Is an "acquired taste" really worth it?

[sotnsipper]

More and more I hear people say that particular brands have an acquired taste. My thinking on this is, if you try it and don't like it, is is really worth trying to make yourself like it? Could your money be better spent on something you really like? I particularly hear this a lot of certain scotches. Me personally, if i try it and don't like it, I leave it alone. I have learned this from past experiences on trying to get the acquired taste people seem to like. How about you? Do you keep trying any bourbons to see if you can acquire the taste others describe around here?

[callmeox]

I don't reject any bourbon after one sampling. There are too many variables involved to not give most pours another try if the first time around the block isn't satisfing.

With that in mind...

I think that the variety of styles of malt whiskeys make that different ballgame entirely. I find the bandaid/doctors office qualities of the really peaty malts to be irrevocably offensive and no amount of do-overs will change that.

If there's a specific quality like that in a bourbon or a style of bourbon, I've not encountered it (yet).

[OscarV]

I will give something several tries before I write it off if I don't like it the first few times.

I never liked the term "acquired taste" because it kinda sounds like you are forcing yourself to like it.

[mozilla]

If you like to build a library of labels to have available at your disposal...then it's ok not to like something, right away. You can keep it around and do comparison, side by sides, or just keep it there incase a friend wants to sample it.

Also, if you drink whisky in more than one way(straight)...you can mix it with soda....bitters....other bourbons...and so on.

I have heard that some pour unwanted bourbon down the drain on occasion. I believe that is going a little too far...I say send it to me and I'll stick it in a barrel for vatting. We can all have a pour when it comes back to life.

[barturtle]

The more whiskies you try, the more likely you are to like them all. So the more whiskies you try the more you should go back and retry those you didn't care much for in the past.

Lets say you like whiskey 1 and it has flavors A B and C

The you try whiskey 2 and it has flavors A B and D and you don't like flavor D much

Then you try whiskey 3 with flavors A E and D and you like E a lot, so much you barely notice D is in there.

If you were to go back now to whiskey 2 you may not find flavor D nearly as offensive as you did before, you may even find you like it now due to it's association with flavor E...

[kickert]

I don't reject any bourbon after one sampling. There are too many variables involved to not give most pours another try if the first time around the block isn't satisfing.

Very good advise.

[George]

I don't reject any bourbon after one sampling. There are too many variables involved to not give most pours another try if the first time around the block isn't satisfing.

Very good advise.

As a newbie, I'm discovering this as well.

[T47]

Bourbon for me was an acquired taste...I acquired it out of the blue! I've told the story before but I had tried some Canadian Whiskey about 12 years or so prior to my Bourbon discovery and thought it tasted like turpentine. I was a beer drinker and fruity mixed drink guy for the next 12 years when I tried a drink of Makers because it was what my father in law had on hand. From the first sip I enjoyed it. I think I was around 42 maybe? Then I discovered that I also enjoyed Canadian, Irish Whiskey, some aged Tequila, aged Rum, Red Wine and some Scotch as well.

I will say this; I tried a "peaty" Scotch and from the nose all the way through it was NOT for me. Who knows, maybe something will change in my taste buds in the next 12 years and I will try a "peaty" Scotch and find that my tastes have changed once again.

I still do not enjoy the flavor of Gin or Vodka, and am making no effort in that direction. I don't think I am willing to work through something that I really find distasteful. There are bottles I enjoy more or less than others and I continue to drink them all. I find the whole "taste" thing interesting, being that mine changed at some point without me being aware.

I guess I have just learned I will never say never when it comes to drink.

:toast:

[The Boozer]

Lets say you like whiskey 1 and it has flavors A B and C

The you try whiskey 2 and it has flavors A B and D and you don't like flavor D much

Then you try whiskey 3 with flavors A E and D and you like E a lot, so much you barely notice D is in there.

If you were to go back now to whiskey 2 you may not find flavor D nearly as offensive as you did before, you may even find you like it now due to it's association with flavor E...

