If it wasn't for the effect, nobody would bother acquiring the taste for beer or wine...
Alcohol is, for the vast majority of the time, taken solely for the impact on the mind.
Alcohol is, for the vast majority of the time, taken solely for the impact on the mind.
Wine is tasty. Beer is tasty. Brandy is tasty. And (anecdotally) know many people who aren't just drinking them to get out of their heads...
I'm 41, and I still haven't acquired a taste for beer. I find it absolutely awful. I can tolerate most wines, but outside of extremely sweet dessert wines I have never tasted any that actually taste particularly enjoyable to me. I'm sure I could change that if I forced myself to drink more, but I don't really have any incentive to do so.
There are liquors that taste nice to me, but they are generally the ones that hide the alcohol taste quite well, like e.g. amaretto.
I'm sure taste is an element of it, but the point being that very few alcoholic drinks taste nice until you've spent a lot of time getting accustomed to the taste of alcohol without enjoying the taste first due to social expectations or a desire to get drunk.
Of course, once you've developed a taste, then you might seek out foods that balance spice with flavor, and you appreciate novel interplays between the two --- in the same way that a consumer of alcohol might seek out a variety of beer, wine, or liquor that balances flavor and alcohol content.
Yes, people enjoy the taste of these things, they have trained themselves to, usually because of the effects.
FYI not everyone using every other drug is trying to get "out of their head" either. A little cannabis or sedative use may be for relaxation. A little stimulant to stay awake and increase talkativeness and confidence. LSD does rather take people somewhere else though...
Plenty of people would pair a nice red with their pasta even if it had no other impact on their mental faculties, same with other drinks and food. I'm perplexed at such an unhealthy view of alcohol.
If it had no effect they likely wouldn't have acquired the taste, so I doubt very much they would in significant numbers, no.
There is an element of flavoir choice. But just look at how many concoctions there are that are, at least the popular ones, designed specifically to make drinking alcohol a more flavourful experience, and to hide the taste of the base alcohol as much as possible while still getting it into the drinker.
I'm sorry, I just don't believe that, absent the positive effects of the alcohol, anyone would drink much booze.
Before modern times, the quality of water was terrible pretty much everywhere. Because of this, many regularly drank alcoholic drinks instead of water because it was cleaner due to the alcohol it contained.
Although they weren't drinking it because it paired well with their pasta, many times they also weren't drinking it because of the impact on their mental faculties.
And it's probably the boiling proces that really saved them, they just didn't know!
FYI one can teach oneself to enjoy the taste of amphetamines, if one creates enough positive associations with their use. I've been there.
It's expensive, and I don't make any friends by drinking expensive drinks (my friends don't really care)
I would love to see someone make "virgin" versions of various stronger drinks I like, but so far they don't taste anywhere near as good.
It sincerely annoys me that drinks make me sleepy and such. I'm only having one or two, but I would like to still be able to study and play chess, AND have nice flavors.
I've even starting trying to find creative ways to water them down without losing flavor so I can enjoy them without the side-effects.
(I should probably mention that I don't really enjoy "sweet" flavors, so part of it is that only alcoholic drinks get the bitter/sour flavors done well)
I did coke for a few years, at first it tasted gross but I liked the effect by the end it was 'tasty'. That is your brains reward center at work, it shapes experiences that release dopamine and makes them more positive. In reality coke tastes like baby laxatives and bleach and alcohol tastes like fungal piss, as that is what they are.
And annecdotally, most pot smokers didn't like the smell at first, but are now quite pleased by it.
Would they still be tasty if they were 0% ABV? I think not.