IIRC, Troi mentions how the replicator makes the food healthier and at one point she specifically instructs it to not do that because she wants a real ice cream sundae even if it isn’t healthy.
And Scotty can taste the difference between alcohol and synthehol.
My interpretation is that synthehol isn’t supposed to be a copy of alcohol, it’s designed to give the positive effects of alcohol without the downsides, so that taste is likely not the main consideration.
IIRC, Troi mentions how the replicator makes the food healthier and at one point she specifically instructs it to not do that because she wants a real ice cream sundae even if it isn’t healthy.
And Scotty can taste the difference between alcohol and synthehol.
My interpretation is that synthehol isn’t supposed to be a copy of alcohol, it’s designed to give the positive effects of alcohol without the downsides, so that taste is likely not the main consideration.