I'm going to mix Wilton's gold pearl dust since it's one of the only edible ones I have seen, with Bacardi 151 since I've heard it's the best option. I won't be painting very large areas, but will the alcohol leave a strong taste?

ANo, it won't. It will evaporate and you can't taste it at all. That's why I use vodka, it's cheap and does the same job. Because it evaporates so quickly, it won't soften your fondant / gum paste. That is the only reason you would use alcohol. Any (clear) high vol alcohol will do...

Great, thank you!

We got a jar of moonshine (white lightening) for Christmas, and if it doesn't get used up I'm going to try that next time.  Otherwise the cheapest vodka works just fine.

I go into the liquor store and say "I need the biggest jug of the cheapest vodka you have." For some reason the clerks all look at me funny.

Lol okay I have some vodka in the house so I'll use that instead if it works okay! I just read a post comparing liquors when painting luster dust and Bacardi 151 kept the most shine