And it definitely *tasted* like it should be flammable, even though Jilli and juliana proved that it isn't.

Igniting alcoholic beverages can be tricky, and yes, not all of them are. But for the ones that do ignite, you'll frequently have to chose a narrow glass, preferably with more or less straight sides, and cup your hand over the top for a minute or two to allow the vapors to build up in the glass.

Of course, I wasn't present for juliana and Jilli's demonstration, so all of this may have been done anyway.

Sean sure knows a lot about booze and fire.

t backs away slowly

t pauses

t edges back, intreigued

Fay, I've had Becherovka and like that, too. I hate ouzo and pastis (aka Pernod), but am fond of absinthe.

I'm definitely NOT a supertaster.

I would like to know how supertasters feel about vinegar? And vinegary things like pickles? (I LOVE pickles.)

sumi, I actually like pickles, but only if they're extremely sour. It's sweet pickles I can't stand.

I know it sounds weird, but I most prefer tart foods to sweet ones. It's why I went for Tuscan cookery instead of Neopolitan or Sicilian.

edit: but I should add, given a choice between olive oil and vinegar, I'll go for the olive oil every time. And yet? I back away from anything other than the faintest of onion tastes, even while adoring garlic.

I think supertasters taste the bitter - the green tastes - are stronger than I taste them. and there is a range for them as well. I ( not a supertaster) can taste all ranges of taste, but while I can find the bitterness or greenness in something- like broccoli, green teas, or green pepers - it has to be very strong before I go blech. and if the flavor is more complex - like in a green tea or something like fernet, I can go past the bitterness and taste other things. I have a friend that the first taste in almost any glass of wine is alcoholShe can't get past that taste to taste the fruit, the alcohl taste is too big. For me I know there is alcohol in wine - esp since so many are are between 12 and 15 % now, but it is not the first thing I taste - and it sort of brings the flavors together in my mouth.

Oddly, I have been thinking about how food tastes to me vs. how it tastes to other people since I was a kid. So I've asked lots of people with strong food preferences about what ad why. Most of the people that can give really good answers, are cooks - or maybe more acurately people that like to cook.

Apparently I lack most people's aversion to anise-flavored foodstuffs. I love licorice, and even absinthe doesn't give me a shudder reaction unless it's undiluted by water or sugar.

anise-flavored foodstuffs

some of my favorite things

I've got an urge to go buy gumdrops from a convenience store right now.

Please allow me to state that at no time did I wish to do bodily harm to either Raq or Matt, no matter what this picture might suggest to the contrary. Man, the flattering pics are few and far between. (Not fishing, just coming to a place of...acceptance).