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Unusual Alcohol

17:34 / 23.10.06

I like alcohol, probably more than I should, but that's another thread. I especially enjoy running across a new, previously unknown delight. For instance, back in the lat 80's-early 90's I had a friend from Ireland who always carried around a flask full of some form of moonshine he insisted was illegal back in his birth country. It was fantastic stuff, like a clear whiskey. Fantastically smooth but with what I can only assume was an enormous alcohol content.

Alternately, there's Unicum, a Hungarian alcohol made by a company called Zwack. Unicum tastes like getting kicked in the nose. It has a horrible coppery taste that lingers in the mouth for five minutes no matter what you try to wash it away with. A friend of mine keeps a bottle on hand to initiate n00bs, because a good swift paddling just isn't cruel enough.

Somewhere in the middle, at least theoretically, is absinthe. I've had bad absinthe before. Another friend of mine had bought it on one of his trips to Europe and was eager to show off his contraband. It was bitter and generally unpleasant, but it did that keen "clouding" thing when cold water was poured on it. I'm pretty sure that he had bought one of the high-thujone brands. There was a great article in the New Yorker [pdf available here] about absinthe, its history and its modern revival. I'm planning on getting a couple of bottles from the manufacturer mentioned in the article.

While I'm saving up for that I've been on the search for a decent potato vodka, preferably one from the ex-Soviet states. There has been a lot of vodka available from Estonia (I always pick this up when I can, as my SO has very recent Estonian heritage) presumably due to its inclusion in the EU recently, but so far I haven't found anything that I've been enthusiastic about.

So, how about you? Any recommendations you'd care to share? Anything you'd recommend against?

18:33 / 23.10.06

I like alcohol a bit too much too, but here are a couple of little wee tipples I think I would skip

I have always looked on Worm Wine with a great deal of suspicion

But then I can be quite squeemish with things like that. Ironically if someone offered me a glass without telling me what it is I expectg I could like it from the description, but there is no way in hell I would drink it knowingly.

Another interesting one I came across and which sounds ruder than it actually is was originally printed in “The Compleat Housewife”, by Eliza Smith, dated 1758 although I would imagine the original recipe probably goes back a lot earlier

Cock Ale

Take 10 gallons of ale and a large cock, the older the better; parboil the cock, flay him, and stamp him in a stone mortar until his bones are broken (you must draw and gut him when you flay him), then put the cock into two quarts of sack, and put to it three pounds of raisins of the sun, stoned; some blades of mace, and a few cloves; put all these into a canvas bag, and a little before you find the ale has been working, put the bag and ale together into a vessel. In a week or nine days bottle it up; fill the bottle just above the neck, and give it some time to ripen as other ale.

I think I will stick to Sloe Gin and copious amounts of Red wine

19:43 / 23.10.06

Saki is the best fun. I'm not sure it is exotic enough for you. You sound a very experienced alchonaught and you can pick it up in supermarkets these days. I love Saki very much. In fact I haven't drunk in 18 months and I am goimg to buy a bottle tomorrow for consumption at the first possible excuse. Tomorrows a Tuesday isn't it? Good enough!

Saki is more of a fortifies wine than a spirit, I think, and is eminently swigable. I found that I didn't feel drunk untill the uncontrolable giggling started. And then I was unable to do anything other than titter and snigger till tears ran down my face.

STOATIE LIEKS CHOCOLATE MILK

19:49 / 23.10.06

I'm sure I've said this in another thread, but Blue Stratos is fucking horrible. Though it does get you shitfaced.

19:58 / 23.10.06

Ah, White Lightning, now that's a beautiful drink.

When you're seventeen

And evil

And it's 1992

Yes for a mere £1.50 you could buy 1.5 litres of the stuff, and at 13% that was enough to fuck you up properly. And fuck me up it did, many a happy, vomit-spattered time.

20:39 / 23.10.06

Oh fuck.

We used to drink Carbon White, which was a cheap knock-off riding the name of Diamond White (seeing as diamond white is of a similar level to white lightning you're getting an idea of how cheap and nasty this cider was). The label looked like it was photocopied, it was made in the netherlands or something and there was no listing of ingredients anywhere on the bottle. Proinsias may be able to tell you how much it cost, I can't remember, but it was very, very cheap.

It tasted like a chemistry lab.

20:43 / 23.10.06

Canadian Ice Wines are rather exotic and quite yummy.

The frozen grapes are pressed in the extreme cold. The water in the juice remains frozen as ice crystals, and only a few drops of sweet concentrated juice is obtained. This juice is then fermented very slowly for several months, stopping naturally.

The finished icewine is intensely sweet and flavourful in the initial mouth sensation. The balance is achieved by the acidity, which gives a clean, dry finish. The nose of icewine recalls lychee nuts. The wine tastes of tropical fruits, with shadings of peach nectar and mango.

