Hot take: Most people don’t actually “like” the drinks they order they just got used to them

This might annoy some people here, but I’ve been noticing a pattern.

Most people I know (and honestly myself for a long time) don’t actually choose drinks based on preference.

They choose based on:

• what they’ve had before

• what sounds familiar

• what feels “safe” to order in public

Put most people in front of a bar menu and they default instantly.

Not because it’s their favourite.

Because they don’t know what else to pick.

And the weird part is — when you actually break drinks down by flavor profiles (smoky, citrusy, sweet, bitter, etc.), a lot of people are drinking things that don’t even match what they naturally enjoy.

Example:

Someone who likes sweet / citrus flavors still orders whiskey neat because it feels “correct”.

Or someone drinks gin because they think they should like it.

I’ve been experimenting with mapping drinks to flavor profiles and it completely changed how I look at menus.

Curious where people here stand on this:

Do you actually *know* why you like the drinks you order?

Or did you just… arrive there over time?