If you often stick to the mainstream forms of alcohol you are either boring or easily pleased. For the more adventurous drinkers, Ben Huckle, Henna Ishaq and Zena Jarjis bring you a selection of the more daring beverages obtainable, drinks made with food and mutilated animals. Probably not suitable for vegetarians…
Mice Wine
Baby mice wine, perhaps not your average pre-drink choice, is a traditional Chinese and Korean health drink. It has been dubbed a ’health tonic’, as some believe it has the power to cure almost any illness, including asthma and liver problems, although for the more faint hearted, it may induce more problems than it can solve. The meticulous brewing process consists of drowning live baby mice in rice moonshine no more than three days after their birth, so as to avoid any fur getting into the otherwise enticing beverage. The pile of mice is then left to ferment for approximately one year before becoming available for purchase. Unfortunately, this beastly booze appears to be scarcely available, even in its country of origin. However, there is no need to panic, as with its basic ingredients and simple fermentation process there is no reason it can’t be made in the comfort of your own home!
Pizza Beer
In 2006, Tom and Amanda Seefurth realised the compatibility of pizza and beer and created a bizarre drink in their home brewery to “pair with a variety of foods, especially
our favourite, pizza!” Mamma Mia Pizza Beer, the world’s first culinary beer, is made with actual garlic, pizza crust, basil, oregano and tomato sauce to recreate the flavour of a classic margherita pizza. The beer is produced in Illinois and sold all over America and has been featured on Gordon Ramsay’s The F Word. Don’t worry, it’s free from crumbs and debris – Pizza Beer is passed through a filter similar to a tea bag before it is bottled. A product which combines alcohol and a remedy for drunken food cravings means that students will no longer have to fork out for a post-night out binge at Salt and Pepper!
Bacon Vodka
Vodka flavours are normally of the fruity variety, sickly sweet and only to be consumed in a drunken haze, but thanks to companies such as Black Rock Spirits you can now buy vodka with a more hefty, savoury taste. Bacon vodka is now available to the masses, delivering a vodka that maintains its crisp, clear profile whilst capturing the unique taste of freshly cooked bacon. Many will shy away from any kind of drink that contains meat, its not something people would put together. It only takes a logical carnivore to appreciate the genius of the concept and embrace it: bacon+booze, what’s not to like?! Currently only available on the internet, its surely just a matter of time before this revolutionary idea is available at the campus Costcutter.