The Drunken Botanist: The Plants that Create the World's Great Drinks

by Amy Stewart

  Although wine, tonic, and soda manufacturers are no longer allowed to include cocaine in their formulations, they can still use a cocaine-free flavor extract from the plant. The FDA has approved “Coca (decocainized)” as a food additive, and one American manufacturer, the Stepan Company in New Jersey, has been granted the license to legally purchase the leaves from Peru’s National Coca Company. It separates the cocaine alkaloid for use as a topical anesthetic, and sells the remaining flavoring to companies like Coca-Cola. Not to be outdone, the Bolivian government has funded the creation of a number of coca-flavored sodas and other products, arguing that it is hypocritical for the United States to sanction the use of the leaves in American soft drinks while frowning on local products made from the same plant.

  Although it is entirely legal to flavor liquor with the decocainized extract of coca leaves, few distillers do so. One notable example is the herbal liqueur Agwa, which is widely sold in the United States and Europe with a dramatic label announcing its controversial ingredient. (Other ingredients include guarana seeds, a South American vine with a caffeine-like compound, and ginseng.) In coca-producing countries, licor de coca and vin de coca are also sold in local markets.

  CORIANDER

  Coriandrum sativum

  apiaceae (carrot family)

  Coriander is a favorite ingredient among distillers. It’s found in almost all gins and in many herbal liqueurs, absinthe, aquavit, pastis, and vermouth. But anyone who has ever eaten the leaf of a coriander plant—called cilantro in the Americas—might wonder why they so rarely encounter that distinctive flavor in any of these drinks.

  The reason is that the fruit—round, brown seeds—undergo a chemical change as they dry, shedding that bright cilantro flavor completely. The essential oil found in the fresh leaves and on the surface of the unripe fruit is instantly recognizable and not to everyone’s liking, owing to genetic differences in how people perceive flavors. Some people call it fetid; others say it smells of bugs. In fact, the Greek word for bed bug, koris, is the root of its early Greek name koriandron.

  But deep inside the fruit is another oil that is easily extracted once the fruit is dry and the characteristic cilantro flavor has evaporated. That oil, which is dominated by linalool, thymol, and geranyl acetate, a compound found in geraniums, is the perfect blend for booze. It combines the woodsy notes of thyme, the rich perfume of geranium, and the bright, floral, citrus flavor of linalool. It tastes, in other words, like very good gin.

  Two varieties turn up in the spice market: the high-quality Russian coriander C. sativum var. microcarpum, which is smaller but higher in essential oil, and the larger-fruited C. sativum var. vulgare, sometimes referred to as Indian, Moroccan, or Asiatic coriander. The latter is grown for its leaves and is more widely available to gardeners. (Many varieties sold to gardeners have been bred to resist bolting, or setting seed, so they will produce more leaves for cooking.) The best-quality oil seems to come from plants grown in areas with cool, wet summers, which is why both Norway and Siberia supply top-notch coriander to the world market.

  CUBEB

  Piper cubeba

  piperaceae (pepper family)

  This climbing, woody Indonesian vine produces a fruit that was once more popular than its better-known relative, Piper nigrum, or black pepper. Although the dried fruits look like black pepper, they are usually sold with their stems attached, making the two easy to tell apart. Its pungent bite comes from a compound called piperine, although it actually contains even higher levels of limonene, that ubiquitous flavor found in a wide range of citrus and herbs. This may help explain why cubeb is so popular as an ingredient in gin, where spice and citrus enjoy a happy marriage.

  In the Victorian era, “medicated” cubeb cigarettes were sold as asthma treatments. Modern cigarette companies who have published their ingredients still list it as a flavor. Seventeenth-century Italian priest Ludovico Maria Sinistrari, who wrote extensively on the use of plants to perform exorcism, prescribed a brandy-based tonic flavored with cubeb, cardamom, nutmeg, birthworts, aloe, and other roots and spices to keep the demons away.

  DAMIANA

  Turnera diffusa

  turneraceae (damiana family)

  In 1908, federal officials confiscated a bottle labeled “Damiana Gin” that was being shipped from New York to Baltimore. The label advertised the aphrodisiac qualities of the spirit, but the feds had their suspicions. Laboratory analysis turned up strychnine and brucine (both poisons derived from the strychnine tree) as well as salicylic acid, an aspirin-like compound extracted from willow trees that can be dangerous in large doses.

  Given its toxic ingredients, the “false and misleading” claims of the drink’s aphrodisiac qualities, and the fact that it was not actually gin, the bottle was deemed to be in violation of the 1906 Pure Food and Drug Act. Its owner, a man named Henry F. Kaufman, was fined one hundred dollars for shipping a product that violated the act. But damiana’s reputation persists.

  This six-foot-tall, highly aromatic shrub produces tiny yellow flowers and small fruits. It grows wild in Mexico, where it has a reputation for stimulating the sexual appetite. In the nineteenth century, physicians prescribed it as a sexual tonic; one doctor writing in 1879 said that it could be given to female patients “to produce in her the very important yet not absolutely essential orgasm.”

  Remarkably, there may be something to these claims. A 2009 study showed that the plant could speed recovery time in “sexually exhausted male rats,” allowing them to perform a second feat of lovemaking after a very short interval. (The method used to sexually exhaust the rats was not disclosed.)

  In spite of this intriguing bit of research, no clinical trials have been conducted to determine the plant’s effects on humans. It is a legal food additive in the United States, and the dried leaves and stems flavor Damiana, a Mexican herbal liqueur sold in a bottle shaped like—what else?—a fertility goddess.

