The 5 Strangest Kinds of Booze From Around the World
Would you drink something called baby mice wine?
There’s no better way to relax after work than kicking back and pouring yourself a drink. But what’s sitting behind your wet bar these days? Rum? Whiskey? Gin? Snoozefest. Step outside your comfort zone (we mean way, way outside your comfort zone) and check out what the rest of the world has to offer.
1) Fermented Horse Milk (
Kazakhstan)
You know how it is: A night out with the gang, things get a little crazy, soon everybody’s taking shots of fermented milk from a female horse. Classic turn up. Kumis is an alcohol with origins in the steppes of Central Asia, and, yes, people still drink it. Traditionally produced from mare’s milk, local variations are also brewed from the milk of cows and goats. Looks like when you’re out in the middle of Kazakhstan’s giant, empty plains, you make do with what you got. Hats off to you, guys.
2) Inuit Seagull Wine (Alaska)
What do you get when you stuff a dead seagull into a bottle of water and leave it out in direct sunlight? Apparently, you get wasted. The Inuits have taken a rather direct approach to producing intoxicants that surprisingly never caught on in the 48 mainland states. Whoever tried this first must’ve been a pretty weird guy, but his ability to start trends is definitely admirable. We can’t say we’ve tried it, but we imagine drinking the stuff would get you pretty…something.
3) Snake and Scorpion Whiskey (Thailand)
This Thai whiskey comes with the added bonus of a dead cobra AND a dead scorpion. The two animals mingle together in the bottle, whole, but don’t worry — the alcohol reportedly removes their poisonous properties. Still, don’t get too comfortable — there are reports of snakes that have been pickled for months suddenly springing back to life and biting drinkers. Some people just like to live on the edge.
4) Three Penis Liquor (China)
Head to the nearest Shanghainese supermarket for an exceptionally phallic alcohol that’s believed to give men a little boost of you-know-what. Ancient Chinese medicine has used animal schlongs as all-natural Viagra for centuries, and one brilliant booze connoisseur came up with the perfect way to get shitfaced without the depressing side effect of whiskey dick. The delicious rice wine is infused with not one, but three penises. Deer, seal, and dog dicks will live on in your nether regions with each sip, so make them proud.
5) Baby Mice Wine (Korea)
Ancient Korea came up with the supposed ultimate cure-all for any ailment, from asthma to liver disease. The secret to the too-good-to-be-true panacea is 3-day-old baby mice drowned in rice wine and left to ferment for 14 months. A glass or two of the healing rodent beverage is allegedly enough to have you feeling more than tipsy, and is said to possess the delicate flavor of raw gasoline. Delicious!
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There you have it. Five new and exciting liquors to bring to your next cocktail party. Our attitude toward these drinks is one of “don’t knock it ‘til you try it,” but we don’t know if we’ll be knocking, or trying, any of them soon. Cheers.