The Nastiest Stuff I Ever Drank

Moderators: mistah willies, NYDingbat, Judge, oettinger, Badfellow, Mr Boozificator, Bluespook, Mother Goose, Shane-O-Matic, Plumber

User avatar
cornbread714
King Cockeyed
King Cockeyed
Posts: 1793
Joined: Thu Jun 12, 2008 4:37 pm
Location: Bucharest

The Nastiest Stuff I Ever Drank

Post by cornbread714 »

The worst-tasting liquor i ever encountered was a substance called "sotol".

It was at a party in Austin, Texas, thrown by some friends of mine. The theme of the bash was "Who is brave enough to drink 2 shots of sotol?"
Sotol is the evil-smelling and foul-tasting distillate of some Northern Mexican desert plant, i don't quite remember for sure which one, but i think it might of been of the same family as the century plant. It tasted more like it was made from creosote bush - the ubiquitous black-stemmed, noxious-smelling desert-dweller familiar to that region.
I was told it was distilled only by people too poor to buy anything else - a sort of Mexican moonshine - and i believe it.

The first shot was easy enough, but after the taste really permeated the senses, it truly was an act of bravery to choke down another one - but the buzz was pretty good.

Anybody else ever tasted or heard of this stuff? Or, do you have other candidates for the "Nastiest Stuff I Ever Drank" prize?
Live like a pig, die like a dog

"Everyone sleeps before I do. Sometimes I do not know what to do with myself; then the trouble begins."
-Savage

User avatar
divine
Hooch Hound
Hooch Hound
Posts: 92
Joined: Wed Jun 11, 2008 5:31 am
Location: Belgium

Re: The Nastiest Stuff I Ever Drank

Post by divine »

Never drank sotol, but I've had a very similar experience with the hungarian palinka, the stuff you can find in the stores is acceptable, but I was in an exchange program, and my hosts made there own palinka. It tasted as if.... Wel, it's simply not possible to describe the horror of it on paper, it was about 120 proof, and it kinda resembled rotten prunes with something bitter attached to it. I drank one to please my host but afterwards I claimed I usually didn't drink.
Don't be undrunk my son. It serves no cause.

Mayhem
Juicing Like Jackie
Juicing Like Jackie
Posts: 21880
Joined: Sun Dec 28, 2003 11:21 am
Location: Well, duh.

Re: The Nastiest Stuff I Ever Drank

Post by Mayhem »

divine wrote:Never drank sotol, but I've had a very similar experience with the hungarian palinka, the stuff you can find in the stores is acceptable, but I was in an exchange program, and my hosts made there own palinka. It tasted as if.... Wel, it's simply not possible to describe the horror of it on paper, it was about 120 proof, and it kinda resembled rotten prunes with something bitter attached to it. I drank one to please my host but afterwards I claimed I usually didn't drink.
I could not disagree more. I had about a liter of Hazi Palinka at the first MDM convention, that was brought over from Budapest in a 2 liter water bottle. I couldn't get enough. I've been told I gave a gift of a urinal cake to a friend that evening.
Drink your fucking drink, how about that? Stop the fuckin' presses, isn't it genius??
Casino

Image

User avatar
cornbread714
King Cockeyed
King Cockeyed
Posts: 1793
Joined: Thu Jun 12, 2008 4:37 pm
Location: Bucharest

Re: The Nastiest Stuff I Ever Drank

Post by cornbread714 »

Mayhem wrote:
divine wrote:Never drank sotol, but I've had a very similar experience with the hungarian palinka, the stuff you can find in the stores is acceptable, but I was in an exchange program, and my hosts made there own palinka. It tasted as if.... Wel, it's simply not possible to describe the horror of it on paper, it was about 120 proof, and it kinda resembled rotten prunes with something bitter attached to it. I drank one to please my host but afterwards I claimed I usually didn't drink.
I could not disagree more. I had about a liter of Hazi Palinka at the first MDM convention, that was brought over from Budapest in a 2 liter water bottle. I couldn't get enough. I've been told I gave a gift of a urinal cake to a friend that evening.
well,
chewing on urinal cakes might be a good way to mask the taste of sotol. i'd like to see someone praising that stuff. but, seriously, there might be "good" sotol, just like apparently there is "good" palinka, plus, "...there's no accounting for taste...", or so they say...
Live like a pig, die like a dog

