To think young people are really rather lovely, but...

[DisgraceToTheYChromosome]

DD18 hosted a NYE party for a dozen or so friends at our house. Charming kids, well behaved, ate all the Christmas leftovers, made little noise and left the place spotless.

But the stuff they drank! All of it had a sugar content like neat Ribena. Honey bourbon, spiced rum, amaretto, tequila beer, fruit cider etc.

AIBU to think the modern palate is a bit childish?

I've always liked wine, right from being 2 and nicking champagne at a Greek wedding.

When I was a teen I drank cider because it was cheap but would have drank wine if I'd been able to afford it.

I liked wine at 18. Just not what I now consider nice wine. (Although as I approach 41 weeks pregnant, I'd accept it gratefully...)

I've definitely gone from lambrini, white Zinfandel, etc to the driest of the dry whites, and from very light reds to the treaclier and thicker the better (think fierce Rioja etc), champagne not cava, and G&T not vodka and lemonade.

I probably got my taste for a good thick red on the French exchange aged 14.5. The family all had a small glass of red wine with meals (only a splash for the kids, but as teens c and I were allowed a bit more, about half a pub small) - they all watered it down apart from the dad and grandad. And knotty. (I did have my big glass of water too, but spearately- the weirdest thing about them to my mind was their propensity to mix everything together- cornflakes and hot chocolate anyone? - so I think they just saw it as a odd English thing that I insisted on two glasses for my drinks, and a separate bowl and mug for breakfast - also coffee)

DM still favours frilly sweet whites, with or without bubbles, blanco and lemonade etc. so after having the DPs here for Christmas, I have a houseful of open bottles of sweet plonk I can't drink even if I wanted to! (Ddad did leave me a small glass of sticky red over from Boxing Day, half of which was enough on nye)

I think the 'modern palate' is pretty close to the old one . Late 70's / early 80's we all started on cider, Martini and lemonade, then maybe whisky or vodka with coke. Lots of lemonade, lots of coke 'to make it last longer'. Wine was Liebfraumilch, Matteus Rose or Blue Nun.

And I still love a cointreau or drambuie on ice!

I was already a sophisticated lush by the time I reached eighteen. My first legal pub drink was a pint of Tetley Bitter (I wouldn't touch it now - just not the same anymore) whereas my
school friends were still on Skol and
Woodpecker. Then and now I'll drink
anything except for lager, cider and
white rum.

Bon sante

Think I must have been old before my time! I used to like red wine, but can't touch it now (was violently ill after two glasses a couple of years ago, when I now know I must have been just pregnant).
We used to drink jagermeister well before it was fashionable - possibly due to several German exchanges or because it's originally a drink for metalheads.
Also drank g&t or supped pints of real ale. Not sure whether it's because I worked in a traditional country pub so is what I was used to, or because a lot of my friends were ex public schoolboys, but never really liked the sickly sweet stuff.
There was the occasional evening on the cricket pitch accompanied by tents and bottles of cider though.

Taboo and lemonade. Now that was sweet! I don't think I could even swallow it now.

In freshers I met a 19 year old who just loved letting us all know how grown up his tastes were, expensive whiskey, gin etc, he took his own bottles (full size ones I mean, and not to share) to house parties. He was very tiring, and wore a tie.

I did have a Desperados phase but can't stand Koppaberg/cider etc.

Defintely an age thing.

At that age I liked babycham(!) and vermouth with lemonade. I drak lager with lime until I got to Uni and then trained myself to like it without lime. The only wine I drank was a cheap German white that was sweetish.

I was known for attending house parties with my own gin and tonic and a couple of limes.

It's an 18 year old thing. Back on the distant shores of time (when I was 18) we didn't have alcopoppy stuff available. So it was beer (which I loathed at 18 and loved at 21) or a variety of spirits drowned in sweet mixers. Many of which were truly nasty as I discovered when given a brandy, Babysham and lemonade. With a fucking cherry in it.

It's remarkable how the drinking palate develops though. However, at 18, it's a whole lot of sweet shyte hence there being such a lot of it available!

I do love Crabbies and amaretto so I've not quite grown up either!

I remember rum and black when I was 18, or cider,

Snakebite and black or Smirnoff mules at 18. Now I like real ale and rum. And cava. And prosecco.

When i was 18 I used to like snowballs with a cherry in them and also the rather strange tasting Campari and lemonade.

I started on scrumpy, but by 18 it was mostly Guinness, DF's single malt and cheap Spanish and Languedoc reds (which were fucking awful then but very high alcohol).
Maybe it was DF's disapproval of sugar, he being a dentist.

I think at that age.. I know for sure in my case I didn't actually like the bitter taste of alcohol... So sminoff ice Bacardibreezers and hooch were the drink of choice cause it hid the taste of the alcohol.

These days I admit to not really liking to drink bar pics, sooo or Tia Maria... So still need the sugar to hide it xxxx

Speaking on behalf of me and my friends, we can often be found with sweet drinks - mine is Southern Comfort & lemonade - because we need something to wash down the tequila, sambuca and cough syrup jagermeister we're also drinking.

Well I'm 18 and I hardly ever drink alcohol at all (I was allowed to drink small amounts from the age of about 6 so it's never been a novelty)
Don't like anything sugary tasting either...

Fat frog ??

Snakebite and black was my tipple of choice in my late teens.

Jaegermeister is repulsive, it really does taste like Benelyn cough medicine! Disgusting!

Anyone remember After Shock? Was aniseed flavoured and always drunks as a shot, was usually bright blue or red. Disgusting.

I agree, its an age thing.

Ritz anyone? (its a pear cider) Was my drink of choice when I was that age. Then vodka and lots of coke. Or an Irish Whiskey with lots of lemon and brown sugar.