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

[lollardfish.livejournal.com]

I wonder if "kvass" just means booze somehow. Some medieval travellers I've seen on the steps drink fermented mare's milk called by the same name.

I'm totally into tree sap booze. Do they make alcoholic maple syrup?

I've got rice/sake.

[alisgray.livejournal.com]

I haven't heard of maple booze. Maybe we should try it.

[alisgray.livejournal.com]

this page agrees that Kvas means "fermented beverage." It also has a history of eastern European terms for alcohol.