Hooch from the hills

Ah, experiments in country liquor. A few weeks back, S was in Himachal (Uttaranchal?) on assignment, and one of the men they interviewed and shot gave them a gift (don't get all American-journalism-ethics on me, folks) -- 750 millileters of chaang, siphoned into a worn, plastic Bagpiper whisky bottle, and a 20 kilogram sack of peas.

S and his colleague somehow managed to offload the peas, but the chaang has been on our aperitif shelf gathering dust. Because my work week was long, and my personal trials...troublesome, I decided to have a nice glass, mixed with diet Pepsi (uh huh).

Thus far? No effect, though S assures me I will have stomach cramps in no time. "It always happens the first time you have it."

Well, at least there's SOMETHING to look forward to this weekend...

Tags: hooch, liquor, chaang, india, booze, himachal, uttaranchal, bootlegging, gifts, journalism