Covid 19 After Effects: Tasting Alcohol with Reduced Sense of Taste and Smell

Covid 19 can have a devastating effect on one's sense of taste and smell, among other things. If you find yourself in the process of Covid 19 recovery and are finding that your sense of taste and smell aren't returning as expected, you may be thinking "what now?". I don't have many answers as I am going through the same process, but this is a list of a few spirits I have found that I can still taste (or not) at various stages of Covid 19 recovery. But first, disclaimers:

• Follow your local and national government recommendations. The vast majority are abundantly clear: Do not consume alcohol if you think you may have Covid 19 or have tested positive for Covid 19.
• If you had Covid 19 and now test negative, you should ask your primary care physician if it is ok to resume alcohol consumption. Covid 19 affects each person differently and for some people, the affects can be devastating. Your primary care physician will know what's best for you given your risk factors.
• Nothing in this post, or anything else I write, should be taken as medical advice. This is not medical advice.

Now that the disclaimers are out of the way, here are some of my experiences with various spirits:

• 20 days post initial infection, 5 days after testing negative. I can't smell or taste squat. The first things I was able to smell were curry, pineapple, and various fruit berry smells. I would bury my nose in curry just to give me hope. Chocolate was very faint.
• Elijah Craig Barrel Proof 12 year: I can get a hint of barrel char. That's it. Not worth wasting.
• L'Encantada 1992 Domaine Del Cassou: Nope
• Louis Roque la Vieille Prune Reserve and Jelinek 10 year: I can get a little bit of taste from plum brandy.  Fruit notes come easier to me than floral, grain, or oak notes. I can taste some plum. In the absence of other flavors, it's apparent that it is a little salty.
• Habitation Velier Worthy Park 502: I can taste this just about as well as the plum brandy. Taste is present, but reduced in effect.
• 25 days post initial infection. Some types of aged cheese, pepper, and peppermint are starting to slowly come back.
• Menorval XO Calvados: Very light apple. That's about it.
• Le Galion Grand Arôme - Aficionados x Fine Drams: Here we go! I can still experience the components in this that I like the most. The savoryness is still there in full effect and some of the other heavyweight notes are present that I haven't been able to sit down and put into words yet. This one is in.
• Grosperrin 1996 Bas-Armagnac - Aficionados x Fine Drams: I can still taste the things that make this unique, but not much else. The rancio/coffee notes still shows through with some fruit. However, it still feels like I am wasting it while consuming it under these conditions.
• Lu Zhou Lao Jiao - Er Qu Jiu Baijiu: Ok, this is it. This is peak. Sweet tangy pineapple with flashes of curry that transitions into strong black liquorice. Liquorice fades into a backdrop of tropical fruits into the finish. This is the first thing that made me feel not broken.
• Kweichow Moutai - Moutai Prince Baijiu: Nothing really on the palate, except that when I inhale while sipping, I can get some stank. Like the meat delivery truck is unloading in the alleyway of a Chinese restaurant in summer. I do taste something in the finish that I perceive as a light bitter chocolate.
• 30 days post initial infection. Cinnamon cereal can now be tasted in reduced fashion. Garlic still can't be tasted. Able to smell lemon extract. Eucalyptus smells weird. I still can't smell fragrant soap, but can smell things that make soap, well, soap. Fat, French fries, and bacon are still useless to me.
• Elijah Craig Barrel Proof 12 year: Still not worth consuming, not many notes. Can barely tell its bourbon.
• L'Encantada 1992 Domaine Del Cassou: Light fruity armagnac notes starting to come back, but still not back enough to not feel like I am wasting it. No oak yet.
• Tomatin 18 year: Can get some slight scotchy notes but the most present notes are from the sherry cask which I can still lightly taste.
• Lu Zhou Lao Jiao - Er Qu Jiu Baijiu: Same flavor intensity. This is new life.
• Ming River Baijiu: A neutered version of the 'Er Qu Jiu'. The only difference I can really tell is that the finish is different. Finish is earthy, I'm guessing its ceramic flavors from the aging process (Baijiu is aged in large ceramic jars).
• 35 days post initial infection. Can start to smell urine and body odor now. Oh boy, how exciting.
• Seailles Armagnac SBS tastings (20ans, 2000, 1986, 1979): With the few things I am able to smell and taste, they all share similar qualities. Some light fruit and soft oak that has almost a mineral feel to it. Some acidity and heavy tannins in the 1979 - but other than that not much else. Outside the '79, it's very difficult to get the differences between them besides more oak and a tad more flavor appearing with age.
• L'Encantada 1992 Domaine Del Cassou: I used this as a control in the side by side tasting above. I can tell this has a bit more oak than the 20ans through the 1986. It also had a bit more flavor now than each of the Seailles.

I hope this helps anyone finding themselves in similar circumstances. Particularly the Lu Zhou Lao Jiao - Er Qu Jiu Baijiu. Give it a shot if you can find it. It should be under $20.