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Strange Brews By Zach Seemayer Vin Mariani During a time in World history when there were legal drinks that contained cocaine, Vin Mariani, meaning Mariani Wine, exceeded the others by providing an alcoholic beverage with almost four grams more cocaine per ounce than any of its competitors. The process used to create Vin Mariani was to soak the cocoa leaves in Bordeaux wine. The ethanol in the alcohol would cause a chemical reaction in the leaves and act as a solvent that would extract the cocaine from the leaves. Due to impressive marketing by the drink’s creator, Angelo Mariani, which included an endorsement from People Leo XIII, the drink took off rapidly in Paris and even in America. However, an American named John Pemberton copied the drink’s recipe and procedure. Pemberton had to develop a non-alcoholic cocaine-laden beverage during prohibition, so he created Coca-Cola. By itself, cocaine yields benzoylecgonine and ecgonine methyl ester. However, when alcohol is added to the equation, a powerful psychoactive agent called cocathylene is formed. It is far more potent, and dangerous, than cocaine itself. The drink was popular from the 1860s to around 1915 and has been imbibed by some famous historical figures including “Buffalo Bill” Cody, Thomas Edison, Ulysses S. Grant, Jules Verne, Queen Victoria, H. G. Wells, Emile Zola, and Frederic-Auguste Bartholdi, the creator of the Statue of Liberty. Absinthe One of the most legendary alcoholic drinks in the world, absinthe has become symbolic of artists and renegades. The neon-green drink, which was rumored to drive people insane, has gained the notoriety of being not only a hallucinogenic drink, but also one of the only universally banned alcoholic beverages in the world. The drink became incredibly popular in France in the 1840s, to the point where it was becoming a detriment to the economy and society of France. It became known as the Green Fairy, due to the color of the drink, and since it’s banning in 1915, it has gained an almost mythic following. The preparation of the alcohol is seen as a major part of the experience of consuming absinthe. The drink lacks any sugar and is incredibly bitter. So, there is a triangular slotted spoon, which resembles a cake-knife, that you place a sugar cube on. You then pour either water, or a liqueur called Ricard, over the cube, dissolving it into the absinthe, giving it a cloudy look. During prohibition, the drink was portrayed as a psycho-hallucinogenic, addictive drink that is far worse than normal alcohol. The wormwood and thujone, two ingredients in the drink, were blamed for its supposed-hallucinogenic effect. In fact, there has never been proof that it has any hallucinogenic effect and isn’t any worse than other alcohols except that it usually is 45 to 90 percent alcohol content (90 to 180 proof). Recently, the European Union and America has reauthorized the manufacturing of absinthe and it can be found in stores across many countries. This has created a revival of absinthe enthusiasts. Absinthe itself has taken on an artistic, creative reputation because of the score of famous absinthe drinkers such as the poet Charles Baudelaire, occultist Aleister Crowley, artist Paul Gauguin, American writers Ernest Hemmingway, Mark Twain, Walt Whitman and Jack London, artist Pablo Picasso, Edgar Allen Poe and Oscar Wilde. Since it’s re-release, modern imbibers are said to be Johnny Depp, Marilyn Manson, Eminem, Trent Reznor and even Hillary Clinton has been photographed with a glass of the Green Fairy in front of her. Death in the Afternoon This is a drink created by American author Ernest Hemingway, who would mix Absinthe with Champagne. Salamander Brandy The drink that was once popular in the Middle Ages is now almost exclusively made in Slovenia and it is a very rare, very cruel drink that is made by scaring, torturing and usually killing poisonous Salamanders. Typically, the drink is made by stringing live salamanders up by their hind legs and dripping brandy over their backs. The poisonous mucus they excrete when there are scared mixes with the brandy and creates a potent hallucinogenic and aphrodisiac. The other way that the brandy is made is far less subtle and more immediately cruel. The autumn fruits that are fermenting to make the brandy are stored in barrels, then two live salamanders are placed in the barrels and they secrete the poison as they drown. The drink has been referred to as liquid arousal, because of its aphrodisiacal qualities. However, according to those who have imbibed, all things become sexual and your attraction is not just to the sex of your choice, but to anything you might see. In Slovenia, this is a completely legal drink despite the hallucinatory side effects. However, exporting the drink is illegal. It’s very hard to find since there is not company who makes it, and supposedly, the best time to find the drink is right before autumn. However, this is only a drink for people who like to horrifically trip out, think animals are talking to them, get sexually attracted to random inanimate objects and don’t mind the senseless murder of innocent creatures.
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