"Everyone sleeps before I do. Sometimes I do not know what to do with myself; then the trouble begins."
-Savage

Cliffie S. Bockerson
Ten Feet Tall and Bulletproof
Ten Feet Tall and Bulletproof
Posts: 1417
Joined: Wed Jan 03, 2007 5:07 pm
Location: Texas

Re: The Nastiest Stuff I Ever Drank

Post by Cliffie S. Bockerson »

I mistook it for a different kind of tequila once and bought a bottle mistakenly. About a year ago or so. I don't remember it being that bad. It didn't compare favorably with tequila, but I drank it up without making any faces or anything. Not recommended, but not warned against, for my part.

I had Hacienda Chihuahua Sotol Anejo, I do believe.
"Nossir. Even in my worst delirium I never interfered with the flow of traffic. I never drank any hair tonic, either."

User avatar
cornbread714
King Cockeyed
King Cockeyed
Posts: 1793
Joined: Thu Jun 12, 2008 4:37 pm
Location: Bucharest

Re: The Nastiest Stuff I Ever Drank

Post by cornbread714 »

Cliffie S. Bockerson wrote:I mistook it for a different kind of tequila once and bought a bottle mistakenly. About a year ago or so. I don't remember it being that bad. It didn't compare favorably with tequila, but I drank it up without making any faces or anything. Not recommended, but not warned against, for my part.

I had Hacienda Chihuahua Sotol Anejo, I do believe.

that's really interesting,
i'd love to find out more about sotol, but i'm so far away, now...

plus, this was home-made stuff i had - even though that normally means better than the commercial stuff - but not always...
Live like a pig, die like a dog

"Everyone sleeps before I do. Sometimes I do not know what to do with myself; then the trouble begins."
-Savage

User avatar
cornbread714
King Cockeyed
King Cockeyed
Posts: 1793
Joined: Thu Jun 12, 2008 4:37 pm
Location: Bucharest

Re: The Nastiest Stuff I Ever Drank

Post by cornbread714 »

and, upon further reflection,
this was, at least, respectable and non-corporate, honest hooch. i'd rather gag over sotol than puke over cheap margaritas (made with the worst cottonseed-oil fortified, so-called, "tequila")
Live like a pig, die like a dog

"Everyone sleeps before I do. Sometimes I do not know what to do with myself; then the trouble begins."
-Savage

*****
Drinking God's Good Scotch
Drinking God's Good Scotch
Posts: 2995
Joined: Tue Aug 02, 2005 5:44 pm

Re: The Nastiest Stuff I Ever Drank

Post by ***** »

Hazy memories make it hard to pick a winner (loser?):

Mad Dog White Lightning--24 hour hallucenation-riddled hangover
Wolfschmidt Vodak from a communal plastic handle--threw up a dead guy's ashes in a parking lot wake
Cisco purple--??? no recollection. I was told that I wasn't exactly coherent.
Reibenbach Ice--Slipped in my own vomit on a busy street, more evil hangovers than I care to remember

User avatar
cornbread714
King Cockeyed
King Cockeyed
Posts: 1793
Joined: Thu Jun 12, 2008 4:37 pm
Location: Bucharest

Re: The Nastiest Stuff I Ever Drank

Post by cornbread714 »

DrDrinkBastard wrote:threw up a dead guy's ashes in a parking lot wake
sounds like a james joyce line, or at least tom waits
Live like a pig, die like a dog

"Everyone sleeps before I do. Sometimes I do not know what to do with myself; then the trouble begins."
-Savage

*****
Drinking God's Good Scotch
Drinking God's Good Scotch
Posts: 2995
Joined: Tue Aug 02, 2005 5:44 pm

Re: The Nastiest Stuff I Ever Drank

Post by ***** »

cornbread714 wrote:
DrDrinkBastard wrote:threw up a dead guy's ashes in a parking lot wake
sounds like a james joyce line, or at least tom waits
More like Keith Richards. I didn't take the opportunity to do lines of the dead off some ugly fake boobs, but it was a party I'll never fully remember/forget nonetheless.

