Chief Executive Officer, Tulleeho

There’s a classic ad by Heineken, "Refreshes the parts other beers cannot reach". No prizes for guessing what they’re referring to.

Well does it or doesn’t it? No proof for or against otherwise, but folklore has it that stout (Guinness is a stout, a style of beer) may have aphrodisiacal properties. Murphy’s the Irish brewer even launched an oyster stout, with the brew containing oyster extracts from the West Coast of England. Funnily enough, in medieval England, nursing mothers were also encouraged to have some amount of stout. That’s what I call participating in all parts of the value chain!

And what about Vincent? What do you think happened to Van Gogh? Absinthe is the answer. Van Gogh was part of a group of artists and writers, including Henri Toulouse Lautrec, Verlaine, Rimbaud, Baudelaire, Oscar Wilde, Edgar Allen Poe, Picasso and others, who all partook extensively of it and featured it in their work. However, in Van Gogh’s case, it was rumoured that it drove him to madness and ultimately suicide.

Absinthe, also known as the Green Fairy, was first banned in 1915 in many European countries.

Van Gogh’s Glass of Absinthe and a Carafe (1887)

Very simply, absinthe is a strong alcoholic aperitif made from alcohol and distilled herbs or herbal extracts. In its original form, it contained a chemical named thujone, which was believed to have caused hallucinogenic effects on the drinker. If you visit Fuga in Bangalore’s Castle Street, go upstairs to the Absinthe bar and try some.

Absinthe is drunk with its own peculiar ritual. Absinthe has it’s own V-shaped glass and over the glass is placed a special flat shaped spoon. First you put the desired measure of absinthe into the glass. Then place the spoon over the glass. Add some cubes of sugar in the bowl of the spoon and pour ice-cold water over the sugar cubes into the glass. The addition of the water liberates some of the flavour of the absinthe while the sugar is believed to improve the mouth feel.

Absinthe contains anise (saunf), so the taste would be relatively familiar to the palate of Indians. If you are really interested in buying a bottle of absinthe then you should look out for La Fee Absinthe.

Moving on from madness and creative inspiration to good health! Given the number of studies, that have shown a clear connection between drinking moderate amounts of alcohol and good health, it’s surprising that sales of alcohol haven’t shot through the roof.

The latest studies show that treating berries with alcohol leads to an increase in antioxidant

Edgar Degas'L'Absinthe(1876)

capacity. Coloured berry fruit like strawberries contain compounds known as polyphenols and anthocyanins. Consumption of these compounds has been linked to the prevention of diseases ranging from cancer to neurodegenerative disorders. So what that means is you need to make a strawberry daiquiri now! Some types of alcoholic spirits have often erroneously also been linked to hallucinogenic properties, with mezcal, tequila’s cousin, often confused with Mescaline.

The only link is that the agave, from which tequila and mezcal are made, and peyote (which contains mescaline) are both distant relatives. The other myth relating to mezcal relates to the worm in the bottle. If you see a bottle with a worm in it, then that’s mezcal and not tequila firstly.

Secondly, the worm is good to eat, however, contrary to popular belief, is not likely to turn you into Don Juan or into a creative god. The worm like most other worms is full of protein and good to eat.

Liqueurs like Chartreuse and Benedictine have also been known to increase libido. Funnily enough, they both owe their origins to monasteries...

Coming back to Mexico, there’s this curiously named spirit from Guadalajara, Mexico, Crëme de Damiana. Crëme de Damiana is produced from the allegedly aphrodisiacal plant Turnera Diffusa.