ingredients

Barons Black Wattle is Australian Ale Brewed with Wattle Seed. The attractive graphics caught my eye at the beer store. And so, like Vic Cherikoff, I wanted to know:  So What The Bloody Hell Is Wattleseed? It turns out that Cherikoff may well be the world’s foremost expert on this seed, and “world trends in Wattleseed use.” He explains:

For over 6000 years, Australian Aborigines in different clans around the country, parched and milled wattle seeds from around 100 of the 900 plus species of Acacia, then used the coarse flour in baked seed cakes. … Wattleseed is a great inclusion in anyone’s diet. It has an unusually low glycaemic index which means that the carbohydrates in it are slowly absorbed and therefore better for you than sugary, quick release alternatives.

Wikipedia explains that “Wattleseed is a term used to describe the edible seeds from around 120 species of Australian Acacia that were traditionally used as food by Australian Aborigines and they were eaten either green (and cooked) or dried (and milled to a flour) to make a type of bush bread.” The same brewer uses another little-known ingredient in its Witbier. Barons adds lemon myrtle leaves along with the more common coriander seeds. Lemon myrtle is:

a flowering plant native to...

OK we admit that the aforementioned spirits with worms and scorpions are a little light on meat. But here is the real thing.  Spirits with chicken. Chicken. It is commonly known as Pechuga. Del Maguey is a famous brand. The producer warns about plenty of fake mezcal and pechuga and explains:

Pechuga is begun with Minero; mezcal that has already been double distilled. In preparation for a third distillation [the producer adds] wild mountain apples and plums, big red plantain bananas, pineapples, a handful of almonds and a few pounds of uncooked white rice. Next, a whole chicken breast, skin removed, bone structure complete, is washed in running water for about three hours to remove any grease. This is then suspended by strings in the atmosphere of the still and a 24 hour, third distillation is begun. The vapor passes over the pechuga and condenses into a crystal clear liquid that has an amazing taste and smoothness. The reason for the breast they say, is so the mezcal is not dominated by the fruit…a balance. Upon completion the Pechuga is removed from the still and hung in the family Altar room…the most important space in the house.

Most people expect fruit and vegetable matter in their spirits. Less commonly, they expect — meat. And yet it’s not so very rare. The most obvious “meat,” in common use, is the lowly worm that’s been sitting at the bottom of your Mezcal bottle for many years. Gusano Rojo Mezcal is a good example, because the label has a nice little picture of the worm. Mezcal Beneva is a second example. The Beverage Tasting Institute explains:

The famous “worm” that is found in some bottles of Mezcal (con gusano — “with worm”) is actually the larva of one of two moths that live on the agave plant. The reason for adding the worm to the bottle of Mezcal is obscure. But one story, that at least has the appeal of logic to back it up, is that the worm serves as proof of high proof, which is to say that if the worm remains intact in the bottle, the percentage of alcohol in the spirit is high enough to preserve the pickled worm. Consuming the worm, which can be done without harm, has served as a rite of passage for generations of fraternity boys.

We’ll deliver more meat in a day or two.