Is drinking alcohol an acquired taste or is there something i can add to it to make it taste better?

Question

I just bought some Japanese Sake and it doesn't taste very good. It only has a 12% alcohol volume, but i can't seem to drink it. I gagged on just a little bit of it. It makes me afraid to even try the mead and imported beer i bought along with the sake. I had a similar result drinking 10% wine, but the effects weren't as bad. I can drink Smirnoff Ice and Mike's hard stuff but thats it. I apparently can't drink anything with an alcohol content of 5-6% or more. Is there any way to make the stuff taste better or to kill the alcohol taste or at least dilute the alcohol? Or am i pretty much screwed? I really dont' want to end up wasting $30 on alcohol. thanks.

Answer 1

12% alcohol is typical of all wine.

If it's cheap sake, it's better if you warm it up a little first.   Not hot, but very warm.  Suggest you try it in a Japanese restaurant first so you know how it's supposed to be served.

Really good sake is served cold.

But to answer your question, alcohol is an acquired taste.  Stick with what you like, if you like Mikes - then stick with it.  

Try a margarita - like Mikes but if made with good tequila you won't taste it and 2 or 3 of them will make you very happy.

Answer 2

I doubt that it's the alcohol you're tasting.  Sake has a very unusual flavor to it which comes from the rice it's made from.  Personally, I drink red and white wine, beer, liquor, and cocktails on a regular basis, but I do not enjoy sake, so your reaction to that drink doesn't necessarily predict how much you'll enjoy other forms of alcohol.  Mead, for that matter, is also a very unusual taste to have -- it's not popular with most more conventional drinkers.  If you want to know more about alcohol, I'd suggest going out and having some more usual drinks at a local bar.

Answer 3

Unfortunately the taste for alcohol is squired any drunk can tell you that.

Answer 4

just get some vodka and mix it with juice, that way you can add as much as you want, before it starts to taste bad. If you don't like juice, try rum and coke or sprite with Bakardi

Answer 5

Either find a cookbook that tells you how to cook with sake, or else dump it.  I don't think that there are any mixed drinks that use it (but try the web -- I could be wrong).

Mead tastes like honey diluted with water. The alcohol taste is usually not that strong.

BTW, imported beer usually tastes better than domestic.  Try it. If you don't like it, make beer bread.

Answer 6

Pour the imported beer in a glass and enjoy the aroma, maltiness, and bitter aftertaste.  Have a beer-tasting with some friends and share and compare each different beer.

Our friends south of the border also have a nice trick.  Put a little lime juice in a cheap beer and see how much more enjoyable it can be.

Answer 7

Definately an aquired taste. Most fruit juices will help with the taste. with wine you can make a sangria...I wouldn't try it with rice wine; beer is best unmixed. but the more drunk you are the less you can taste the stuff.

Answer 8

Use it in cooking.  You can substitute it for  white wine or cooking sherry.

You can also make a wine cooler out of it by diluting it with cold cranberry juice, orange juice, or pomegranate juice.

There is no special virtue in drinking alcohol.  And Life is WAY too short to drink stuff you don't like!

Answer 9

Sake is stronger than beer so it will take time to get used too, mead can be quite strong too.  Beer is more mild, you will need less time to get used to the smell and taste.

The reason you like Mike's and Smirnoff Ice is because they are mixed with other stuff.  Buy yourself a bottle of vodka and mix an ounce with ice and orange or cranberry juice.

You can also try a Frothy Sake, which is sake blended with ice and margarita mix.  That might help you get the sake down until you get used to the taste.

And remember:  Beer before liquor, never been sicker.  Liquor before beer, never fear!

Answer 10

I think it can be a combination of both.

I don't particularly care for hard liquour,  but I do enjoy a good margarita every once in a while.  ~smile~