If you drink hard alcohol the way you're supposed to drink it--that is, by mixing it with something and sipping it--it can taste quite nice, if that's the sort of thing you like. If, however, you're drinking to get drunk, you will discover that most forms of hard liquor taste nasty when you're drinking them a shot at a time. To get around this problem, people quickly drink a glass of water, soda or beer, known as a chaser, to cleanse the palate and get that paint-remover taste off their tongue.