Booze Traveler

[S-Cackalacky]

Is anyone watching this series on the Travel Channel. The first episode aired last Monday and the next will be tomorrow (Monday) at 10:00pm EST. It's sort of the same format as Anthony Bourdain's "No Reservations", or Andrew Zimmern's "Bizarre Foods" - except it's about booze. The host travels to some location in the world each week and talks about the booze culture of the country. Last week it was Turkey and this week it will be Peru. Having watched the first episode, it seems that it will be an interesting and somewhat educational program.

[Bigbob]

Have to check that out, sounds interesting. Love no reservations!

[WooTeck]

sounds good. something id love to do travel and drink

[MyUncleMo]

There are currently at least 3 travel - drinking - booze shows on the air not including Moonshiners.
Smithsonian Channel "The United States of Drinking"
Travel Channels Booze Traveller
Discovery Channel "Chug"
all worth seeing.
Chug was in Malaysia and showed a guy with a simple kitchen still keeping his culture tradition in tact.

[S-Cackalacky]

I don't think I have the Smithsonian Channel, but I'll look for "Chug" on discovery. Thanks for the heads up.

[T-Pee]

Last night one of them was in Sydney drinking beer with a bunch of Aussie footballers.
I think he might have been wondering "what in hell have I gotten myself into?"

tp

[Jimbo]

Brew Dogs is a fun show too. Crazy bastards travel around and recruit master brewers from top craft breweries to brew up some oddity.

[ga flatwoods]

Brew Dogs is a fun show too. Crazy bastards travel around and recruit master brewers from top craft breweries to brew up some oddity.

Is brew dogs the one where they add items like flake gold, rooster lips, and other extravagant oddities?

[Jimbo]

yeah that's it. in one episode they needed lactose for milk stout or something and they made it breaking bad style from fresh cow's milk. at one point he wrapped his lips around a cow's teat and sucked I about fell out of my chair laughing

[Bushman]

Sounds like the perfect job actually a dream job.

[ga flatwoods]

Wanted: A home craft distiller who can milk a cow for use in gathering lactose for a family recipe distilled spirit. Must enjoy suckling cow teets to collect the milk. This is a dream job for the right person.

[S-Cackalacky]

So, anybody been watching Booze Traveler? Pretty good episode this past Monday. He was in Austria. He visited a distillery that made something like 20 different varieties of eau de vie - raise all their own fruits. Very expensive stuff - some going for about $700 USD. Another distillery made turnip schnapps and someone else made a macerated schnapps using pine cones. The host also sampled a 160 proof rum. I'm beginning to see that the host is in grave danger of liver disease.

[yakattack]

I wouldn't say he is in any more danger than any one of us. :p

[cranky]

Glad I have free per view. There's another show I need to catch up on.

[WooTeck]

The host also sampled a 160 proof rum.

was it strow? I have sampled that. I remember that it was ok with the inevitable burn. was before I was educated mind.

before I joined here I could drink anything. now it has to be extremely good. this hobby has made drinking in pubs a lot more expensive

[S-Cackalacky]

The host also sampled a 160 proof rum.

was it strow? I have sampled that. I remember that it was ok with the inevitable burn. was before I was educated mind.

before I joined here I could drink anything. now it has to be extremely good. this hobby has made drinking in pubs a lot more expensive

The host did take a small sip straight, but it was noted that it was normally used in mixers. Sorry, I don't remember the brand. I think it was something produced in Austria. He indicated that after the initial shock (burn), it was a pleasant, familiar rum flavor.

[WooTeck]

yeah itll be stroh. realised the mistake from before

i tried it straight in the shop that sold it. anything drunk straight at 80% isnt going to not burn

[S-Cackalacky]

Just watched Monday's episode that I recorded on the DVR. It was in Jimbo's neck of the woods - Iceland. Interesting stuff they drink there. The host, Jack, sampled a moss schnapps and some birch liqueurs made from birch sap syrup and macerated with birch leaves and bark. He also drank some Icelandic moonshine that he described as being made from sugar, water, and yeast - drank it from what looked like a plastic 2 liter soda bottle. The guy who made it said you could use it for fuel in your car, so I'm assuming they were chugging it at full strength. The whole thing about the moonshine reminded me of the Discovery channel "Moonshiner's" series - just really stupid.

Seems that Iceland also had a period of prohibition - even longer than ours. After it was repealed, you could buy and drink distilled spirits, but not beer. The prohibition on beer didn't end until the late 1980's.

Edit: BTW - next week's episode will be in Mongolia. Gonna drink something made from horse milk.

[ShineRunnah]

I need that guy's job! Some of the stuff he gets to see and do is pretty awesome. I keep trying to remember what he was drinking in, I believe, Peru. He went the distillery that made it, had a big dinner, looked like a hell of a good time! I'm gonna have to find that episode or see if I can't look up what it was they were drinking, as I'd like to try it.

The only thing I've seen him try that I'd have to pass on, was the chewed up and spit out potato (?) fermented something or other. I couldn't even watch him drink it.

