The Perspective of an Occasional Bourbon Drinker

[bluesbassdad]

For several months I've severely limited my bourbon consumption because of a possible drug interaction.

I'm finding that my taste is changing in a dramatic way, to wit:

• RR 90 proof is more satisfying than the discontinued 101 proof bottling (both neat).
  
• EC 18, a bottle that I had earlier found to be enjoyable, now tastes the way I described the first bottle I tried a few years ago -- like overheated, freshly sawn plywood.
  
• Blanton's actually has discernable, bourbon-like flavors, after all.
  
• What I once called a "cognac-like quality" in ER SB is no longer present; it tastes like bourbon, nothing more.

The above is only a sampling. Almost every 1/2 oz. of bourbon I sip tastes different than I remember -- some for the better, some for the worse.

The only pattern I see is that my preference may be shifting to lower proof. Perhaps I'm regressing from hardened drinker to novice.

Yours truly,

Dave Morefield

[Gillman]

The answer could be, when you drank bourbon more often, you became familiar with the taste and therefore tended to focus on more intense examples to maintain the level of satisfaction. Now that you have it less often, your tastebuds are more sensitive to it and therefore you don't need the same intensity of flavours as before.

For example, if (as I used to) I drank beer often, I tended to consume well-hopped and strong-tasting examples. Now, I drink less beer, so less well-hopped ones tend to produce more impact on the palate as once they did when I was first learning about beers.

An analogy in whiskey might be, I used to drink more wheat-recipe bourbons than I do now. I think having got the taste for straight whiskey in general, I tend to focus on rye-flavored types and rye whiskeys to maintain the palate impact I am used to. If I had bourbon only infrequently, I suspect I'd like wheat-recipe examples more.

Gary

[barturtle]

You know, sometimes some meds will affect your senses including taste and smell.

[CrispyCritter]

Lately, I haven't been drinking quite as much (tonight being an exception) - and my recent involvement in a a community choir means that some nights I'm now drinking beer at a bar with fellow singers instead of whiskey at home. I've been noticing more of a menthol note in my bourbons, and the Blanton's that I'm sipping right now is tasting a lot like a (top-notch) straight rye.

The change of seasons seems to be having an effect as well - I really like Islay Scotches when the weather gets cool.