We have a new update on The Future of the Penny Arcade Forums.

The [Love] Thread is home for all kinds of love, but especially the love of booze

19395979899

Posts

  • tynictynic PICNIC BADASS Registered User, ClubPA regular
    edited January 2016
    JebusUD wrote: »
    tynic wrote: »
    JebusUD wrote: »
    Fig-D wrote: »
    My favorite vodka is the kind I can't taste. For me vodka is one of the booze components in Black Russians, White Russians or a Moscow Mule nothing more. I'm not even a fan of screwdrivers.

    Most vodka tastes very chemical. Like you opened up under the sink and picked a random bottle.

    MMMMMM!!!! Ethanol!

    that's bad vodka.

    Yes. Most vodka people buy is bad vodka. Then the ones that are a step up are pushed as being flavorless. Which means the flavor is going to be ethanol, you can't take out the ethanol flavor without taking out the ethanol. The spectrum goes from totally gross to chemical in my experience.

    I'd bet some really expensive vodkas come in nice flavors, but it's hard to want to spend money on it when you've had a bad time before.

    This is why I stick with gin and rum. And more gin. Tasty.

    naw. Well, ok, there's debate on the subject, some of the up-market vodka makers deliberately try to create a floral or herbal aspect in their product, but personally I can't stand those. Generally its accepted that the best (not necessarily most expensive) vodkas are the purest, so the closest to an ethanol-only flavour I guess.

    Now, ethanol itself shouldn't have a lot of flavour, but I wonder if there's an odour component to the chemical edge? because if it's a really good vodka, I can barely taste it at all - but I'm anosmic.

    ... Which could be why I spent ten years drinking straight vodka and not much else...

    tynic on
  • StraightziStraightzi Here we may reign secure, and in my choice, To reign is worth ambition though in HellRegistered User regular
    I've never had an alcoholic drink where I couldn't taste the alcohol. And the more I drink, the more the alcohol becomes all I can taste.

    That said, I still prefer gin, mostly because just about every time I've drank vodka I've been sick to my stomach the next day.

    I mean, I've always argued that an alcoholic drink where you can't taste the alcohol is missing the point

    I've known a lot of people who drink that way, and if you absolutely abhor the taste of all sorts of alcohol, then fine, go for it

    But quite a few of those people ended up not hating all alcohol taste

    They just had started drinking bottom shelf vodka and kept drinking vodka and never really liked the taste even when they graduated to higher shelves

    So they figure they don't like alcohol, when what they actually dislike is vodka

    Find an alcohol that you enjoy the taste of, and I think you're going to be much better off than drinking something you can't taste

  • HoA-playerHoA-player Registered User regular
    I find even with upscale vodkas there are different flavors bases on what type of grain or potatoes used in the production.

  • tynictynic PICNIC BADASS Registered User, ClubPA regular
    That's true. I guess if I really think about it, I like clean vodkas with a grassy edge, and the latter flavour is probably due to the grain used.

  • OmnipotentBagelOmnipotentBagel floof Registered User regular
    JebusUD wrote: »
    I've never had an alcoholic drink where I couldn't taste the alcohol. And the more I drink, the more the alcohol becomes all I can taste.

    That said, I still prefer gin, mostly because just about every time I've drank vodka I've been sick to my stomach the next day.

    Come out the the far east over here and I'll make you a gin drink like you wouldn't believe.

    Plus I just got a bar in my basement! Just needs some decorating.

    Someday after spring arrives I may just take you up on that.

    cdci44qazyo3.gif

  • StraightziStraightzi Here we may reign secure, and in my choice, To reign is worth ambition though in HellRegistered User regular
    tynic wrote: »
    JebusUD wrote: »
    tynic wrote: »
    JebusUD wrote: »
    Fig-D wrote: »
    My favorite vodka is the kind I can't taste. For me vodka is one of the booze components in Black Russians, White Russians or a Moscow Mule nothing more. I'm not even a fan of screwdrivers.

    Most vodka tastes very chemical. Like you opened up under the sink and picked a random bottle.

    MMMMMM!!!! Ethanol!

    that's bad vodka.

    Yes. Most vodka people buy is bad vodka. Then the ones that are a step up are pushed as being flavorless. Which means the flavor is going to be ethanol, you can't take out the ethanol flavor without taking out the ethanol. The spectrum goes from totally gross to chemical in my experience.

