Palate Cleanser: Poll

[Dave_in_Canada]

If you're sitting down to a serious side by side comparison, what do you do or what do you use to cleanse your palate? If it's "Other" we'd all like to hear about it!

Dave

[MurphyDawg]

unsalted "saltines", which really arent soda crackers, per se, so I decided to say "other". . .

TomC

[cowdery]

Unsalted "saltines"? Isn't that sort of like grain neutral spirits?

[MurphyDawg]

kinda, its like the "wonderbread" of crackers, about the only thing they are good for is removing taste.

[jeff]

I picked "water", but specifically I drink plain Perrier. I find the carbonation helps to completely remove the taste of the previous drink. I know, it has some mineral content to it, but it doesn't seem to detract from the taste of the whiskey IMHO.

Merci

[OneCubeOnly]

For whiskey tastings & side-by-sides it's always water for me. At wineries I use the little soup-cracker-nugget thingies they always seem to have around.

[pepcycle]

Matzah

[OneCubeOnly]

At wineries I use the little soup-cracker-nugget thingies they always seem to have around.

My wife corrected me on this for being uncouth. They're appropriately called "oyster crackers".

[MikeK]

Dark chocolate works great, the darker the better. I keep a brick of 100% chocolate around and saw off a few bits when doing a lot of tasting. Resets your palate right back to zero. Corn whiskey (like HH's Mellow Corn works OK too)

[Hedmans Brorsa]

What a pity that no one voted for beer. That would´ve been interesting!

[JRomain]

I like to use seltzer water, instead of tap water. It's more effective as the bubbles obviously scrub the palate clean.

If moving from one brand of spirit to another, I smell my shirt to reset my olfactory senses. Might sound silly, but it works. Plus, everyone most always is wearing a shirt.

[gothbat]

I use still water, it had never occurred to me to try plain seltzer until I read this thread but I think I will give that a go later on if I remember to pick some up. I love Perrier but I’ve never had the plain kind. Crackers are another thing I have to try, I’ve been meaning to pick some up for quite some time.

[Ambernecter]

The dark chocolate sounds interesting. I may give it a whirl.

I have only ever used water, both "still" and sparkling and find it works great for me.

Crackers are not really an option as I try not to eat wheat, dairy or any white flour.

I'm not a total health nut though - they'll have to prize my fave Bourbon bottle from my cold dead fingers!

[Edward_call_me_Ed]

I voted water since that is what I almost always do. We have a water cooler at home that has both hot and cold water. The water is reverse osmosis deep sea water from the Okinawa trench. What I mostly do when changing whiskies is rinse my glass with hot water, then top up with cold and drink it off. This is mostly to clean the glass and stay hydrated, but it does help cleanse the old palate.

I wanted to click other, too. I haven't done this often, but I sometimes eat a little plain white rice. I have also heard that to reset your sense of smell you can smell unused coffee grounds. I tried crackers, but found that their taste intruded.

If I really want to have a clean palate, I watch what I eat during the day.

Ed

[luv2hunt]

I have also heard that to reset your sense of smell you can smell unused coffee grounds.

Ed

You guys have probably never paid attention to this, but at perfume counters, they keep glasses of coffee beans available for women to clear their sense of smell. It really works.

Dawn

[Edward_call_me_Ed]

You guys have probably never paid attention to this, but at perfume counters, they keep glasses of coffee beans available for women to clear their sense of smell. It really works.

Dawn

Actually, it was in a similar context that I heard this. I am not really into aromatherapy, but I love essentail oils (And herbs and spices) It was an a counter offering a wide essential oil, that I was told this. I agree. It works.

Ed

[TimmyBoston]

I like to use lemon water or a little dark chocolate.

[Edward_call_me_Ed]

Several people have mentioned dark chocolate. I don't get this at all. Chocolate, dark or otherwise, might go well with bourbon, but I didn't find that my palate was cleansed in anyway. In fact, if I was trying to parse out the individual notes, it was a positive distraction. As always, YMMV.

Ed

[straightwhiskeyruffneck]

i voted nothing because that's typically what i do. i dont have any problem with moving from one whiskey to another. however, if i want to taste a different new to me whiskey i'll take a sip of room temperature water. just to be sure i'm taking in the entire experience. but, i dont believe it makes a huge difference.