does water just run down your asophogus, or is the decent controlled like food is?

Answer 1

I once had a bet that I could drink water while hanging upside down. I hung from a school gym equipment, drank a glass of water through a straw, without spilling any. I won enough money to but several bags of lollies. I ate them at lunchtime, and made myself sick, and threw them back up. I learned two lessons that day.
1) Peristalsis works for water.
2) Peristalsis is very efficient for throwing things up, as well.

Answer 2

yes water just runs down the oesophagus and its descent isnt controlled as that of food. this is true with most of the liquids.
however there are cases associated with chalasia cardia where the sphincter tone of the cardiac or oesphaphageal sphincter is high thus water and other liquids cant pass down easily.
in all normal conditions water and liquids pass down freely into the stomach and that too along the lesser curvature. becuase of presence of gastric canals along the same(lesser curvature of stomach)