Age and Sweetness Tolerance of Drinkers

[pepcycle]

I read and conveyed to the blind tasting participants that age has significant impact on taste. This was noted as a increased sensitivity to sweet and decrease to salty. (As you get older, you add more salt to achieve same level of flavor and sweet foods are not craved or tolerated as well with age)

I'd like to get some feedback on whether this holds true for the SB.com group and whether your bourbon preferences lean towards less sweet as you get older.

I for one, find bourbons with more rye character and bolder flavors are preferred over smooth/sweet ones.

Your Thoughts?

(This was triggered by Doubleblank's comments on ETL)

[BourbonJoe]

Ed,

I like 'em both. I'm 61 years old and still give the edge to the sweet ones like Van Winkle and most of the Stitzel-Wellers. To each his own.

Joe

[jeff]

I prefer sweet, full-bodied bourbons over the dryer ones, but that runs counter to my tastes in food. I would much rather have something deep-fried and salty to something sweet. Unfortunately the waist-line prohibits much of either.

Based on your theory though, it would seem that I am much younger!

[ratcheer]

Okay, I am fairly old (54) and I still love sweets, in general.

Elmer T. Lee is a rye recipe bourbon that is also fairly sweet, and it is a top favorite of mine. The same goes for Old Grand Dad 114. I have always been fond of Wild Turkey products, and they give me a fair impression of sweetness.

I generally don't care for wheat recipe bourbons, and none of them have ever struck me as being particularly sweet.

The driest rye recipe bourbon I can think of is Baker's, and I don't care for it at all, for that reason.

Tim

[kbuzbee]

I have always been fond of Wild Turkey products, and they give me a fair impression of sweetness.

They do, but they all have that bite and earthy characture that offsets it, for me. I like the sweet opening and biting mid palate, Kentucky Spirit and Tribute then add long oaky finishes that make them just wonderful!

Ken

[ratcheer]

Oh, yes, every one of my favorites has both a pronounced rye bite and a pretty strong taste of sweetness.

Tim