Rattlesnake Vodka!

image from www.komotv.com

Over the years researching American moonshine, I came across all kinds of practices and traditions that would make some folks shudder. Animals, in particular (alive or dead, whole or in parts), often worked their ways into liquor. Sometimes critters and bugs were attracted to the sweet warmth of a fermenting outdoor mash. Other times, they were put in there because of supposed medicinal purposes.

Sometimes distillers inserted them into the distillate at the end of a run. Looks like the tradition is a alive in Texas.

When I saw a piece about on the news tonight about Bayou Bob's Brazos River Rattlesnake Ranch, I knew immediately who the intended market was for his rattlesnake vodka...

From an AP wire piece today:

A rattlesnake rancher who calls himself Bayou Bob found a new way to make money: Stick a rattler inside a bottle of vodka and market the concoction as an "ancient Asian elixir." But Bayou Bob Popplewell's bright idea appears to have landed him on the wrong side of the law, because he has no liquor license.

Read more here...

Apparently, Popplewell had 429 bottles of snake vodka and one bottle of rattlesnake tequila. Now, that tequila, I'd be interested in...

And let that be a lesson about selling liquor without a license.