A testament to human ingenuity

[lollardfish]

I want to come up with a comprehensive list of all the things that people have turned into alcohol. Please help me. What I want are the things that are actually fermented/distilled, as opposed to the flavors people dump in.

- Any grain: Beer (Barley is key!), Whiskey (Corn, Rye, Wheat), distilled grain alcohols (Vodka, Gin, Sool), sometimes fermented directly from bread (kvass from Russian black bread).
- Potatoes: Vodka, rarely Beer
- Mare's Milk: Kumis
- Sugar Cane Juice: Rum, Raki
- Grapes: Wine (of all types, including fortified and grappa and bubbly and ouzo and such).
- Pears: Perry
- Apples: Cider, Calvados
- Rice: Sake, Rice wine (rarely other kinds of distilled liquors)
- Agave: Tequila
- Artichoke: Cynar - A wierd Venetian liquor like Campari (with added wine)
- Assorted Veggies: Campari and Aperol (with added wine).
- Honey: Mead
- Plums: Slivovitz, or plum brandy (Romanian)
- Elderberries: Elderberry Wine
- Various Fruits: Various gross fruit wines made by Boon's
- Dandelion: Dandelion Wine
- Fig: Boukha, sometimes Raki
- Lilacs: Lilac Wine
- Cassava: Caxiri. Cauim. Pajuaru.
- Dates: Thibarine, Mahia
- Pomegranites: Sipak
- Birch Sap: Kvass
- Palm Sap: Arrack, Palm Wine
- Coconut Milk: Arrack
- Yucca Sap: Sotol
- Cactus fruit: Colonche
- Pineapple: Chica
- Maple Sap: Specialty vodka.

I'll add more as they occur to me and y'all direct me. I am mostly organizing my office today as I get set to move to the next chapter.

Comments

[txanne.livejournal.com]

I think wormwood is just a flavoring (with added fun pharmaceuticals).

Does lassi ever get alcoholic?

[lollardfish.livejournal.com]

I thought the wormwood was a functional part of the alcoholic process, though I didn't read the science part of the recent wormwood article in the new yorker all that carefully.

[facilisfool.livejournal.com]

Nope, no fermenting/distilling in the processing of wormwood. It adds the nifty psychedelic aspect to the drink, but it's mixed with alcohol (traditionally vodka) and all sorts of other things to help kill the truly repugnant taste of the wormwood =)

[lollardfish.livejournal.com]

Modified, thanks. I really need to find a link to that absinthe article. but now must dash.

[alisgray.livejournal.com]

oooh, that's a wonderful photo in your icon.

[txanne.livejournal.com]

I borrowed it from rosefox.