STOATIE LIEKS CHOCOLATE MILK

20:50 / 23.10.06

I lived on cheap white cider for about five years. Ice Dragon, White Lightning, White Force (yeah, I felt uncomfortable asking for THAT one), ACE, fuck it, if it was over 8% and cheap it would do.

One thing I learned when I first went for alcohol treatment- if you do the maths, 6 cans of white cider have as much alcohol as a bottle of whiskey. When you're drinking ten of them a day, that's a bit scary.

More cheerful thing I learned- snakebite made from Ice Dragon and Special Brew is wicked- they cancel out each other's tastes, and make the thing drinkable. And boy, is it a drink and a half.

22:09 / 23.10.06

Do kids still drink snake bite. Cider and something that was lethal in my day but I suspect is tame by todays standards, this being the way of things?

STOATIE LIEKS CHOCOLATE MILK

22:13 / 23.10.06

Fuck knows. I haven't drunk snakebite in many years. But if I was going to, Spesh and Ice Dragon, I'm telling you.

22:30 / 23.10.06

The only snakebite I've ever had was cider and champagne. It was delicious. I'm guessing that's not what you're talking about. I've also heard this called a "black velvet."

22:44 / 23.10.06

A black velvet is cider and guiness, isn't it? It was so long ago and I drank so much of it I think I may be making it up to fill in the blanks.

23:37 / 23.10.06

Yeah, I've heard that one too. I think that people mix anything with cider and call it either a snakebite or a black velvet.

Related: Somebody tell me if a shandy is worth drinking, and, if yes, your favorite recipe.

STOATIE LIEKS CHOCOLATE MILK

23:43 / 23.10.06

No. A shandy is not worth drinking. You either want alcohol or you don't. Lemonade is a nice drink, as are many soft drinks. Beer is a nice drink. Why use one to fuck the other one up? That's lunacy.

23:50 / 23.10.06

Add to the list of 'don't even bother going there', blackcurrant top in a Guiness. WTF is that about?

STOATIE LIEKS CHOCOLATE MILK

23:55 / 23.10.06

"Top" in anything. I may be missing something, but what?

And, indeed, The Fuck?

*

00:29 / 24.10.06

Cretan tsikoudia, or raki as it is called in Turkey*, is very interesting. I have only had it once, but I found it smooth and refreshing, and very nice with a plate of salted cucumber slices. There may be slight differences between the two beverages but I don't know what they are. Like absinthe, generally not for those who despise anything tasting of anise.

Speaking of absinthe, I have had some good absinthe and really enjoyed it. I'm a lightweight when it comes to drinking, but I slowly went through about three glasses of it and only felt really sociable, relaxed, and mellow. It was a really clear buzz compared with other kinds of alcohol. In the morning I woke up at nine with no hangover, after drinking until three or so. I recommend against high thujone absinthe. You really can't get enough to get you seriously high without making yourself pretty sick as well. There are easier and less harmful ways to see colors. High thujone absinthe is not more authentic, either. Marketing things as high thujone is really just a gimmick to sell more bad liquor.

(* Never tell a Cretan he is drinking the Turkish national alcoholic beverage. Results not pretty.)

00:49 / 24.10.06

What are the cretans drinking when they drink raki then? My parents live near Almareda and make their own, which frankly, is fit only for lighting barbeques.

It doesn't taste of anis it tastes of

AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!

Sorry I've just come from the joke thread. Anyway not for the fient hearted/livered.

01:01 / 24.10.06

Raki. A.K.A: Ouzo

01:16 / 24.10.06

While I'm saving up for that I've been on the search for a decent potato vodka, preferably one from the ex-Soviet states

Try Luksusowa or Zubrowka. They'er both fantastic Polish potato vodka, although the latter has an almost cherry taste because of the 'bison grass' flavouring...

Korea has all sorts of strange alcohol. Mushroom wine and Bamboo wine are popular and quite good.

Soju is apparently Sweet Potato Vodka, but it doesn't get you drunk... it just sort of numbs your brain and gives you a killer hangover. On the bright side, it costs about $1 a bottle. Nasty stuff...

01:37 / 24.10.06

What's red mist? Is it real or just something Sax made up?

04:51 / 24.10.06

Not exactly exotic, but I have never seen anybody else order it: armagnac. Cognac's sexy older cousin who lets you have a puff off a joint and plays you Joy Division at 3am but won't make out with you.

Ex

07:49 / 24.10.06

Mead! Mead is the good fairy to gin's bad fairy. I had it in college - it was easier to get hold of in Wales, our local supermarket stocked three varieties. I did generally drink 'Brother Cadfael's Mead', but I was young and foolish and liked the sweet stuff, and possibly it was a decent vintage in a new bottle.

I warmed the bottle it on the pipe that lead to the radiator in my halls. Drinking it gave the effect of being warmed on a radiator pipe. I glowed and giggled a lot. I was full of radiant bees.

