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Why recreate the burning sensation, by far the worst part about drinking alcohol? This seems like something where you could do better than the original by leavi

by bigstrat2003 2y ago

Why recreate the burning sensation, by far the worst part about drinking alcohol? This seems like something where you could do better than the original by leaving out the unpleasantness. I guess maybe people actually like that (taste is subjective and all), but I personally hate it and it's why I don't drink much at all.

drekipus 2y ago
I love a bit of the burn, and I've been looking for a way to recreate it without alcohol. (probably impossible) Alcohol feels like the only "adult drink" you can have which isn't sugar based (ironic because a lot of alcohol is sugar) other that it's just tea, coffee, and water.
- sojournerc 2y ago
  Ginger kombucha has a nice spicey burn to it that I enjoy. Not quite the same, but similar enough.
  - genewitch 2y ago
    The pre-mixed kombucha dry tea I bought was super sour, like an arnild palmer. It hit like lemonade on the first tingly fizzy sip. My wife was sensitive to smell so I stopped brewing. I haven't found any kombucha that had that degree of lemonade and icea tea going. I decant into growlers so I actually get a pretty violent pop, even after refrigeration. What I don't understand is why all kombucha is refrigerated, I only drank mine cold because it is smoother that way, but straight off the 78° bucket was fine too!
- Y_Y 2y ago
  Alcohol is sugar!? I guess you mean alcoholic drinks often contain lots of sugar, but you can have something like vodka which is pretty much water and ethanol. For sure that ethanol was made by yeast processing sugar, but the amount in the final product is up to you!
  - dgfitz 2y ago
    Alcohol is distilled from sugar and its relatives. Glucose and its ilk. Ever eaten a grape?
    - genewitch 2y ago
      Why, are we out of nails? And alcohol is a children's drink that an adult left out because life was too hectic and I'm really thirsty so I'll just finish this apple juice that's been in my car since Saturday-heyheyhey hello ethanol. Like kombucha was probably an accident, as was mead, incredibly lucky that yeast and lactobactre can outcompete nearly every other pathogen in the exact temperature ranges humans live under
      - dgfitz 2y ago
        I uh, you’re so edgy?
        robrtsql 2y ago
        If you were thrown off by the 'nails' comment, it's a reference: https://www.math.ttu.edu/~pearce/jokes1/joke-270.html https://www.math.ttu.edu/~pearce/jokes1/joke-270.html The way I've heard the joke always involves a duck going to a lemonade stand and asking for grapes, but this was the best Google result I found, so...
        dgfitz 2y ago
        Appreciate that. No, I glossed over the nails comment. I indeed did not get it, but like the rest of said response, most of it didn’t make sense. Thank you for the context.
        genewitch 2y ago
        It didn't make sense? Are you sure? or are you just being uncharitable on HN? How do you think alcohol was discovered? How about any fermented food? Do you think someone drank 3 day old juice because they wanted to? Or leftover cabbage from the party this weekend? Do you know what Kombucha is? What lactobactre, and yeast are? You've never accidentally fermented anything? You don't have kids or your life isn't hectic, you've never imbibed ethanol?
amarcheschi 2y ago
Personally, a bit of zing is okay. Not too much tho. I don't like alcohol because of the aftertaste and too much of that burning feeling (if we're talking about something more alcoholic than beer). A few days ago I made spirit free gin and it had a very faint zingy feeling due to the ginger. However, I can't stand the mouthfeel of wine, as the article says I get my mouth all dry and bitter. But tea is OK for me. So I might enjoy a mocktail made with tea
dkarl 2y ago
It's really baked into the experience, and there's over a century (maybe two?) of evolution of cocktails that play well with it. I think the harsh flavor helps balance a lot of strong flavors and lets you build up powerful and complex combinations without anything becoming overwhelming. For now, mocktails are still just mock cocktails. They are missing the backbone that alcohol provides. Someday another strong flavor backbone will be discovered, and a new family of drinks will be built around it, with an new name. They'll be too good to call "mocktails."
- amarcheschi 2y ago
  Well, I have to say the more creamy Mocktails that use condensed sweetened milk or the ones using soy sauce are so savory that they probably would suck with alcohol, imho. I'd say there's a difference between just replacing alcohol with an alcohol less version and building structured spirit free cocktails from the ground up like those you can find in the books good drinks and Zero

drekipus 2y ago

I love a bit of the burn, and I've been looking for a way to recreate it without alcohol. (probably impossible) Alcohol feels like the only "adult drink" you can have which isn't sugar based (ironic because a lot of alcohol is sugar) other that it's just tea, coffee, and water.

