Supertasters
There is a select group of people out there who experience taste with a far greater intensity than average. These people are known as supertasters. Women are more likely to be supertasters, as are Asians and Africans. The exact cause is unknown, but it is due at least in part to an increased number of a particular kind of taste bud. Variations in the ability to taste were first studied by du Pont Chemist A.L. Fox when he accidently discovered a sensitivity in some people to the bitter compound known as PTC. Most of the world's great sommeliers are supertasters. They have the ability to pick out trace amounts of the chemicals responsible for certain flavors in wine. But supertasters are known to be sensitive to bitterness and alcohol is bitter, that's why they tend to prefer the taste of wine and beer to other alcoholic beverages. Some people cannot taste PTC at all, and they are called non-tasters. Alcoholics have a tendency to be non-tasters as they have less sensitivity alcohol's bitterness.
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