    I'd bet some really expensive vodkas come in nice flavors, but it's hard to want to spend money on it when you've had a bad time before.

    This is why I stick with gin and rum. And more gin. Tasty.

    naw. Well, ok, there's debate on the subject, some of the up-market vodka makers deliberately try to create a floral or herbal aspect in their product, but personally I can't stand those. Generally its accepted that the best (not necessarily most expensive) vodkas are the purest, so the closest to an ethanol-only flavour I guess.

    Now, ethanol itself shouldn't have a lot of flavour, but I wonder if there's an odour component to the chemical edge? because if it's a really good vodka, I can barely taste it at all - but I'm anosmic.

    ... Which could be why I spent ten years drinking straight vodka and not much else...

    Hey Nic, I've actually been meaning to pick your brain about this

    I've been hanging out with a gal who's anosmic a bunch lately, and I have a hell mixing her a cocktail

    I'm not sure how much of it is her tastes versus, y'know, being anosmic

    But I tend to pride myself on my home bar, so are there any sorts of advice you might have there?

  • chromdomchromdom Who? Where?Registered User regular
    SE++ Love Thread: For the Love (Or Not) of Vodka

  • tynictynic PICNIC BADASS Registered User, ClubPA regular
    Oh man good question but a toughie. Obviously she might just have tricky preferences in cocktails.

    One problem with giving general advice is that anosmia can vary in its manifestation, depending on how you came by it (and especially how late in life). I was probably lucky to have it from infancy, because seems like my remaining nerve connections have heavily compensated; whereas some people say almost everything tastes like cardboard. But I'll try and separate out my personal preferences from what I might actually be missing

    - in general I think earthy notes are gonna come through more strongly than light, bright elements. When I think about reading whisky tasting notes vs what I can taste, I notice the peat and caramel (and pepper) aspects more than the lighter citrusy or berry ones.
    - herbal-style liqueurs are probably tricky to balance, a lot of the flavour in those seems to be more odor based
    - The biggest issue is likely to be bitterness (related to herbal comment above). Without the aroma components, there won't be as much of other flavours to balance out any bitter aspects. My instinft is that citrus/ sour tasting cocktails are gonna do a better job of getting past that issue than sweet ones, but that might just be my preference.

    You could do the ol' clothespin on the nose trick when taste testing your concoctions, that might give an assist.

  • AngelinaAngelina Registered User regular
    One more hour of prep!

    You people are making me want to drink and I can't. It's not fair.

  • StraightziStraightzi Here we may reign secure, and in my choice, To reign is worth ambition though in HellRegistered User regular
    I believe she's anosmic from birth as well

    The major stumbling block I've run into is that apparently citrus cuts through her senses like crazy, so any sort of sour drink doesn't pass muster

    I tend pretty strongly towards bitter and sour drinks, so obviously this is a problem

    Those whiskey tips are good though, I'll definitely keep that in mind

  • tynictynic PICNIC BADASS Registered User, ClubPA regular
    Ah right. Yeah citrus is super strong for me also, which is why I suggested it for masking bitter flavours, but if you don't like things to be sour then it's an issue.

  • honoverehonovere Registered User regular
    Oh, today is national hugging day.

  • AngelinaAngelina Registered User regular
    The teacher today suggested that we get given a bed bath by our partners to see what it's like. Yeah. Ok. Sure.
    Oh god I'm so alone.

  • crwthcrwth THAT'S IT Registered User regular
    buy tito's vodka

    EzUAYcn.png
  • Peter EbelPeter Ebel CopenhagenRegistered User regular
    Never really thought about reciprocation during sex. It's certainly not something I expect or require from sex partners.

    A thing that would be great though, is a conversation about sex. That'd be all right.

    Fuck off and die.
  • AngelinaAngelina Registered User regular
    New voice message on PoF.

    "You look different. *6 second pause* Yeeaah. *2 second pause* Tell me a bit about yourself. Mmmm."

  • XaquinXaquin Right behind you!Registered User regular
    Peter Ebel wrote: »
    Never really thought about reciprocation during sex. It's certainly not something I expect or require from sex partners.

