Alcohol made from desert plants.

[R.T James]

I've done a vague amount of research, and I'm trying to figure out what would be the best drink to serve at a wedding...

A wedding in a post apocalypse story where the two main characters are getting married. It's a massive ceremony comprised of the actual ceremony a few miles away in some sacred caves and the whole tribe drives back to the main camp with a feast and of course drink.

Now... I live in an area that has no desert vegetation at all. I live in MN which is so close to being Canada it isn't funny.

We got corn, and wheat, and some berries, and trees. So Moonshine would be easy to make here.

But there in the desert. Just what alcoholic concoction would a grinning old man missing teeth be pouring out of a giant jug into various glasses at this wedding?

(This is actually the only question I have really ever needed help on as I am stuck!)

Also if we find a suitable answer... where can I get some?

I found references of cactus Vodka being made in Texas. I am just trying to think of what would be easy to distill into something.

 

[TheDustyZebra]

Tequila is made from the agave plant.

 

[Cathbad]

Tequila is made from the agave plant.

I did not know that!

 

[Abernovo]

I may have a little knowledge here.
Tequila and pulque is made from agave. There's also sotol.

EDIT: TDZ beat me to it.

 

[Dave]

I've also had some sweets made from Cactus once. They tasted disgusting. However, I don't mind a little Tequila.

 

[R.T James]

Tequila is made from the agave plant.

That was my first thought, but upon looking at how its made. The hearts are cooked, and etc. the steps making wouldn't be apparent I feel to descents of Americans. Especially considering the culture this group originated from. I have learned a wine can be made apparently quite easily form the fruit of the prickly pear cactus its method of making it seems relatively easy as the plant contains natural yeasts.

Upon doing some more research the blue agave plant is quite versatile in what it can be used to make. MC doesn't recognize the food being served... maybe do some alterations of pre-existing food. He's already eaten a buzzard without knowing it.

I'm a pretty heavy lore builder. This is the second story to branch out from my pre-existing steampunk lore in a setting more "grounded" in reality. Issue is with basing it vaguely off of reality you have some freedoms, but also limitations. Ergo there are pre-established rules my logical brain must follow, and if need be go AH-AH! YOU SEE YOU'RE WRONG FOR A=C and therefore You're an imbecile! And I mean this with the kindest love.

If it were my other world I could have had an entire menu set up for boozes for one to try!

Here I'm scratching my head because my logical brain is going. A) How is it made? B) would it be easy to make considering where they are C) How is the MC going to react.

Vodka from a cactus I think would be humorous considering what the MC was before the world ended.

Also if its pre-existing maybe I could go out to the liquor store for courage research.

 

[Abernovo]

Should have said, alcohol can be made after fermenting most fruits and many grains - sugar source + yeast + water. Distil it afterwards, as required. Flavours can be added.

Sorry. I have qualifications in the subject.

 

[R.T James]

Should have said, alcohol can be made after fermenting most fruits and many grains - sugar source + yeast + water. Distil it afterwards, as required. Flavours can be added.

Sorry. I have qualifications in the subject.

Would it be impolite to pick your brain on the subject matter in a private message then?

Never apologize for qualifications on the subject matter! You never know when somebody might be able to get some answers to questions the internet fails at!

 

[Cathbad]

You never know when somebody might be able to get some answers to questions the internet fails at!

SACRILIGE!

The Internet Gods never fail!!

 

[chrispenycate]

While no specialist in cactus fermentation I have drunk collations distilled from dates, as well as from figs (worrying thought, that last) And we used to have a machine that traveled from village to village, taking the paysans' (peasants') fruit mash and distilling it, keeping a record of how many bottles of which fruit each region had distilled. Absolutely superb machine, a genuine steam engine which also used the boiler as a source of heat for the evaporation, it would have been absolutely at home in a steam punk environment. It did not move very fast, but who cared? To make kirsch, you crack some of the cherry stones, otherwise the liquid has no character, but if you overdo it, the final tipple contains too much cyanide, which can generally be considered as a bad idea (pity it's not strychnine, where you could die with a wide grin…)

 

[R.T James]

Decided to go first hand and buy a bottle of tequila. Picked one that claimed to be traditional and mentioned everything on the back of it, and was 100% agave. First time ever having it and even just a little sip took me for a ride.I can chug vodka like its water, but Wo-who! Tequila man. Wowza!

From what I can gather the region I imagine these people to be in would have suitable access to both cactus and Agave and would have no problem distilling the plants in a similar fashion of vodka. Also they would be able to make the cactus fruit wine I found with ease and mixing the two together to create a sweet tasting desert dessert cocktail would be easy. I am sad though I wasn't able to find Sotol as that is something I really want to try. Maybe I'll have these people make more than one drink.

 

[Dave]

Decided to go first hand and buy a bottle of tequila.

Method Writing?

 

[R.T James]

Method Writing?

If that's what it's called I'll do more of it then from now on.

I mean we all have to suffer for our craft.

Also I needed to have an idea of what an agave drink tasted like. First time having tequila. I think its something I'll enjoy I just need to actually bring out the shot glasses and get used to it.

I like my liquors.