Labatt_50
Inebriate Savant
Inebriate Savant
Posts: 507
Joined: Fri May 16, 2008 2:59 pm
Location: Ontario

Re: The Nastiest Stuff I Ever Drank

Post by Labatt_50 »

Mayhem wrote:I could not disagree more. I had about a liter of Hazi Palinka at the first MDM convention, that was brought over from Budapest in a 2 liter water bottle. I couldn't get enough. I've been told I gave a gift of a urinal cake to a friend that evening.
I agree, we found a litre pop bottle full of the homemade stuff in a friend's parents' fridge when i was a teenager. Great stuff, strong as fuck though.

User avatar
Cowboy Joe
Inebriate Savant
Inebriate Savant
Posts: 966
Joined: Thu Sep 27, 2007 12:00 pm
Location: Omaha

Re: The Nastiest Stuff I Ever Drank

Post by Cowboy Joe »

Not to belittle our friends from south of the border, but of all the bad booze I've had, a fuck load has been of Mexican origin. I had some Mexican made "vodka," of no brand, simply the word "vodka" on a paper label on a plastic bottle, that was pretty rough. And some generic mezcal I bought just across the border from Del Rio, TX, that made me shudder.

But I've also had some damn good tequila in Mexican bars that was a hell of a lot cheaper than stuff of equal quality sold in the states.

User avatar
cornbread714
King Cockeyed
King Cockeyed
Posts: 1793
Joined: Thu Jun 12, 2008 4:37 pm
Location: Bucharest

Re: The Nastiest Stuff I Ever Drank

Post by cornbread714 »

Cowboy Joe wrote:Not to belittle our friends from south of the border, but of all the bad booze I've had, a fuck load has been of Mexican origin. I had some Mexican made "vodka," of no brand, simply the word "vodka" on a paper label on a plastic bottle, that was pretty rough. And some generic mezcal I bought just across the border from Del Rio, TX, that made me shudder.

But I've also had some damn good tequila in Mexican bars that was a hell of a lot cheaper than stuff of equal quality sold in the states.

I know a bank in Del Rio that is a "crackerbox". I just need a good get-away driver - we could be across the border in 5 minutes.
Are you game, Cowboy Joe?
Live like a pig, die like a dog

"Everyone sleeps before I do. Sometimes I do not know what to do with myself; then the trouble begins."
-Savage

User avatar
DrinkPlanner
Hooch Hound
Hooch Hound
Posts: 89
Joined: Mon Jun 23, 2008 4:34 pm
Location: Atlanta, GA
Contact:

Re: The Nastiest Stuff I Ever Drank

Post by DrinkPlanner »

Cowboy Joe wrote:Not to belittle our friends from south of the border, but of all the bad booze I've had, a fuck load has been of Mexican origin. I had some Mexican made "vodka," of no brand, simply the word "vodka" on a paper label on a plastic bottle, that was pretty rough. And some generic mezcal I bought just across the border from Del Rio, TX, that made me shudder.

But I've also had some damn good tequila in Mexican bars that was a hell of a lot cheaper than stuff of equal quality sold in the states.
I concur, mezcal is probably the worst drink I've ever had. Something about it just doesn't sit right with me, and it just lingers in my mouth for waaaaay too long. Death in a bottle, as far as I'm concerned.

User avatar
cornbread714
King Cockeyed
King Cockeyed
Posts: 1793
Joined: Thu Jun 12, 2008 4:37 pm
Location: Bucharest

Re: The Nastiest Stuff I Ever Drank

Post by cornbread714 »

I love mezcal, but I can understand it's not for everyone.
I'm ashamed to admit, even though I spent some time in Mexico, I've never had pulque. It's a sort of cactus beer that only keeps for a few days. It can't be bottled but there are pulquerias all over Central Mexico. Apparently it's kinda slimy, and I've heard people say it's great if you like drinking snot - so i never went out of my way to try it.
I wouldn't have turned it down, though, had it been offered to me - that would be rude, especially in Mexico, where they take drinking pretty seriously, and I've always been a little curious as to what it's really like.
Anybody tried it?
Live like a pig, die like a dog

"Everyone sleeps before I do. Sometimes I do not know what to do with myself; then the trouble begins."
-Savage

Post Reply