    A thing that would be great though, is a conversation about sex. That'd be all right.

    you're in the right place

  • Peter EbelPeter Ebel CopenhagenRegistered User regular
    Xaquin wrote: »
    Peter Ebel wrote: »
    Never really thought about reciprocation during sex. It's certainly not something I expect or require from sex partners.

    A thing that would be great though, is a conversation about sex. That'd be all right.

    you're in the right place

    I'd want those from a sex partner. I'm not super happy talking about sex specifics here, since I am also Peter Ebel out in meat space.

    Fuck off and die.
  • JebusUDJebusUD Adventure! Candy IslandRegistered User regular
    Angelina wrote: »
    New voice message on PoF.

    "You look different. *6 second pause* Yeeaah. *2 second pause* Tell me a bit about yourself. Mmmm."

    That confidence is just oozing out every word. That is a natural charisma of... 17 or 18 I'd say. Roll a saving throw for will to resist charm.

    and I wonder about my neighbors even though I don't have them
    but they're listening to every word I say
  • OmnipotentBagelOmnipotentBagel floof Registered User regular
    JebusUD wrote: »
    Angelina wrote: »
    New voice message on PoF.

    "You look different. *6 second pause* Yeeaah. *2 second pause* Tell me a bit about yourself. Mmmm."

    That confidence is just oozing out every word. That is a natural charisma of... 17 or 18 I'd say. Roll a saving throw for will to resist charm.

    On the other hand, it took him a good two rounds to perform that single speech check.

    cdci44qazyo3.gif

  • HacksawHacksaw J. Duggan Esq. Wrestler at LawRegistered User regular
    I remember getting the sex talk from my parents.

    It was, literally and without paraphrasing: "You're not ready for sex. Don't do it."

    That was it. I was nearly 20.

  • StraightziStraightzi Here we may reign secure, and in my choice, To reign is worth ambition though in HellRegistered User regular
    Angelina wrote: »
    New voice message on PoF.

    "You look different. [*furiously masturbates to completion*] Yeeaah. [*wipes the sweat off his forehead*] Tell me a bit about yourself. Mmmm."

  • JebusUDJebusUD Adventure! Candy IslandRegistered User regular
    Hacksaw wrote: »
    I remember getting the sex talk from my parents.

    It was, literally and without paraphrasing: "You're not ready for sex. Don't do it."

    That was it. I was nearly 20.

    Hah, my dad tried to give me something of a sex talk when I was .... 23. And I'd lived with my now wife for a couple years at that point.

    Thanks dad! Pro parenting!

    I thought I might die because of how ridiculous and embarrassing it all was.

    and I wonder about my neighbors even though I don't have them
    but they're listening to every word I say
  • StraightziStraightzi Here we may reign secure, and in my choice, To reign is worth ambition though in HellRegistered User regular
    I think my dad's sex talk was when we were in the car one time

    I must've been like, sixteen or so

    It was along the lines of:

    "Do we need to have a sex talk?"
    "Nah."
    "Okay, cool. Let me know if you have any questions."

    There's some other sex talks with my dad that have been notable as well, but more just in the funny one liner sense, not like actual advice or anything

  • OmnipotentBagelOmnipotentBagel floof Registered User regular
    My parents never gave me a sex talk, at least not one that I can remember. We always sort of had this implicit understanding of "we trust you to figure out the right thing to do on your own, and if you have questions about something you can ask." They did find some of my porn once and we had a talk about that, but that mostly boiled down to "if we could find this, your little sister could find it and that's not okay." Which I think was a pretty fair point.

    cdci44qazyo3.gif

  • JebusUDJebusUD Adventure! Candy IslandRegistered User regular
    My parents never gave me a sex talk, at least not one that I can remember. We always sort of had this implicit understanding of "we trust you to figure out the right thing to do on your own, and if you have questions about something you can ask." They did find some of my porn once and we had a talk about that, but that mostly boiled down to "if we could find this, your little sister could find it and that's not okay." Which I think was a pretty fair point.

    Hey, it turned out okay for me. I mean, I went to school when we had real sex ed still, so that probably helped. Now it's all scare tactics and don't do it. 30 nearly and no STD's or surprise babies.

    That reminds me that I used to live with a friend and his family. My family had moved away partway through my senior year of high school. My buddy took me to the porno store when I turned 18. It was a super shady porno pole barn, which I promptly refused to go into. This was after I had stepped from the car though, so he locked the door and said we weren't leaving until I came out with a movie. I ended up with Babewatch... 6 I think. It was a truly awful spoof porno.