__________________

Grand Imperial PooBah Barturtle

That looks like a story problem - way too much math!! - I need a drink

TJ

[ILLfarmboy]

The more whiskies you try, the more likely you are to like them all. So the more whiskies you try the more you should go back and retry those you didn't care much for in the past.

Lets say you like whiskey 1 and it has flavors A B and C

The you try whiskey 2 and it has flavors A B and D and you don't like flavor D much

Then you try whiskey 3 with flavors A E and D and you like E a lot, so much you barely notice D is in there.

If you were to go back now to whiskey 2 you may not find flavor D nearly as offensive as you did before, you may even find you like it now due to it's association with flavor E...

I agree. Imagine that.

I had planned on responding to this thread in much the same way. I think any acquired taste follows much the same pattern. What you like about it keeps you coming back and what you don't like about it you find more tolerable over time until that to becomes part of what attracts you to that food or beverage.

[funknik]

I agree 100% with Timothy & Brad: the more I'm exposed to, the wider my appreciation and I find flavors that I was at first turned off by can become memorable and subsequently very enjoyable. I like to be able to enjoy things that previously were difficult for me to appreciate -- it makes me feel like I'm getting somewhere and this whole bourbon experience is worth it.

[cowdery]

The expression "acquired taste" is easy to criticize in the way sotnsipper does. I think saying "it's an acquired taste" was just a polite way of saying "you may have a different opinion when you grow up." Kids tend to like very simple tastes. Most of us crave a greater variety of sensations as we get older. We fancy that as sophistication. I agree that drinking whiskey, or anything, shouldn't be a chore. It's not like forcing down brocolli because it's good for you. The purpose is pleasure so what pleases you is all that matters.

[TNbourbon]

If you'll excuse a random comment from a relative newcomer (again), might I suggest an exercise:

• buy a bottle of orange soda. Tip it up and drink as much as you can. I suspect at least a few of us can drink the whole bottle at one 'pull'.
  
• Okay, now try that with 375ml bottle of any bourbon you choose.
  

Now, I once saw Fred Noe chug 1/3-bottle (of a 750ml bottle) of Knob Creek, but he's a professional. How much whiskey did you get down? (Something less than 1/3-bottle, I'd guess).

My point? Well, of course, it's that bourbon/whiskey IS (always) an acquired taste. It ain't easy to drink! That's why we drown it in cola, ice it to tastelessness, or sip it in such small quantities a bottle can resemble a lifetime supply!

There are a few bourbons I don't seek out or relish, and am quite content to forsake hereafter. There are a lot more I will welcome any time I'm offered a taste, in whatever form. There are some I will pay a day's wage for to taste again.

I didn't always feel that way. I acquired the taste.

[ILLfarmboy]

I know where you are going and there is a good bit of truth to what you are saying but I'd say the high alcohol content would be the greatest impediment to "chugging". Similarly, I like a hot cup of Earl Gray but I don't think I could chug a scalding cup of tea.

[cowdery]

Tim is absolutely right and that's probably the best description I've seen of what "acquired taste" really means. The meaning is buried in the euphemism, as it has nothing to do with taste. It has to do with tolerance, conditioning the gag reflex as much as anything. I suppose you could also condition yourself to drink tea at ever hotter temperatures if you so desired, and in that sense the analogy works.

Drinking eight ounces of full proof whiskey in one pull? That is how a lot of those Kentucky boys roll.

[ILLfarmboy]

Tim is absolutely right and that's probably the best description I've seen of what "acquired taste" really means. The meaning is buried in the euphemism, as it has nothing to do with taste. It has to do with tolerance, conditioning the gag reflex as much as anything. I suppose you could also condition yourself to drink tea at ever hotter temperatures if you so desired, and in that sense the analogy works.

Drinking eight ounces of full proof whiskey in one pull? That is how a lot of those Kentucky boys roll.

I see what you mean. I took it too literally.

Tipping a bottle and having a couple three bubbles 'go up' is one thing but eight ounces in one pull. I've never tried it. And I don't intend to. Frankly, I wouldnt want to risk having it come back up. feel free to call me a wuss.............