 

[Luiglin]

I can add in something less obvious. If it's a post apocalyptic background how about water?

Not everyday water, most probably full of crap like it used to be before filtering and purification plants (think of Back to the Future III where Marty gets handed a glass of dirty liquid and looks at it in disgust).

But pure water, clean and icy cold. A commodity in a post apocalypse desert that I'd argue would top alcohol.

If it's a celebration you'd bring out the good stuff.

 

[Cathbad]

I can add in something less obvious. If it's a post apocalyptic background how about water?

Not everyday water, most probably full of crap like it used to be before filtering and purification plants (think of Back to the Future III where Marty gets handed a glass of dirty liquid and looks at it in disgust).

But pure water, clean and icy cold. A commodity in a post apocalypse desert that I'd argue would top alcohol.

If it's a celebration you'd bring out the good stuff.

Ohhh! Quite a good idea!

 

[Abernovo]

Would it be impolite to pick your brain on the subject matter in a private message then?

No problem. Not sure how helpful I'll be. More on the wine side of things, and background in farming and wildlife, but happy to help. Just be prepared for delayed response -- nasty little things called life and work get in the way.

I can add in something less obvious. If it's a post apocalyptic background how about water?

It is a good idea, and seen similar before. Using water purity as a sign of monetary or technological wealth would definitely be feasible. Think true profligacy, though, would be a willingness to 'waste' water on alcohol production, which would not be a necessity, but a luxury in this case.

Of course, it would be possible to do both. Controlling water purification, and reserving some water for personal alcohol production (you need water to dilute alcohol to make it drinkable). Naturally, such control of vital resources at the expense of others would not (does not, in the real world) make one popular.

 

[Venusian Broon]

It is a good idea, and seen similar before. Using water purity as a sign of monetary or technological wealth would definitely be feasible. Think true profligacy, though, would be a willingness to 'waste' water on alcohol production, which would not be a necessity, but a luxury in this case.

Surely making a low alcohol beverage, such as a beer or wine, in a world where water purity is a problem would be very beneficial to health and more of a necessity rather than a luxury? Kills all the nasty bugs and the such like? We're not going to forget that right? (Or how to make alcohol. That would be an apocalypse if that happened.)

As you've said anything with sugar can be used to ferment - Pea body wine came to mind (not for the desert problem, but more as, well if you can make alcohol from that, you can make alcohol from practically anything.)

Back to the problem - do these people have ruminants? Goat, sheep, cattle? Fermented milk is big in some cultures - see Kumis - Wikipedia

And then I had a look for ancient Egyptians - close to the Sahara, so counts I feel . Found this:

"as householders today brew alcoholic beverages from anything containing sugar or starch (to the distress of visiting friends who have to drink them), so did the ancient Egyptians. The fruit of the carob tree yielded nedjem. The pekha fruit, often used to fatten animals, was made into a drink of the same name. Other beverages some of them made with unidentified ingredients were w'as, djeseret, and shepenet which may have been brewed with poppy seeds.
The fruit was left to ferment, the juice squeezed out and strained through a sieve. Dates were steeped in water and pressed. The earliest mention of such fermented date wine was written down during the second dynasty.
One doesn't know how palm wine was produced in ancient times. It is thought that it was obtained by making incisions in the stems of date palms, collecting the sap and letting it ferment, similarly to how it is still being done today. Apart from being drunk, palm wine was also used during mummification"

Got Palm trees or other tree-like things in Oases?

 

[Vertigo]

Surely making a low alcohol beverage, such as a beer or wine, in a world where water purity is a problem would be very beneficial to health and more of a necessity rather than a luxury? Kills all the nasty bugs and the such like? We're not going to forget that right? (Or how to make alcohol. That would be an apocalypse if that happened.)

Wasn't that one of the origins for the popularity of "small" beer?

 

[The Judge]

I don't know that the health aspect of small beer made it popular ie "Drink this, it's better for you" kind of thing. They had no notion of germs and the like in the middle ages, of course. I can well imagine, though, it tasted better than impure water** and they felt better for it, though whether that's because the pathogens had been killed or because of the alcohol, who can say!


** though I recall reading that when the old stand pipes were being removed in the London slums, after it was proved that leaking cesspits were contaminating them leading to typhoid epidemics, some residents were upset that the new pure water wasn't as tasty as the old stuff!

 

[R.T James]

Alcohol is valuable as a fuel. Considering until recently Gasoline was not an option because nobody was really making it. Well in the recent decade or so the empire from the west have brought with them Gasoline as a strong bartering chip.

This isn't a struggling society per se and they do have access to water, and there is a few local areas they kept secret which contain these resources.

In fact the MC's original faction has control over such a location where water is crystal clear.

Also we must remember why Ales became popular, because the water in many rivers were toxic, yet the processes of making an ale involves boiling the water. Which kills off the bacteria and other nasties in it.

Granted now the tribe is doing fairly well and acquiring gasoline isn't as difficult as you have a few factions manufacturing it, but they are still keeping their stills going encase they need to swap back. Also some of their more powerful cars are still burning alcohol.

The only thing I haven't exactly figured out how to explain is the motor oil.