I would disagree that the point of a good rice pudding is the taste of the booze. A good rice or bread pudding should have a delicate custard quality to it with subtle vanilla, cinnamon, and possibly bergamot notes. Pairing that with a subtle alcohol flavor is tricky. You can’t just pour some in without overwhelming all the flavor. This isn’t some ice cream ala mode you drench in sauce either. By soaking the raisins in a mix of liquors you introduce the occasional burst of flavor without it seeping into the rest of the dish and taking over.

I’m sure many, maybe most, applications of liquor over power the dishes, but there are subtle uses as well.