April 3rd,
2009
At least in alcohol they do.
OK, Matt. Here’s a challenge for you, should you feel obligated to try to top the balut.
This is a real Korean product folks, and not a novelty either. It’s a traditional beverage.
Korean Mice Wine:
That’s right folks, a worm in a bottle suddenly seems like an ordinary ingredient. Can you imagine this sitting on a bar next to the giant jug of Finlandia filled with pineapple chunks?
Allow me to quote Suzanne Donahue, who deserves a special web award for blogging intrepidity because she actually tried this stuff:
You see, I wasn’t just intrigued by the idea of beverage rodents, or even the idea of itsy-bitsy beverage rodents. No, what really took this concoction over the top for me was the sheer amount of itsy-bitsy beverage rodents floating within.
No, this was not an April Fool’s joke. The date on the article was July 6, 2007. I should give the hat tip to the Amazon blog Al Dente, who listed the article in a list of foods which should be April Fool’s jokes.
The article is worth a read, and judging from her description of the taste, I doubt that we’ll be having a TDN: Korean Baby Mice Wine anytime soon.
Incidentally, don’t bother looking for it on Amazon, or even Google Shopping. Any of my overseas readers have it available where you are?
April 3rd, 2009 at 1:12 pm
Oh my godness..i thought i had seen a lot but obviously i haven`t. I even believe this would be a challenge for Matt but who knows?
I just wonder what the purpose is when there´s so much other tastier things to make wine and liqueurs from? they must believe there´s some “strength” to pick up by drinking it?
Probably the most unappetizing drink i`ve seen, and yes, my worm in the bottle seems totally ordinary now.
April 3rd, 2009 at 1:38 pm
Yeah and this is also definitely weirder than Vietnamese snake liquor.
Yuck.
April 3rd, 2009 at 1:45 pm
If you read in the article, they seem convinced it cures everything up to an including the common cold.
If you came at me with this stuff, I’d leap from my bed and shake off whatever ailed me too!
April 3rd, 2009 at 3:35 pm
Thats Korean Viagra!
April 3rd, 2009 at 4:16 pm
Whaaaat!?
Really I´ve seen some weird stuff inside bottles. Snakes, Crabs, scorpions, you name it.
But this stuff really deserves a price! Baby mice?! Unreal!
Imagine a cocktail with “one of the infusing flavors” for garnish…
April fools of Halloween? Sound more like Halloween to me…
Cheers,
Tony
April 4th, 2009 at 7:15 am
Um. I lived there for about 10 years, and I’m pretty sure that is not from Korea
What’s written on the bottle is Chinese and there’s no such thing like that.
Although there’s snake wine available
April 26th, 2009 at 12:30 am
Nope- the Koreans like their whiskey and Soju, but not mice wine! The writing on the bottle is in chinese.