29 April 2021

6 things you’ll understand if you hate the taste of alcohol

29 April 2021

If you list the reasons why alcohol is popular, taste is arguably not at the top for a lot of people.

Here’s a few things you’ll be onboard with if you find booze actively disgusting…

1. Most of us hated it at some point

Hands up all those that were desperate to try alcohol as a child, only to sneak a sip and discover it tasted like petrol stations smell. Most people still find straight spirits unpalatable, while a lot of beverages go to great lengths to disguise the presence of ethanol. Alcohol is an acquired taste, it’s just so ubiquitous that most of us acquire it quite fast.

2. You might not be completely teetotal

Alcohol is far too fun to skip out on for something so small as a burning throat. Shots are quick, cider tastes like slightly off apple juice, and some alcopops could masquerade as energy drinks based on look, taste and smell. Not liking the taste of something has never been a deal breaker. No one in their right mind enjoys salad, but they still seem to serve it at restaurants.

3. There is definitely a stigma

Whether you avoid alcohol or merely tolerate it, expressing reservations about boozing often meets with raised eyebrows and dropped jaws. Alcohol consumption is often discussed during alcohol consumption, and drunk people are not at their most subtle.

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4. Cocktails can be very useful

Alcoholic beverages designed specifically to taste like fruit juices – cocktails are the alcohol-hater’s ticket to a good night out. Exhibit A is the whisky sour: a nuclear concoction with an eye-poppingly high unit count which tastes of nothing but citrus and sugar. Shoutouts also to the bellini, the screwdriver, the cosmopolitan, and the pina colada.

5. Your late teens/early 20s were a challenging time

Fresher’s week was soaked in substances that make you want to vomit – and not in the normal, end-of-the-evening kind of way. Drinking is a way of life in some sixth forms, and clubbing sober is legitimately less enjoyable than doing your exams. On the plus side you’ll probably live longer, and avoid the sledgehammer hangovers that ruin many mornings in your 20s.

6. People find it hard to believe

“This will change your mind,” they say, pushing their favourite beer over the table at you, completely unprompted. You know what it tastes of? Beer.

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