Rượu thuốc

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Several varieties of rượu thuốc. The first bottle from the right is tiger penis rượu thuốc
Several varieties of rượu thuốc. The first bottle from the right is gecko rượu thuốc, and the other is cobra rượu thuốc
A bottle of snake wine served on Cát Bà Island, Vietnam

Rượu thuốc (literally "medicinal liquor") or rượu dân tộc (literally "traditional liquor") is a kind of Vietnamese distilled liquor (rượu) with herbs and medical animals, considered by traditional medicine as good for health. This drink is a mixture of alcohol mixed with herbs or animals which are used as drink and medicine in Vietnam. In Vietnam, rượu thuốc is widely believed to help drinkers improve their health and virility.

Production

Raw herbs like ginseng, jujube, or raw animals like seahorses, snakes, or termites are placed into a large earthenware jar of alcohol and kept for days to let the expected medical substances in these herbs or animals to dissolve in liquor before the mixture is served. Distilled liquor must be strong enough, with alcoholic concentration of 45% or more.

Drinking

Rượu thuốc is typically drunk before a meal, a small cup each time. It's believed among Vietnamese that drinking rượu thuốc may treat several diseases (not diseases caused by viruses or bacteria), also rượu thuốc is seen by female drinkers as local Viagra.

See also

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