Some Disgustingly Unique Cocktails
You can walk in to any bar and make the horrible choice of ordering a Screaming Chicken (tequila, tabasco sauce, and an egg) or a Cement Mixer (Bailey’s and lime juice). As long as it’s a combination of relatively normal ingredients, you have a good chance at getting any drink, disgusting or not, at any bar in the world.
Though you might ask yourself, “what about the drinks for people who want to have something disgusting, but have something uniquely disgusting? A cocktail you’ll hate drinking that you can only hate in one bar, because it isn’t offered anywhere else”? Fear not, as I have found four of the most absurd, Instagram-worthy drinks to have ever seen this world. A few of them are no longer offered, but this should give you some ideas for your own travels.
As a runner-up, I would like to include the Aragog, offered only in Mexico City’s Luciferina Bar. If the name of the cocktail sounds familiar to you, then you must be a fan of Harry Potter as it is named after Hagrid’s pet spider of the same name from The Chamber of Secrets. This name was picked as it holds somewhat of a similarity to the drink –both the spider and the drink contain tarantula venom. While the drink holds substantially less, it still has the ability to make your mouth and throat go numb after drinking it. The mixture of mezcal, pisco, cachaça, mango juice, lemon, and a ratio of 0.05% venom reportedly leaves you with a numb, tingling sensation for about two hours. The reason I leave this as a runner-up is because of the popularity of it. The Aragog is known to be a rather tasty drink and, aside from the venom, is something that sounds like it would be pretty popular in most clubs.
At the bottom of the list is The Mohawk, a drink once offered by San Francisco’s ex-bar, Lafitte. It used to be known as one of the manliest drinks available, but not in the same way an Old Fashioned or a Manhattan is. No, The Mohawk is manly in the same comical sense as dirt scented cologne. Made from a mixture of rye whiskey, Punt e Mes (vermouth), and tobacco syrup, The Mohawk offers a respite to smokers from the laws keeping them from smoking indoors. It was known to offer the same nicotine kick and smoky taste experienced from taking a drag of a cigarette, only with hints of a Manhattan. Essentially, this is a Manhattan that uses tobacco instead of bitters, making it even more “masculine”. Surely, this would couple well with an entire season of Mad Men.
Next up is the Galvaude Caesar, which again, is not currently being offered. While Bar Vintage is still open to the public in Montreal, Quebec, the website shows no trace of the savoury cocktail. Similar to the hearty nature of a normal Caesar, a Galvaude Caesar takes inspiration from the Quebecoise dish, Galvaude. While a normal Caesar is Clamato, vodka, Worcestershire, and hot sauce, this Quebec twist combines chicken soup stock, tomato juice, poutine sauce (basically gravy), chickpeas, and vodka. As a Canadian, I find this incredibly intriguing and tempting to try, but as a normal human being, it sounds horrible. Tequila drunk may be bad, but Galvaude Caesar hungover sounds even worse.
Across the ocean in London, England, was the Moby Dick. The drink is no longer offered in its ex-home of Nightjar as the seemingly simple drink was technically illegal. A Moby Dick was made of Laphroaig Scotch, Drambuie, ale, and bitters – all normal ingredients. What gave the drink its name, and the reason why it is no longer offered after a police raid, is because the bottle of scotch had a piece of whale skin “infusing” the alcohol. The owners were unaware of the illegality of owning the piece of whale and have since apologized for any offence anyone felt about the ingredient. Compared to this next and final drink though, this piece of skin would have been a welcomed relief to find at the bottom of a bottle.
One of the most famously disturbing cocktails can be found in Dawson City, Yukon. Up in the freezing territory of Yukon, frostbite is a dangerously real possibility and losing parts of your body to it is more frequent than you may think. Yukon Artic Ultra 2018 contender, Nick Griffiths, fell victim to this frostbite during the aforementioned race and lost three of his toes to frostbite. The Sourdough Saloon in Dawson City’s Downtown Hotel took advantage of Griffiths’ condition in order to extend the life of their famous cocktail, and I’m not talking about him being an amputee. No, the Sourdough Saloon is going to be the recipient of Griffiths’ three amputated toes, further safeguarding their signature cocktail, the Sourtoe Cocktail. The cocktail half of the drink can be comprised of any normal cocktail you want, but in order to join the Sourtoe Cocktail Club, you must opt to have one of the several mummified toes owned by the bar dropped in. At nearly a century old, this cocktail has been tried by over 60,000 people and has gone through a few toes. Lucky for you, Nick Griffiths has extended the lifespan of this cocktail for decades, giving you plenty of chance to try it for yourself. Oh, and if you lose a toe while up in Yukon, the Saloon is always looking for more toe-donors.
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