[callmeox]

Wuss

(padwusspadwusspadwuss)

[ILLfarmboy]

Wuss

(padwusspadwusspadwuss)

:lol:

I suspect you enjoyed that. A little too much

But then, I did open myself up for it.

[fishnbowljoe]

To me, it's a little more complicated than acquiring a taste for a particular type/brand/bottle of bourbon. I'll do my best to explain what I mean without screwing this up too much.

The meaning is buried in the euphemism, as it has nothing to do with taste.

[sotnsipper]

Well, it seems my question was answered in several ways. It is true that almost all bourbons are acquired tastes, but, I was really meaning more like one or two bourbons you have tried, maybe multiple times, but still do not like it. When talking to others, they tell you "Oh, well, that is an acquired taste." From that point, is it really worth it to keep trying it just to get the acquired taste? For me it is not. One example for me is the VOB BIB. I have tried this several times, keep giving it a chance to grow on me, but just cant make it. A guy I work with swears by it and keeps telling me it is an acquired taste. Now I know it is only $8 a bottle, but I can spend a little more and get something I already have a taste for.

[callmeox]

:lol:

I suspect you enjoyed that. A little too much

But then, I did open myself up for it.

An underhand toss like that is very rare around here. :grin:

[The Boozer]

My $0.02 worth

I don't get the earlier examples of chugging bourbon as an "acquired taste" example. Could (and like many, did) back in college but today, I would like to think I'm a lot smarter.

Its a matter of context. I will disagree with some other that "acquired is not really a taste". I am going to stray outside the bourbon world and use single malt scotch as my example. Certainly Lagavulin, Laphroaig & Ardbeg fall into the category of "acquired taste". Noboday new (or even experienced) to the whiskey world haeve liked these "out of the box", first timers, etc. Yet definitely these are some of the great single malts. Not for me even after trying several bottles, although I love another Islay - Bowmore. Got friends who love Lagavulin who agree its an "acquired taste".

In your case, Sotnsipper, it sounded like it was more condescending. If you have tried a couple of bottles and still don't like it, than "acquired taste" is crap. You don't like it and everybody's got different tastes. I agree with you - I don't mind re-trying something if its not a wallet breaker, but to shell out serious coin for something that I've tried several times and don't care for - no dice. Lagavulin is $75-$85 a bottle now in MI. There is a lot more bourbons I want to try before I re-try that whiskey.

TJ

[cowdery]

Well, it seems my question was answered in several ways. It is true that almost all bourbons are acquired tastes, but, I was really meaning more like one or two bourbons you have tried, maybe multiple times, but still do not like it. When talking to others, they tell you "Oh, well, that is an acquired taste." From that point, is it really worth it to keep trying it just to get the acquired taste? For me it is not. One example for me is the VOB BIB. I have tried this several times, keep giving it a chance to grow on me, but just cant make it. A guy I work with swears by it and keeps telling me it is an acquired taste. Now I know it is only $8 a bottle, but I can spend a little more and get something I already have a taste for.

"It's an acquired taste" is a euphemism, though to know exactly what it is a euphemism for you have to know something about the person saying it. Your friend doesn't have any special knowledge, though he sounds like he might like you to think he does. You could probably get used to drinking VOB BIB. It's also possible that at some later point in your tasting career it will appeal to you more. But if you don't care for it, you don't care for it, and that is perfectly okay. There are lots of other fish in the sea. Don't waste your time trying to figure out a way to like VOB BIB, or anything else.

I like VOB BIB not because I think it is necessarily an even better-than-average bourbon. I like it because it occupies a unique niche on the spectrum. Nothing else quite tastes like it. In part, that's because that distillery doesn't bottle that particular whiskey as any other expressions. With the exception of 1792, which is a different mash bill anyway, VOB is--at six years--considerably older than any of the other bourbons produced at Tom Moore.

[Buffalo Bill]

Acquired tastes can change as quickly as acquired bottles remaining in the bunker. The variables are exponential... season, age, time, air etc. I only write-off a bottle if it lacks in fundamentals. BB

[NYtaster]

Try it, you might like it. There is no use going through life hoping we are happy with what we know today.