I'm wondering if this is a sign that I'm getting older...
As a kid I hated seltzer (and I don't mean the Original New York Seltzer soda pop we used to get, that was sweetened and all that...) and the few times I tried it made a bitter yuck face because it was horrible... I didn't drink it often because it was so bad, and always disappointing, fizzy, but not sweet like soda pop. I remember my grandpa had at least one seltzer siphon thing, a shiny metallic bottle thing with a black dispenser on top, and it was fun to see him use it, even if I hated what came out of it...
But lately I've been drinking lots of seltzer, and now I like it.
I suppose my first taste of it where I thought, "okay, that's not so horrible" was in London in 2007. I spent the weekends walking all over London on hot days and buying bottles of water in small shops. But one time I simply wasn't paying attention and bought a bottle of sparkling water, instead of still water. I didn't notice right away, I just bought it and stuck it in my backpack. But later, after walking a bit, hot, sweaty and thirsty, I took it out, cracked the seal and got soaking wet from the spray of carbonated water practically exploding out of it... When I'd finished cursing over my mistake and took a sip, I didn't particularly like it, but neither was it as awful as I remembered, and I was thirsty anyway...
On subsequent trips to the U.K. when I stayed in hotels they'd put two bottles of water on the table for guests, one still and one sparkling, and I started to take a liking to the sparkling. Not great, but kind of, well, interesting, the slightly bitter, but fizzy feel on my tongue.
Now here in New York City, I started buying an occasional bottle of seltzer, the flavored, but unsweetened ones, as a change from plain water.
Only now I'm drinking lots of it... Almost every day, sometimes a litre or more a day... It's just enjoyable. I'm liking the taste and the "mouth feel" of seltzer.
On the other hand, I also bought a bottle of tonic water... And that was heinous! No wonder the British invented gin & tonic to be able to drink their medicine in the tropics...
But lately I've been drinking lots of seltzer, and now I like it.
I suppose my first taste of it where I thought, "okay, that's not so horrible" was in London in 2007. I spent the weekends walking all over London on hot days and buying bottles of water in small shops. But one time I simply wasn't paying attention and bought a bottle of sparkling water, instead of still water. I didn't notice right away, I just bought it and stuck it in my backpack. But later, after walking a bit, hot, sweaty and thirsty, I took it out, cracked the seal and got soaking wet from the spray of carbonated water practically exploding out of it... When I'd finished cursing over my mistake and took a sip, I didn't particularly like it, but neither was it as awful as I remembered, and I was thirsty anyway...
On subsequent trips to the U.K. when I stayed in hotels they'd put two bottles of water on the table for guests, one still and one sparkling, and I started to take a liking to the sparkling. Not great, but kind of, well, interesting, the slightly bitter, but fizzy feel on my tongue.
Now here in New York City, I started buying an occasional bottle of seltzer, the flavored, but unsweetened ones, as a change from plain water.
Only now I'm drinking lots of it... Almost every day, sometimes a litre or more a day... It's just enjoyable. I'm liking the taste and the "mouth feel" of seltzer.
On the other hand, I also bought a bottle of tonic water... And that was heinous! No wonder the British invented gin & tonic to be able to drink their medicine in the tropics...
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