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Weird Or Rare Alcohol From Around The World

Weird Or Rare Alcohol From Around The World

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Since New Year’s Eve is right around the corner and liquor is the gift often given on the night of sequinned dresses and plastic flutes, here are 10 rare alcohol choices that will outshine the usual bubbly.

jeneverreview.nl
jeneverreview.nl

Jenever

This strong liquor hails from Holland and for the majority of the 19th century, it’s what we drank instead of gin. Eventually, distillers replaced the malt wine content with a more neutral alcohol and more juniper berries, which is how we got gin. But Jenever still dominates the Netherlands booze market in two forms: oude (old) and jonge (young), with the young tasting more neutral, like vodka, and the old tasting malty, like whisky.

merchantsfinewine.com
merchantsfinewine.com

Cachaça

Cachaça is called Brazilian rum but unlike most rum– which is made from molasses — this drink is made from fermented sugarcane juice. Even though 1.3 billion liters of the stuff is produced each year, only 1 percent of it is exported. So if you can get your hands on some, you’ll look like you run with an elite crowd. Cachaça comes in unaged (white) and aged (golden) varieties, with the darker variety usually drunk straight.

catskillcellars.com
catskillcellars.com

Vermont White Vodka

Just what you’d want in anything from Vermont: dairy and sugar. This drink is inspired by traditional Tuvan (Russian) milk vodka, according to the website, and is triple distilled from milk, sugar and Vermont spring water. The alcohol itself is crystal clear, and reminds you of the snowcaps of Vermont, there in the distance above the cows. It’s only made in very small batches, so order yours in advance.

io9.com
io9.com

Mekong River Eel Wine

The Asian country of Laos makes this creepy wine, which includes river eels from the Mekong River, ginseng roots and herbs. It’s said to have aphrodisiac properties, but that could just be because it’s much higher in alcohol content than regular wine.

io9.com
io9.com

Reindeer horn whiskey

That’s one way to capture the holiday spirit! Another rare booze from Laos, this is a strong white rice whiskey that is fermented in clay pots for more than a year and infused with reindeer horns and herbs.

newyork.seriouseats.com
newyork.seriouseats.com

Pulque

You may need to look up the recipe and make this one yourself as it’s hard to purchase. Pulque — sometimes called Octli — is a strong drink made from the fermented sap of the maguey plant. The drink originated in the Mesoamerican period, and was once considered sacred and reserved only for upper class citizens.

blog.yummly.com
blog.yummly.com

Yogurito

For the drinker in your life looking to put some healthy bacteria in her stomach, there’s Yogurito. This yogurt-based liquor is made in Holland but it is extremely popular in Japan, where people drink it straight or mix it with orange or pineapple juice. Could this replace our breakfast bloody Marys and mimosas?

thedrinksbusiness.com
thedrinksbusiness.com

Snake wine

In a little place called Snake Village — a suburb of Hanoi, Vietnam — the locals don’t run away from cobras. They capture them and stuff them into bottles of rice wine. It’s believed to have healing properties, and some hardcore drinkers of the stuff imbibe cobra organs in a shooter flight.

honestcooking.com
honestcooking.com

Bakon vodka

Bacon and vodka are two of the most popular indulgences in the world, so we’re not sure why somebody didn’t think to combine them sooner! Think of how good this would taste in a bloody mary! It’s a potato vodka that’s very smooth and is rapidly winning beverage awards around the world.

southeastasiabackpacker.com
southeastasiabackpacker.com

Scorpion whiskey

Another deadly creature getting you buzzed! Made in Southeast Asia, scorpion whiskey is seeped for several months and infused with black scorpion, ginseng roots and herbal seed pods.