# Alcohol that nobody has made? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** liquor-alcohol\ **Created:** [December 1, 2024, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcohol-that-nobody-has-made/1011023 "2024-12-01T17:22:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2024, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcohol-that-nobody-has-made/1011023/1 "2024-12-01T17:22:26Z")
I don’t drink at all, ever, so all of the various mentions of various types of alcohol and their taste is entirely vague theory to me. But I was just thinking of all the different things used as bases for famous types of alcohol like rice, barley, potatoes, and grapes, and others that are less mainstream but apparently real like watermelon, strawberry, and dandelion. It made me wonder, if I wanted to start selling a type of alcohol that has never been commercially produced before, how hard would it be for me to find something unique that also would produce something people would be willing to pay for. Anyone do kiwi (the fruit, not the bird) or starfruit? Bananas? Carrots? How weird would I have to go to reach uncharted territory? ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2024, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcohol-that-nobody-has-made/1011023/2 "2024-12-01T17:30:59Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > How weird would I have to go to reach uncharted territory? Probably pretty weird, I suspect. Given at least 13,000 years of humans knowing how to make alcohol (and a similar number of years of interest in consuming alcohol), I strongly suspect that nearly anything which can be fermented into booze has been attempted at some point. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2024, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcohol-that-nobody-has-made/1011023/3 "2024-12-01T17:36:40Z")
A lot of stuff contains sugar, or you can add it. Seems to me the main problem is to produce something _palatable,_ and that does not make consumers go blind. Even simple fruit-flavored liquor— I don’t recall seeing any carambola booze ready-made and for sale in the supermarket, not sure why. And that is not “weird” at all. I mean, good luck buying fermented horse milk in the West, even though that is a completely well-known product. It’s going to be all about marketing. ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2024, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcohol-that-nobody-has-made/1011023/4 "2024-12-01T17:37:57Z")
Avocados are fruit. It’s there avocado wine? ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2024, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcohol-that-nobody-has-made/1011023/5 "2024-12-01T17:38:25Z")
> [@garygnu](#): > > It’s there avocado wine? Yes. > **[Sweet Avocado - Schnebly Winery](https://schneblywinery.com/sweet-avocado/)** > > The first wine ever made from Avocados. You may ask yourself, why Avocado wine? The most important aspect of any world-class wine is the acid within the fruit. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2024, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcohol-that-nobody-has-made/1011023/6 "2024-12-01T17:41:53Z")
One that I realized recently that I’d never heard of was booze made from maple sap. But I went looking, and sure enough, maple wine is a thing. ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2024, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcohol-that-nobody-has-made/1011023/7 "2024-12-01T17:42:38Z")
That’s awesome. Of course, now I feel compelled to buy some. ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2024, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcohol-that-nobody-has-made/1011023/8 "2024-12-01T18:07:05Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > maple wine is a thing. Sounds like mead. This is a dangerous thread. ---
**Author:** ![JacobSwan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a6a055/32.png) [@JacobSwan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JacobSwan)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2024, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcohol-that-nobody-has-made/1011023/9 "2024-12-01T18:24:29Z")
When I used to make home made wine I remember reading that you could make wine from pretty much any fruit or vegetable juice with the exception of tomatoes. But I’ve just googled it and there are tomato wines on the market now. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2024, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcohol-that-nobody-has-made/1011023/10 "2024-12-01T18:34:44Z")
Create a new hybrid fruit and you can be the first to make a potable version. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2024, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcohol-that-nobody-has-made/1011023/11 "2024-12-01T19:03:28Z")
> [@DPRK](#): > > Even simple fruit-flavored liquor— I don’t recall seeing any carambola booze ready-made and for sale in the supermarket, not sure why. > **[Carambola wine - Schnebly Winery](https://schneblywinery.com/carambola-wine/)** > > Carambola Wine at Schnebly Winery: Experience the exotic essence of starfruit in every glass. > **[Carambola Wine](https://sugartownnaturals.com/products/carambola-wine)** > > Carambola is also called Star Fruit or Five Finger. These tangy water logged fruits make a delicious tasting wine. Size: 750 ml > **[Definition of Soho Starfruit Liqueur](https://www.barnonedrinks.com/tips/dictionary/s/soho-starfruit-liqueur-9247.html)** > > Find out about Soho Starfruit Liqueur and what drinks you can make with it in the Drink Dictionary at Bar None I see some other things as well, but I’m not sure how many of them (including the above links) are wine/liquor with startfruit added vs the alcohol coming from the starfruit itself. And some research on it, for some reason: > **[Production of Star Fruit Alcoholic Fermented Beverage](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5061694/)** > > Star fruit (Averrhoa carambola) is a nutritious tropical fruit. The aim of this study was to evaluate the production of a star fruit alcoholic fermented beverage utilizing a lyophilized commercial yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae). The study was ... ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2024, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcohol-that-nobody-has-made/1011023/12 "2024-12-01T19:13:10Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Create a new hybrid fruit and you can be the first to make a potable version. This is the answer. Anything that can be fermented has been fermented, if the fermentable thing has been around for a while. But if you create a brand new things that can be fermented, you can be the first to do so. It’s not even just that people like to make booze. Most fruits will ferment on their own. Fermented grapes, mulberries, etc. almost certainly were discovered, not invented. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2024, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcohol-that-nobody-has-made/1011023/13 "2024-12-01T19:35:36Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > One that I realized recently that I’d never heard of was booze made from maple sap. But I went looking, and sure enough, maple wine is a thing. A guy went on Shark Tank once trying to sell them on booze he’d made from birch sap. Everyone on the panel was horrified by the taste, and O’Leary started howling “I’m blind! I’m blind!” Incredibly, though, it’s a thing to this day. People sell birch beer and birch wine. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2024, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcohol-that-nobody-has-made/1011023/14 "2024-12-02T00:05:37Z")
I thought maybe mushroom wine might not have been a thing. I was wrong. Yeah, at this point, pretty much everything edible in the vegetable kingdom (and apparently also fungi) has been made into wine. What about wine made from meat? What about vodka distilled from mash made from plant material that is not food - that is, stuff that’s toxic to humans like Yew foliage or Manchineel? In some cases, that might still be unsafe if the toxic components are volatile and might carry over in the distillation, but in a lot of cases it would be OK. I’m not volunteering to test it. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2024, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcohol-that-nobody-has-made/1011023/15 "2024-12-02T00:09:44Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > Yeah, at this point, pretty much everything edible in the vegetable kingdom (and apparently also fungi) has been made into wine. Not to mention the fact that alcohol can be made from milk: [kumis](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kumis) is made from mare’s milk, and [kefir](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kefir) is made from milk from cows, goats, or sheep. The key seems to be that, to wind up with alcohol, you need to have a certain level of some sort of sugar in the source item; it’s probably harder to get at that when the source is meat. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2024, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcohol-that-nobody-has-made/1011023/16 "2024-12-02T00:34:06Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > Not to mention the fact that alcohol can be made from milk: [kumis](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kumis) is made from mare’s milk, and [kefir](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kefir) is made from milk from cows, goats, or sheep. Milk Stouts are pretty popular as well. OTOH, it’s my understanding that lactose is added because it survives the fermentation process, so maybe that doesn’t count since the alcohol would be coming from a different sugar. [![](https://9e1f107ab36932bd7899-c167113948c837617fb235faa4253299.ssl.cf2.rackcdn.com/uploads/images/full/82e477c6102aac344686df572a4f1923.png) ](https://9e1f107ab36932bd7899-c167113948c837617fb235faa4253299.ssl.cf2.rackcdn.com/uploads/images/full/82e477c6102aac344686df572a4f1923.png) ---
**Author:** ![Dallas\_Jones](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dallas_jones/32/3277_2.png) [@Dallas\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dallas_Jones)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2024, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcohol-that-nobody-has-made/1011023/17 "2024-12-02T01:00:29Z")
Nice, old, local guy just died. He had made wine out of whey. Like watery milk or cheese, whey. [Chocolate Wine, Shallon Winery, Astoria, Oregon](http://www.shallon.com/) ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2024, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcohol-that-nobody-has-made/1011023/18 "2024-12-02T01:14:18Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > Milk Stouts are pretty popular as well. OTOH, it’s my understanding that lactose is added because it survives the fermentation process, so maybe that doesn’t count since the alcohol would be coming from a different sugar. Yeah, the whole point behind the lactose in milk/cream stouts is it contributes sweetness (and body) as it does not ferment with typical brewing yeasts. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2024, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcohol-that-nobody-has-made/1011023/19 "2024-12-02T01:17:15Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > The key seems to be that, to wind up with alcohol, you need to have a certain level of some sort of sugar in the source item; it’s probably harder to get at that when the source is meat. I wonder if you could put, say, a pig on a high-sugar diet and raise its blood sugar to a level where said blood would be fermentable. Not that I would advocate such a thing, and I’m not sure diabetic pork blood wine would sell except maybe to hardcore Trekkies, but it’s an interesting thought experiment. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2024, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcohol-that-nobody-has-made/1011023/20 "2024-12-02T01:25:43Z")
Wait, I’ve got it! Find an ancient seed inside of a geode, cultivate it, and sell Ancient Fruit wine! I’m reliably informed that that sells for a very high price. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcohol-that-nobody-has-made/1011023.md?page=2)