I remember disliking alcohol pretty much in any form until I was about 20 (and yes, I have been drinking prior to turning 21, since in some parts of the world such an act is legal). And recently my friend P.P. and I had a conversation about alcohol and he told me he still doesn’t like it (he’s about my age). This prompted me to think about what caused that transformation in me, and whether it is a good one (i.e. one that is beneficial to undergo — and under what circumstances).
I think that alcohol itself performs two roles: it’s a stimulant (which is why most people are drawn to it from a young age), and it’s a carrier of gustatory information. Wine wouldn’t taste as good if it had no alcohol in it, but alcohol itself is pretty disgusting.
I also think, at least for me, alcohol was an acquired taste — a taste which required me to forgo some utility in the short run in order to enjoy a lot more utility in the long run. That is, before I acquired a liking for alcohol, I was in a local maximum; I didn’t like alcohol but I stuck with it and over time, doing that has allowed me to experience a much greater wealth of experiences. I am proud to have a good friend T.C. convince me to keep trying Scotch as right now it’s pretty much the only liquor that I enjoy drinking (maybe except some in cocktails).
What solidified my understanding of acquired taste as something valuable and desirable were many other examples, especially in the past six months, of my tastes changing. I moved away from sweet, milk chocolate in favor of dark chocolate. I started enjoying spicy food (yes, even the chicken wings — mind you, I still dislike vomit sauce with all my might) and this opened up the wealth of the Indian cuisine to me. Finally, some distinct experiences where an ingredient I never liked (such as, for example, celery) found its way in a dish I had, and to my shock I liked how it tasted, made me realize that there are no bad ingredients, just bad ways of preparing them.
Another thing that an acquired taste allowed me to do is to be able to understand myself better. Acquired tastes, having a higher barrier of entry, are usually complex and our enjoyment of them is sensitive to many small changes in their olfactory and gustatory properties: there isn’t much you can say about, say, gummybears, but Scotch you can write manuals about. This forced me to understand what particular components of taste I like more than others.
I’m not sure P.P. will have alcohol any time soon. But there is a glimmer of hope — I did manage to find one drink he did not dislike.
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