Snake Wine (Traditional Chinese / East Asian Remedy)

[EnolaGaia]

Snake wine (wine within which a snake is steeped or the snake's tissues and / or fluids are mixed) is an alcoholic beverage alleged to have curative / medicinal powers.

Snake wine (蛇酒, pinyin: shéjiǔ; rượu rắn in Vietnamese) is an alcoholic beverage produced by infusing whole snakes in rice wine or grain alcohol. The drink was first recorded to have been consumed in China during the Western Zhou dynasty (c. 1040–770 BC) and considered an important curative and believed to reinvigorate a person according to Traditional Chinese medicine. It can be found in China, Goa (India), Vietnam, and throughout Southeast Asia.

The snakes, preferably venomous ones, are not usually preserved for their meat but to have their "essence" and/or snake venom dissolved in the liquor. The snake venom proteins are unfolded by the ethanol and therefore the completed beverage is usually, but not always, safe to drink. ...

Snakes are widely believed to possess medicinal qualities and the wine is often advertised to cure everything from farsightedness to hair loss, as well as to increase sexual performance. In Vietnam, snake wine (Rượu rắn) is widely believed by some individuals to improve health and virility. ...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snake_wine

 

[EnolaGaia]

This 2013 news item illustrates that if you're not careful in making your own snake wine you may find yourself confronting a medicine that seeks to inject itself in you ...

That’s the spirit: Snake preserved in wine for 3 months bites woman

The Year of the Snake has proved unlucky for one woman in northern China who received hospital treatment after opening a bottle of wine containing a snake that suddenly jumped out and bit her hand.

The surprise attack occurred after the woman surnamed Liu from Shuangcheng, Heilongjiang Province decided to add more alcohol to the bottle when the snake, which she had bought live in June and since kept pickled in spirits, pulled a Jesus and sprung to life, dbw.cn reported on September 3.

Liu received treatment at a local hospital for inflammation, explaining she drank snake wine regularly to cure her rheumatism. Alcohols containing preserved snakes boasting medicinal properties are common in China.

A similar case involving a serpent resurrection occurred in 2009 when a Hubei Province resident surnamed Zhang was bit two months after he attempted a similar brew. Zhang was not severely injured, unlike a villager from Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in April 2001 who died a day after being bitten from a preserved wine snake.

SALVAGED FROM THE WAYBACK MACHINE:
https://web.archive.org/web/2014021...baltimes.cn/content/809720.shtml#.Uv1fDi2cbjB

 

[gordonrutter]

Snake wine (wine within which a snake is steeped or the snake's tissues and / or fluids are mixed) is an alcoholic beverage alleged to have curative / medicinal powers.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snake_wine

For some when the wine is made the snake is placed in alive so it basically is drowned in the wine, this is particularly noticeable when a cobra is used due to the presence of the extended hood.

 

[EnolaGaia]

This 2018 web article provides an overview of snake wine and how it's made.

Snake Wine — Southeast Asia’s Creepiest Alternative Medicine
Snake wine is considered by many Southeast Asian people to be a miracle cure-all, but how exactly is the cure made?

https://allthatsinteresting.com/snake-wine

 

[gordonrutter]

This 2018 web article provides an overview of snake wine and how it's made.


https://allthatsinteresting.com/snake-wine

I’ve never drunk the wine but I have eaten snake soup before.

 

[Mythopoeika]

This 2013 news item illustrates that if you're not careful in making your own snake wine you may find yourself confronting a medicine that seeks to inject itself in you ...


SALVAGED FROM THE WAYBACK MACHINE:
https://web.archive.org/web/2014021...baltimes.cn/content/809720.shtml#.Uv1fDi2cbjB

Was it still alive - or was it dead, emerging suddenly like a coiled spring, because it had been forced into the container? The 'bite' may have simply been an accidental jab of the dead snake's teeth to the hand.

 

[gordonrutter]

Was it still alive - or was it dead, emerging suddenly like a coiled spring, because it had been forced into the container? The 'bite' may have simply been an accidental jab of the dead snake's teeth to the hand.