Now I'm in London I'd need to seek out specialist shops, I suspect, or make it myself.
I also like perry, which can be dry and complex.

08:22 / 24.10.06

Lekvar, sounds like your friend had himself a flask of poteen (pronounced por-cheem). A drink that varies between quite drinkable and utterly lethal depending on who's distilling it.

From the wiki:

Poitín is an Irish Whiskey- (IPA [ˈpˠocʲiːn], anglicized as putcheen) or formerly potheen (IPA [ˈpɒtiːn] but in Ireland [ˈpɔtʃiːn]). The term is a diminutive of the word pota 'a pot'; Poitín was traditionally distilled in a small pot.

For centuries, Poitín has been produced in pot-stills under the bright moon, and because of this, came to be known as 'The Shine' or Moonshine. The home-brew was strong, some brands were as strong as 80% volume (160 units), and had a distinctive dry grainy flavour with a delicate aftertaste that became sweeter as it developed. Some rural Irish people still pour it on wounds and sores as they believe it to have disinfectant properties, and with as high an alcohol volume as it has, it probably does.

This legendary Irish moonshine was outlawed in 1760 and has only recently been legalised for consumption again in Ireland, though legal production for export has been allowed for quite some time. It is now available in collectors' off licences. However, 'legal versions' of poitín are of a greatly reduced volume, and are not seen as 'the real thing'.

More precisely, in 1661 King Charles II introduced a levy on spirits in the United Kingdom. In Ireland however it was totally ignored, but ninety nine years later the Crown tried again by outlawing private distillation unless specifically licensed by the State. Overnight a large proportion of the Irish population became "criminals" as has anyone who has distilled it privately since.

My Dad made himself a bottle of sloe poteen a year or so ago. Tasty stuff once you got past the sensation of army ants crawling down your throat.

Of course all the kids in Surrey chose Thunderbird as their oblivion de jour. Which is pretty exotic for Surrey.

12:25 / 24.10.06

Back tracking a little bit, I frickin' love Snakebite and Black, but asking for it in a pub is a bit like going to a butchers and asking if any of the 'special stuff' is in yet. You'll be told by many a barpeep that 'We don't sell that any more, we're not allowed', but every now and then you'll find one inexperienced or jaded enough to let you have one. My local gig venue does it still, and the goths behind the bar make pentagrams with the blackcurrant, which after 6 pints starts to become really amazing. Old school alcopops for the win!

12:28 / 24.10.06

Ah, White Lightning, now that's a beautiful drink.

My friend and i invented the next step up from white lighting - The 'Special Snake Bite'. Mix equal parts White Lighting to Scandia Special Brew (only £1 a can and 9%! Yes!) and you have a crazily potent drink that, bizarrely, tastes like Bucks Fizz.

We never got past 4 pints.

STOATIE LIEKS CHOCOLATE MILK

14:37 / 24.10.06

I remember (vaguely) a few years back me and a friend concoted the Toxic Warrior cocktail. It was half barley wine, topped up with lager, white cider, Pernod and blackcurrant. It tasted like fruit juice.

Tasted like shit coming back up, mind you, but them's the breaks.

Kali, Queen of Kitteh

14:43 / 24.10.06

Equal parts Chartreuse and Yukon Jack Peppermint Schnapps.

Called the Mercy Killer.

You can well imagine the end result of your brain after one of those.

15:13 / 24.10.06

i seem to remember a period when a 'turbo-shandy' was the drink of choice for some sorts. this was a pint glass with a Smirnoff Ice topped up with the cheapest strongest lager. it tasted actually like sick, but pretty soon you didnt care. eurgh!

ONLY NICE THINGS

16:36 / 24.10.06

Ouzo and raki are two different types of grape liqeur flavoured with anise, i think - raki is older and rougher (and need not have anise added, although I've never had it without, that I know of). The last time I was in Crete, it was sold as raki, although that was a long time ago and things may have changed. Ouzo is a smoother and... oiler?... drink.

21:22 / 24.10.06

True Haus. They do vary in refinement.

11:15 / 31.10.06

I have been gifted a litre bottle of poitin by one of the builders workin on my house.
He recommends dissolving old-fashioned sweets (such as "brandy balls" or "clove rock) in it. I shall buy some sweets today.. and drink the stuff on friday night.

(I'll let you know how it goes)

Closed for Business Time

11:59 / 31.10.06

That poitin stuff sounds an awful lot like my mother country's moonshine. Used to drink a lot of it back in the day's when me dad fancied himself a brewer and a criminal (very strict laws against that sort of thing where i hail from). We used to mix it with whatever we could lay our soft little paws on - OJ, AJ, soft drinks, wine, yoghurt, milk, even shampoo dat der one time... uugh. An aside - few things in the realm of libations sound as strange as that Indonesian coffee you can get which has gone through the digestive system of a small rodent-like mammal before it's collected up and shipped off. Supposedly the world's most expensive coffee/excrement. Also, supposedly, very nice.