Cover Chicha, a traditional corn beer fermented with saliva (Photo: Shutterstock / Jhonatan Olmedo)
Chicha, a traditional corn beer fermented with saliva (Photo: Shutterstock / Jhonatan Olmedo)
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These unique spirits, wines and beers are sure to raise some eyebrows
What’s next for the adventurous gastronome? The most unusual beverages you can find in the world, of course. Cast your gaze beyond your typical wines, spirits, and beers, and you’re sure to find some oddities outside of what you thought possible—think animal-infused spirits, or beer fermented with spit. Toes may curl and appetites may be lost at the first impression, but who knows? You could be uncovering your next favourite drink, and everything’s worth trying once. So raise your glass, clip your nose if you have to, and try a sip of these five most unusual liquors around the world.
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1. Habushu
Above Habushu, a snake spirit found in Okinawa (Photo: Shutterstock / Yangxiong)
Habushu, a snake spirit found in Okinawa (Photo: Shutterstock / Yangxiong)
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If you’ve visited Okinawa, you might have been confronted with the gaze of a dead snake coiled inside a bottle of liquor. It is known as habushu, a type of spirit in Okinawa that is made by infusing pit vipers in awamori, a Japanese rice-based spirit, and left to mature. In the process, the viper’s venom is denatured, making it safe to drink.
In some cases, the snake is drowned alive in the awamori, while in others, the snake is killed and disembowelled before it is infused. It’s not clear how popular this drink is with locals—it may be more of a novelty for tourists and visitors—but it is believed that the drink is a tonic designed to improve male potency.
2. Ant gin
Above Gin and tonic made with Green Ant Gin by Seven Seasons distillery (Photo: Instagram / @sevenseasonsspirits)
Gin and tonic made with Green Ant Gin by Seven Seasons distillery (Photo: Instagram / @sevenseasonsspirits)
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The addition of botanicals and herbs has always made gin a particularly fragrant spirit enjoyed by many. But what if the secret ingredient to the perfect gin was ants? These minuscule insects have become key ingredients in the hero products of many distilleries today. Take Cambridge Distillery’s Anty Gin, which is described to “contain the essence of approximately 62 red wood ants”, alongside locally-foraged botanicals found in the English city. As for Seven Seasons distillery in Australia, its Green Ant Gin features green ants added before and after distillation. Wonder what it tastes like? According to Seven Seasons, the ants give it a “citrusy pop”.
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3. Baby mice wine
In some parts of China, you might find bottles of wine with a small litter of baby mice sunken at the bottom. This is baby mice wine, and it is exactly what it sounds like. To make this drink, baby mice not more than three days old, still blind and without fur, are dropped into a bottle and drowned in rice wine. The mixture is left to mature for about a year, colouring the liquid into a pale yellow hue. Believed to be a health tonic to cure any manner of ailments, it has been suggested to taste like gasoline.
4. Chicha
Above Chicha, a traditional corn beer fermented with saliva (Photo: Shutterstock / Jhonatan Olmedo)
Chicha, a traditional corn beer fermented with saliva (Photo: Shutterstock / Jhonatan Olmedo)
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This beer found in Latin America is made with corn and spit. No, really. Chicha is traditionally made with chewed-up and spat-out corn, which is then left to ferment in pots. This works because the enzymes in saliva convert the starches in the corn into sugar; when it reacts with wild yeast, it is converted into alcohol.
The beverage can be found throughout Latin America with regional varieties, but it has technically been banned in Colombia since 1949 after being deemed unhygienic and to blame for the country’s social ills. Nevertheless, you can still find chicha in Columbia—you just have to know where to look.
5. Mezcal de pechuga
Above Mezcal de pechuga distillery (Photo: Instagram / @zuns_)
Mezcal de pechuga distillery (Photo: Instagram / @zuns_)
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Think you know mezcal? If you haven’t tasted mezcal de pechuga, think again. “Pechuga” translates to “breast” in Spanish, and involves hanging a raw chicken breast over the still where the mezcal is undergoing its third distillation. The steam from distillation cooks the breast, causing its juices to drip into the mezcal. The result is a mezcal that boasts a slightly savoury profile and a rich body.
About
Ethan is a dining writer with Tatler Singapore. Trained in literary arts and filmmaking, their work has previously been published in Esquire Singapore, Men's Folio, and with the Asian Film Archive and the Singapore International and Film Festival, across a wide range of interests from gastronomy to fashion and arts criticism.
Work
Ethan writes about exciting news in the F&B industry, specialising in fine dining, exclusive spirits launches, and new restaurants. They are always looking for riveting voices to bring something fresh to an already-dynamic industry.
Follow them on Instagram at @faustiangourmand.