Supposedly a live viper and it had started a hibernation period until she opened the bottle to replenish the alcohol having previously used a tap at the bottom to get a drink.

 

[Lord Lucan]

Foul shit. I've tried it twice and one that had some unfortunate lizard in the bottle (in Thailand). I am no subscriber to the medicinal benefits theory, quite the opposite really as it can be quite stomach churning stuff.

 

[Lord Lucan]

I’ve never drunk the wine but I have eaten snake soup before.

I've had a cobra curry. Couldn't taste the snake through the spice though.
Then there's this:

 

[Mythopoeika]

Just because you can eat something, doesn't mean you should.

 

[kamalktk]

Snake bites person after having been in snake wine bottle for a year.

https://whiskeyraiders.com/article/snake-wine-venomous-bite-china/

"The man had purchased three bottles of medicinal wine with snakes soaking in them as a remedy for his ill son. He waited a year after purchasing the bottles to open them. Unexpectedly, the snakes had reportedly “come back to life,” according to the China Times. Apparently, when snakes encounter harsh environments, they often enter a dormant state and can survive for several years. Additionally, jars of the wine cannot be completely sealed, so a small amount of air enters."

 

[James_H]

Snake bites person after having been in snake wine bottle for a year.

https://whiskeyraiders.com/article/snake-wine-venomous-bite-china/

"The man had purchased three bottles of medicinal wine with snakes soaking in them as a remedy for his ill son. He waited a year after purchasing the bottles to open them. Unexpectedly, the snakes had reportedly “come back to life,” according to the China Times. Apparently, when snakes encounter harsh environments, they often enter a dormant state and can survive for several years. Additionally, jars of the wine cannot be completely sealed, so a small amount of air enters."

Quite surprising!

I've had snake wine a few times, it doesn't taste that good. In Chinese culture, a lot of different things can be steeped in 'wine' (hard liquor) for the supposed health benefits - usually different plants or fungi but I've also seen caterpillars and (illicit) tiger penis. There is a baby mouse wine which is supposed to be good for pregnant women - illegal in Hong Kong I think but some grandmas still make it at home.

Snake restaurants (serving snake soup and wine) are a dying tradition in Hong Kong - people prefer to work in a restaurant job that doesn't come with a danger of death (the job requires handling live cobras and other venomous snakes). Snake soup, a traditional winter dish (a Cantonese saying goes 'when the autumn wind rises, three kinds of snakes get fat'), is now also rather old fashioned and most young people won't go for it.

Here you can see a traditional HK snake shop, with the snakes kept in cages.

 

[Mythopoeika]

Quite surprising!

I've had snake wine a few times, it doesn't taste that good. In Chinese culture, a lot of different things can be steeped in 'wine' (hard liquor) for the supposed health benefits - usually different plants or fungi but I've also seen caterpillars and (illicit) tiger penis. There is a baby mouse wine which is supposed to be good for pregnant women - illegal in Hong Kong I think but some grandmas still make it at home.

Snake restaurants (serving snake soup and wine) are a dying tradition in Hong Kong - people prefer to work in a restaurant job that doesn't come with a danger of death (the job requires handling live cobras and other venomous snakes). Snake soup, a traditional winter dish (a Cantonese saying goes 'when the autumn wind rises, three kinds of snakes get fat'), is now also rather old fashioned and most young people won't go for it.

Here you can see a traditional HK snake shop, with the snakes kept in cages.

I guess eating the meat is OK (does it taste like chicken?) - but it's the other nonsense that may make it unpalatable. I remember seeing an Anthony Bourdain show where he ate a cobra (somewhere like Thailand or Vietnam, I can't remember). The street chef cut it apart while it was alive and extracted its blood. Bourdain drank the blood, which was mixed into an alcoholic drink, while the chef cooked the snake in front of him. All of this is a kind of theatre, really. The snake blood drink is nasty and I don't think Bourdain enjoyed it.
I don't know if they do that stuff in HK or China. Maybe it's just for tourists?