The NOSE

[Nightcap]

The smell of bourbon is as absorbing as the flavor itself. Why is it so attractive? Do you think that we inhale alcohol vapors when we sniff it, and thus become conditioned like Pavlov's Dogs? Is that why the nose keeps returning to the glass?

[gr8erdane]

Probably because the mouth is trying to push it out of the way.

[LeNell]

That's hilarious. Now I'm gonna giggle each time I sniff and sip this week thinking that my face is in a war.

Actually, the nose is the center of our tasting experience. Have you ever had a stuffed up nose when you had a cold and couldn't really taste? This tiny little thing called the olfactory epithelium just behind the nose catches aromatic molecules. These are interpreted by apx 15 million receptors that shoot off messages to the brain that translates them into flavors.

[cowdery]

Exactly, the nose is a much more sensitive taste receptor than the tongue.

[Nightcap]

... These are interpreted by apx 15 million receptors that shoot off messages to the brain that translates them into flavors.

That, my friend, is so vivid that I'm going to be thinking about it every time I smell anything, from now on.

Thank you.