sojournerc 2y ago
Ginger kombucha has a nice spicey burn to it that I enjoy. Not quite the same, but similar enough.
- genewitch 2y ago
  The pre-mixed kombucha dry tea I bought was super sour, like an arnild palmer. It hit like lemonade on the first tingly fizzy sip. My wife was sensitive to smell so I stopped brewing. I haven't found any kombucha that had that degree of lemonade and icea tea going. I decant into growlers so I actually get a pretty violent pop, even after refrigeration. What I don't understand is why all kombucha is refrigerated, I only drank mine cold because it is smoother that way, but straight off the 78° bucket was fine too!
Y_Y 2y ago
Alcohol is sugar!? I guess you mean alcoholic drinks often contain lots of sugar, but you can have something like vodka which is pretty much water and ethanol. For sure that ethanol was made by yeast processing sugar, but the amount in the final product is up to you!
- dgfitz 2y ago
  Alcohol is distilled from sugar and its relatives. Glucose and its ilk. Ever eaten a grape?
  - genewitch 2y ago
    Why, are we out of nails? And alcohol is a children's drink that an adult left out because life was too hectic and I'm really thirsty so I'll just finish this apple juice that's been in my car since Saturday-heyheyhey hello ethanol. Like kombucha was probably an accident, as was mead, incredibly lucky that yeast and lactobactre can outcompete nearly every other pathogen in the exact temperature ranges humans live under
    - dgfitz 2y ago
      I uh, you’re so edgy?
      - robrtsql 2y ago
        If you were thrown off by the 'nails' comment, it's a reference: https://www.math.ttu.edu/~pearce/jokes1/joke-270.html https://www.math.ttu.edu/~pearce/jokes1/joke-270.html The way I've heard the joke always involves a duck going to a lemonade stand and asking for grapes, but this was the best Google result I found, so...
        dgfitz 2y ago
        Appreciate that. No, I glossed over the nails comment. I indeed did not get it, but like the rest of said response, most of it didn’t make sense. Thank you for the context.
        genewitch 2y ago
        It didn't make sense? Are you sure? or are you just being uncharitable on HN? How do you think alcohol was discovered? How about any fermented food? Do you think someone drank 3 day old juice because they wanted to? Or leftover cabbage from the party this weekend? Do you know what Kombucha is? What lactobactre, and yeast are? You've never accidentally fermented anything? You don't have kids or your life isn't hectic, you've never imbibed ethanol?

amarcheschi 2y ago

Personally, a bit of zing is okay. Not too much tho. I don't like alcohol because of the aftertaste and too much of that burning feeling (if we're talking about something more alcoholic than beer). A few days ago I made spirit free gin and it had a very faint zingy feeling due to the ginger. However, I can't stand the mouthfeel of wine, as the article says I get my mouth all dry and bitter. But tea is OK for me. So I might enjoy a mocktail made with tea

dkarl 2y ago

It's really baked into the experience, and there's over a century (maybe two?) of evolution of cocktails that play well with it. I think the harsh flavor helps balance a lot of strong flavors and lets you build up powerful and complex combinations without anything becoming overwhelming. For now, mocktails are still just mock cocktails. They are missing the backbone that alcohol provides. Someday another strong flavor backbone will be discovered, and a new family of drinks will be built around it, with an new name. They'll be too good to call "mocktails."

amarcheschi 2y ago
Well, I have to say the more creamy Mocktails that use condensed sweetened milk or the ones using soy sauce are so savory that they probably would suck with alcohol, imho. I'd say there's a difference between just replacing alcohol with an alcohol less version and building structured spirit free cocktails from the ground up like those you can find in the books good drinks and Zero