On the subject of high-proof rum, I've got a bottle of "White Lightning" over-proof rum I picked up in Jamaica 10 or so years back. There was a very big, rugged looking Jamaican in a tiny rum bar drinking it neat, and 3 rounds in, seemed to be really savoring and enjoying it. When I later saw it at $6 a bottle, I had to try it.
When I returned to my room, I opened the bottle and took a swig. Holy crap, I thought I would spit flames! After recovering, I noticed the 72%abv on the bottle, and even that seems low.
I'm still amazed by the man sipping glass after glass of that rum like it was a fine wine.

That taught me to use caution when following advice of locals. That holds true with food as well. Learned that from the green and red hot sauces at the taco stand in Mexico. The green is most definitely not mild....

[W Pappy]

Yep that's a good show not no moonshiners.I believe it's camel milk he is gonna sample next week, Spain tore him up good.

[Rastus]

S-Cackalacky,
i have been catching it and really have enjoyed it ... one problem is it makes me thirsty...

I like how he approaches the cultural context and social context of the drink ... outside of being on the road so much it would be a blast to be on the crew and have such a diverse exposure to the worlds alcoholic beverages.

[MDH]

Just watched Monday's episode that I recorded on the DVR. It was in Jimbo's neck of the woods - Iceland. Interesting stuff they drink there. The host, Jack, sampled a moss schnapps and some birch liqueurs made from birch sap syrup and macerated with birch leaves and bark. He also drank some Icelandic moonshine that he described as being made from sugar, water, and yeast - drank it from what looked like a plastic 2 liter soda bottle. The guy who made it said you could use it for fuel in your car, so I'm assuming they were chugging it at full strength. The whole thing about the moonshine reminded me of the Discovery channel "Moonshiner's" series - just really stupid.

Seems that Iceland also had a period of prohibition - even longer than ours. After it was repealed, you could buy and drink distilled spirits, but not beer. The prohibition on beer didn't end until the late 1980's.

Edit: BTW - next week's episode will be in Mongolia. Gonna drink something made from horse milk.

In Iceland, a bottle of smirnoff is over $40. They are taxed to death there. I like Iceland, it's a peaceful country, but you can understand why rot-gut moonshine is so pervasive. The alcoholics will find their way to get smashed while people who enjoy quality booze are punished by the government.

I'm glad he's also featuring the best of the producers out there. On the Austria episode he featured Hans Reisetbaur - truly a legend. While I'm skipping the iceland episode, I'm looking forward to his later work.

[S-Cackalacky]

Glad to see others are enjoying this series. I wish I could remember more of the details. I'm sure if the show is a success, they will have repeats - wouldn't mind watching some of them a second or third time.

I was a little surprised about the prohibition thing in Iceland. You wouldn't think a culture founded by Vikings would be so tight assed about alcohol. Funny thing was that they legalized beer for foreigners when Iceland was occupied by the English during WWII, but not for Icelanders.

[cranky]

If he is going to Mongolia he will be drinking Airag which is made from fermented mare's milk. Horses are the most important thing the Mongolians have so they are used for everything they can be used for. They also distill it into something called Arkhi. It's really amazing how every culture seems to figure out how to make some type of intoxicating beverage out of whatever they have on hand.

[ShineRunnah]

Maybe they're concerned that Icelanders will over-consume and start acting like Vikings!

On a more serious note, I was previously unaware of Icelandic policies on alcohol and was quite surprised when I learned of them. Allowing sales of liquor but not beer? I can't make heads or tails of that policy. Anyone know the logic behind it?

I do enjoy seeing the customs of different cultures. It always surprises me how different even basic things can be.

[cranky]

Maybe they're concerned that Icelanders will over-consume and start acting like Vikings!

On a more serious note, I was previously unaware of Icelandic policies on alcohol and was quite surprised when I learned of them. Allowing sales of liquor but not beer? I can't make heads or tails of that policy. Anyone know the logic behind it?

I do enjoy seeing the customs of different cultures. It always surprises me how different even basic things can be.

I think the problem is when vikings drink they start singing songs about SPAM.

[ShineRunnah]

Maybe they're concerned that Icelanders will over-consume and start acting like Vikings!

On a more serious note, I was previously unaware of Icelandic policies on alcohol and was quite surprised when I learned of them. Allowing sales of liquor but not beer? I can't make heads or tails of that policy. Anyone know the logic behind it?

I do enjoy seeing the customs of different cultures. It always surprises me how different even basic things can be.

I think the problem is when vikings drink they start singing songs about SPAM.

SPAM.JPG

SPAM2.JPG

Awesome!

[sltm1]

I'm on board with this show, interesting and entertaining.....About spam, watching on one of the "How It's Made" programs they said there are 14 flavors of spam on the market now!!! I just stumbled on the "Chorizo Flavored Spam", and damn, it's pretty darn good. Wonder if they have on that's "Rib Eye", could save a bunch o $$ if they do LOL

[S-Cackalacky]

I eat "Lite" Spam. Now there's an oxymoron if ever I heard one.

[cranky]

I did look it up and the reason they didn't legalize beer was

in order to please the temperance lobby—which argued that because beer is cheaper than spirits, it would lead to more depravity.

So distillers are better than those damn depraved beer makers
On a side not I haven't eaten SPAM in a long long time, not that I have anything against it.