Does anyone still buy into the whole "Expensive alcohol is better" myth? Wine. Vodka. etc?

Years ago my friends and I set up tastings for beer and wine and some other things. We would all bring, for instance, a cabernet, an we'd do 'blind' tastings. This came out of arguments over what was a better merlot or lager or cheddar or whatever.

Generally, on average, usually, most of the time, the more expensive drinks did better than the less expensive ones. But what surprised me was that we never agreed on what we liked best.

One strange exception was port. I brought Sandeman's because I really love it, I think it's best. But without knowing what we were drinking, we ALL agreed Gallo Tawny Port ($2.95 a fifth) was the best!

The only other time we all agreed (or mostly) was with brandy. Rotgut brandy is horrible stuff.

My feeling is that most people don't know the difference a lot of the time. But if you really like, say, Chardonnay, if you've been drinking it for years, you can tell good from bad.

I used to work for a major wine company and they sent me to a wine tasting class where various wines were doctored to show what can go wrong in the making of wine. Also other wines were judged to be excellent and by the way cost of a bottle had no relationship to it's desirable flavor. Anyway a very prestegious wine maker and his wife sat next to me and their opinions were diametrically opposite the instructors and virtually everyone elses. It got to the point where a glass of wine half filled with vinegar was delightful in their opinion. Those that espouse their opinions on a glass of wine are doing so for their own ego. People know what is good and what is dog ****. The problem is much of expensive wine can not be distinguished between wine and dog ****.

Not at all. The 5 dollar bottle taste just as good as the 300 dollar bottle. They both get you drunk and they both taste great. Its all about showing off your taste in what you like t drink and how much money you are willing to spend.

Are you talking about wine?

I don't drink wine, it gives me a headache.

It all comes down to personal preferance.

Everyone has always raved about Jose Cuevrvo,