Post #683941 by TikiTacky on Sat, Jun 29, 2013 3:22 PM

There are lots of studies that show how expectation affects discernment (read http://m.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2011/10/you-are-not-so-smart-why-we-cant-tell-good-wine-from-bad/247240/ for some examples). I'm not talking so much about whether one drink or liqueur is better than another, but how easily identifiable they are by themselves.

My dad was a high-fi guy. He participated in a famous test where many noted audiophiles couldn't tell the difference between expensive speaker wire and bent coat hangers, although they just knew they could hear a difference. I've seen too many people too confident in their ability to differentiate something who couldn't when tested on it. I'm not saying there's no difference between tiki drinks, but I am challenging that many enthusiasts couldn't identify a particular drink by flavor alone. Mix a drink at random from one of the Beachbum's books and serve it to someone in a plain glass with no garnish and have them sip it with their eyes closed—I'll bet they often can't tell you what they're drinking.

I do appreciate that some drinks taste very different from others and that's exactly what I was after. Thanks to those who have listed a few, such as the Dark and Stormy and the Painkiller.