    Anyhow, I later moved out after school ended, but knew that my family was nosy and would look through my stuff. (which they definitely did look through my dvds, looking to see if I had anything good). So I left the movie with him. Now, he was on the computer at the time when I asked, and I said "What should I do with this" ... "Just put it under the couch cushion, I will hide it later".

    Well, later I find out he never hid it. Then his younger sister found it. You'd think he'd have put it away then, but no. Then his religious father found it.

    Thanks pal!

    and I wonder about my neighbors even though I don't have them
    but they're listening to every word I say
  • StraightziStraightzi Here we may reign secure, and in my choice, To reign is worth ambition though in HellRegistered User regular
    I'm pretty sure once my dad said something along the lines of, "Now dumb girls, dumb girls are fun, but they'll get old fast."

    Like, pretty much out of nowhere, we're just talking while driving around (most of my memories of my father involve being in a car together)

  • chromdomchromdom Who? Where?Registered User regular
    The only sex talk I got:

    Me: "Mom, how can you wear black pants on such a hot, sunny day?
    Mom: "Have you had health class yet?"
    Me: "Gotcha. Never mind."

  • PinfeldorfPinfeldorf Yeah ZestRegistered User regular
    One time when my mom and I were both drunk on New Year's Eve, she told me that receiving anal was just like holding in a fart for an extended period of time.

    I responded with, "Mom, stop, please. Just stop."

    And I mean, I'm not a slut shamer at all, but...from your mom? Ack.

  • Blake TBlake T Do you have enemies then? Good. That means you’ve stood up for something, sometime in your life.Registered User regular
    The only sex talk had was one time when the old man told me, "If may sleep with hookers, for god's sake, use a condom."

    Which is accurate advice I guess. This was just before was about to head to Thailand when was somewhere between 22-26 though.

  • JayKaosJayKaos Registered User regular
    At some point a commercial came on TV about talking to your kids about the dangers of drugs and unprotected sex, so my mom goes "Hey kids don't do drugs or have unprotected sex before you're married."

    Steam | SW-0844-0908-6004 and my Switch code
  • UrielUriel Registered User regular
    edited January 2016
    My school had pretty good sex education classes.

    To bad they made my panic attacks worse.

    Also I never had a sex talk with my parents or anyone really.

    I've managed not to get a disease or father any children yet though so...

    Uriel on
  • NeoTomaNeoToma Registered User regular
    My sex talk was my grandpa taking me to the park at age 20 and saying "well, if you gonna mess a round be sure to use a jimmy hat"

  • Desert LeviathanDesert Leviathan Registered User regular
    I got the Sex Talk when I was 13 or 14 from my stepdad, who I'm pretty sure just repeated what his drill sergeant said to him before he left for Vietnam. So it was all about how STDs would melt my crotch right off, but no mention of pregnancy or consent or anything else.

    Realizing lately that I don't really trust or respect basically any of the moderators here. So, good luck with life, friends! Hit me up on Twitter @DesertLeviathan
  • UrielUriel Registered User regular
    Jimmy hat is maybe my favorite phrase in the world.

  • JebusUDJebusUD Adventure! Candy IslandRegistered User regular
    NeoToma wrote: »
    My sex talk was my grandpa taking me to the park at age 20 and saying "well, if you gonna mess a round be sure to use a jimmy hat"

    Loving the old man terminology here.

    If you're fixin to know a woman biblically make sure you look out for VD!

    and I wonder about my neighbors even though I don't have them
    but they're listening to every word I say
  • tynictynic PICNIC BADASS Registered User, ClubPA regular
    Based on this cross section of advice, it's kind of amazing how few accidental parents we have on the board.

  • UrielUriel Registered User regular
    Using a condom always seemed like common sense to me. Tbh.

  • HacksawHacksaw J. Duggan Esq. Wrestler at LawRegistered User regular
    tynic wrote: »
    Based on this cross section of advice, it's kind of amazing how few accidental parents we have on the board.

    Frankly I'm surprised I even had sex before I was 25.

  • godmodegodmode Southeast JapanRegistered User regular
    "The talk" from my parents was basically, "Look what happened to your sister. Don't do what she did."

This discussion has been closed.