:** ![River\_Hippie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/river_hippie/32/26_2.png) [@River\_Hippie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/River_Hippie)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2010, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-a-purist-or-not-about/561755/39 "2010-11-24T22:04:45Z")
Purist: **Tee shirts**. Must be at least 5.5 oz. pure cotton with a long torso. Getting harder to find ones that aren’t too thin/short. **Guitars and amps**. I like the classic 50s-60s designs, stock or at least stock appearing. **60s muscle cars**. Like to see them stock, as they left the factory. If aftermarket rims and tires must be added they should be at least period correct. Now that I think about it, I’m a purist about too many things to list. ---
**Author:** ![Norse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a9adbd/32.png) [@Norse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Norse)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2010, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-a-purist-or-not-about/561755/40 "2010-11-24T22:06:01Z")
> [@Novelty\_Bobble](#): > > Whisky This. Whisky should be single malt Whisky should not be chilled A wee drop of water may be added to some whiskies (particularly the cask strengths) to open it slightly If it’s not made in Scotland, it should be called something else People who drink Whisky on the rocks deserve nothing better than Johnnie Walker Red Label (which is an abomination by itself) Mixing Whisky with anything else than a wee drop of water, like, say Coke, is a capital offense and even considering such heresy qualifies the offender to be drawn and quartered, and then burned at the stake. Sláinte! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-a-purist-or-not-about/561755.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-a-purist-or-not-about/561755.md?page=3)