You saw it here first

[Fester]

New and interesting stuff, folks.
Don't flame me. I'm just showing you something I've never seen before.
I've seen booze in plastic bottles, sure.
But now in a bag.
I'm in Yangzhou, China and I've seen shit I ain't never seen before. But this one really caught my eye.
I call it Bag O' Booze. If I could read Chinese I would tell you what they call it. But I can't.
600 ml of 42% for 4.2 RMB (about 62 cents in US dollars).
Veggies included. The photo does not show it well but there is stuff inside. 3 floating red peppers (I think) and a piece of white ginsing root (I think) are in the bag o' booze.
Yes, Fester could not resist. I just gotta try the plastic coated veggie laced Chinese booze.
Haven't tasted it yet but with the ginsing root shooter, I'm thinking I should find a girl friend first.
A combination of alcohol and an aphrodisiac could make your Fester hurt himself.

for your viewing pleasure, i present.....

Bag O' Booze

[Ayay]

You gotta try it, may be a pre-stripped wash, or a tasty drink dependin on how long it's been in the bag.

Good luck...hurting yourself can be fun!

[MuleKicker]

Holyshit Fester, I guess your doing a little traveling. I mean........Dr. fester. Hope all is well. Confusious say...... Fester who stand on toilet is high on pot....

Good luck with yer bag o booze.

[rad14701]

Quick, hook me up with an IV...

[Fester]

You guys gave me visions of a fat man standing on a toilet holding an IV bag over his head. It was not a pretty sight.

I couldn't resist trying a little last night and this is my report...

The 3 red peppers were actually some sort of sweet peanut. And the ginsing looking thing was, i think, a piece of celery root.
So, sadly, no girlfriend was needed.
The booze was typical Chinese booze. Sweet with a touch of tails. At 42% it was quite pleasent when drank straight.
Very smooth with no bite and very little alcohol heat. It leaves the mouth clean and refreshed. The sweetness is the only after taste. A nice buzz with no headache.
I'm not sure what the veggies are for as I don't see them in the hundreds of others to select from but it would not surprise me if most of the booze here was aged with veggies then filtered into the bottles.

I hope to add to this "You saw it here first" thread because I've seen things in my travels that were curious but I failed to get a picture of them. I hope to correct that.

One thing that stands out was a medicine shop in the scenic city of Hongzhou. At a side entrance I saw 4 very large pressure cookers. The pharmacist was cooking herbs in an alcohol base IN A PRESSURE COOKER! And me with no camera at the time.

[father william]

I'm in Yangzhou, China and I've seen shit I ain't never seen before.

I'm amazed you can get onto homedistiller.org from there. Seems like exactly the type of site the ChiComms would block access to.

and then there's this method of bagging booze:

Japan Makes Sustainable Sake Bottles From Squid Skin

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2009/12 ... d-skin.php

[LWTCS]

Father William,
You are like a one man research department.

Thanks for all you do.

[Fester]

PappaBill, that was new to me... a cuddlefish fifth full of fine ferment.

I cannot access a few websites since google packed their bags and left town... namely Facebook and the the google owned Youtube. Google is now streamed into China from Hong Kong but I do miss youtube and facebook. It is more open here than most people know but the central government simply will not allow anything that hints of porn. Some US sites will not stream to a foreign IP address because they will not receive any sales or advertising revenue, Hulu in particular. I've had that problem in other countries too.

But as far as I can tell, and I've asked almost every english speaking soul I can find, there is nothing against making or distilling your own booze. Unless you want to sell it, of course. They find the question curious. Why would anyone want to? they ask. Its just too cheap and so readilly available, they say. Mine is better, I say. Then I am dismissed because it is such a silly idea. (As in growing your own cotton and making your own clothes because you are so cheap.)

Now living in Laiyang,
Fester

[father william]

Fester, if you're still in China, here's a great way to make a semi-honest buck.

http://www.globaltimes.cn/www/english/m ... 42776.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

[Fester]

yes, father william, there is no lack of opportunity to make a buck here in China. Especially for a middle aged white man who speaks english. Since I am laowai (as in "gringo", foreigner or round-eyed devil, perhaps?) I get the VIP treatment almost everywhere I go.
I spend my days exploring the real China. Not the big cities or touristy spots. I like the small cities so much more. I truly have Gone Where No White Man Has Gone Before! I never tire of the old woman that stares at me with her mouth open in shock. or the little kid thats brave enough to practice his "hello" with me.
In a few weeks or so I want to make friends with a coppersmith, haha.

Now living in Yangzhou,

Fester

[rubber duck]

Fester I hear they like white dog corn whiskey in China. Seems to me a guy with your talents could make a business doing a legal distillery. Imagine only having to deal with the communists to open a distillery, one can only wish.

[Fester]

... a legal distillery. Imagine only having to deal with the communists to open a distillery, one can only wish.

Yes, Mr. Duck, it is only a small matter of knowing exactly who to bribe. I'm just not that plugged in to know who or how much. Only the central government is communistic - apart from that this country is VERY capitalistic. Everyone wants to own their own company.

Ian Smiley has partnered up and is producing white dog in China. See: http://articleyoube.com/file/91c5oi9353 ... 1u3n437778" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

The Chinese seem to view American products as the "gold standard" and are very eager to buy them. Not for personal consumption, mind you, but rather for that special occasion when you need to impress someone.

I'll try to send you a photo of roasted duck heads. Maybe delicious, i don't know.

[Johnathan]

I am a western medical herbalist. What you got is possibly a medicinal item. The Chinese approach to medicine is very different to ours. They take tonics and medicine on a day to day basis to stop becoming ill rather than going to the doc when they do. They have a lot of tonics of different types - most of which are plant based. Given the number of Chinese I guess there is a pretty good argument that it works. Some phytochemiclas from the herbs don't extract well in water and alcohol may be needed. One word of caution: the Chinese standard for herbal safety is much lower than in the west. Their approach to Risk is not the same as ours. If you are staying some time in China you may be well advised not to drink a lot of unknown stuff on a regular basis without advice from a TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) practitioner. (I have in mind the root of the Thunder God Vine that they use for arthritis: it is bloody toxic). Don't want to be a spoil-sport - enjoy your time there - but come back healthy.
Johnathan

[Prairiepiss]

That reminded me of the time I spent in Kenya early 90s. I was buying Jim Beam not in a bottle. It was packaged in individual shots like little condiment packages. You know Ketchup and Mustard packets you get at the fast food places. They were cool I could load down my pockets with them and order cokes at the bar all night.

[blanikdog]

Sounds great, Lloyd. Have some for me. Being well beyond middle age, it may return my desires. You can skip the duck heads though. When I was living in Tibetan refugee camps the young monks always wanted to practice their English but were a bit timid. I knew their teacher and every time one of them engaged me in conversation she told me all about it because the first thing they did was tell her about talking to a ........ bugger, I forget the word for white folk. Have a better year this year.