  DITTANY OF CRETE

  Origanum dictamnus

  lamiaceae (mint family)

  The mysterious-sounding dittany of Crete is nothing more than an odd-looking type of oregano. The round, silver, fuzzy leaves and bracts of pinkish purple flowers make it a showstopper in Mediterranean gardens, which is why its habitat is no longer limited to a single Greek island. It has earned the name hop marjoram because the flowers resemble hops, but the plant’s fragrance is more similar to thyme and other oreganos. The leaves have been used to flavor medicinal tonics since at least early Greek times, and today they are still used in vermouths, bitters, and herbal liqueurs.

  ELECAMPANE

  Inula helenium

  asteraceae (aster family)

  A wild stand of elecampane could easily be mistaken for a bunch of overgrown dandelions—and in fact, the two plants are related. Although elecampane is native to southern Europe and parts of Asia, it now grows wild throughout much of North America, Europe, and Asia and is cultivated and sold as a medicinal herb to treat coughs. It reaches eight feet tall and sports small, daisy-shaped yellow flowers. The bitter, camphor-flavored root is a common ingredient in vermouths, bitters, absinthe, and herbal liqueurs.

  EUROPEAN CENTAURY

  Centaurium erythraea

  gentianaceae (gentian family)

  This pink-flowered annual herb is a relative of gentian. Native to Europe, it has spread to North America, Africa, and parts of Asia and Australia. The dried stems and leaves have historically been used externally to treat wounds and internally as a digestive tonic. Today the plant’s bitter iridoid glycosides—powerful compounds that the plant uses to defend itself—make it useful as an ingredient in bitters and vermouths.

  FENUGREEK

  Trigonella foenum-graecum

  fabaceae (bean family)

  Starting in 2005, people living in certain parts of New York City would suddenly develop the strangest craving for pancakes. A distinctly maple syrup smell was wafting through town. It didn’t happen very often, but when it did, people called the city t
o inquire as to the source of the unexplained, but not altogether unpleasant, odor. Finally, in 2009, city officials had an answer: fenugreek. The seeds of this diminutive beanlike plant are ground and mixed into curry spices—but they are also processed by a company in New Jersey that sells industrial fragrances and flavors. The caramel or maple syrup note contributed by fenugreek is used as a flavoring in liqueurs as well as in imitation maple syrup and other sweets.

  Fenugreek comes from the Mediterranean, northern Africa, and parts of Asia; it has been a traditional part of Indian and Middle Eastern cooking for centuries. While it never plays the starring role in a liqueur, it may be used in the background as a spicy, sweet bass note, and for that reason bartenders sometimes employ it in homemade infusions. Some fans of Pimm’s No. 1, the gin-based liqueur used to make the classic British summer cocktail known as a Pimm’s Cup, swear they taste fenugreek in its mysterious—and highly secret—spice blend.

  PIMM’S CUP

  1 part Pimm’s No. 1

  3 parts lemonade

  Sliced cucumbers, oranges, and strawberries

  Spearmint leaves

  Borage blossoms or leaves (optional)

  Fill a pitcher or glass with ice and add all the ingredients. Stir well. Borage leaves and blossoms are a traditional garnish but not always easy to find unless you grow them yourself.

  GALANGAL

  Alpinia officinarum

  zingiberaceae (ginger family)

  The sharp, spicy flavor of this ginger relative has been popular in Chinese, Thai, and Indian cooking for centuries. Its traditional use as a digestive treatment led to its inclusion in early medicinal tonics that later became popular liqueurs. Today it is still found in some vermouths and bitters, and in eastern European herbal liqueurs such as Liqueur Herbert.

  As with other gingers, the rhizomes are used in the spice trade. The plant is allowed to grow for four to six years, reaching about eight feet in height, forming a clump of tall stems topped by strappy leaves. The entire root base can be harvested at once, or just a few rhizomes can be dug out around the edges.

  Although several related plants are referred to as galangal, the so-called lesser galangal, Alpinia officinarum, is the species recognized as a safe ingredient by the FDA. Other species include greater galangal, A. galangal, and Kaempferia galangal, sometimes called resurrection lily. All three grow in tropical climates and produce pink and white blossoms that resemble a spray of orchids or tuberose.

  GENTIAN

  Gentiana lutea

  gentianaceae (gentian family)

  Without this tall yellow flower that grows wild in French alpine meadows, any number of classic cocktails would not exist. The Manhattan, the Negroni, and the Old-Fashioned all rely on the bitterness of gentian. Angostura bitters, a staple ingredient found in even the most poorly stocked bars, contains gentian and even broadcasts that fact on the label. Many of the most famous European amaros and liqueurs set aside their secrecy and plainly claim gentian as a key ingredient. Campari, Aperol, Suze, Amaro Averna, and the aptly named Gentiane are just a few of the hundreds of spirits that depend on this plant for bitterness.

  Its medicinal use dates back at least three thousand years. Egyptian papyrus from 1200 BC documents its use as a medicine, and it has been continuously used since then. Pliny the Elder wrote that gentian owes its name to King Gentius, ruler from 181 to 168 BC of a Roman province that is now part of Albania.

  Gentians are not easy to cultivate. Each species prefers a very specific climate and soil type; many detest rich, loamy garden soil and resist transplanting. Of the over three hundred species identified, only a dozen or so actually do well in gardens. Yellow gentian in particular prefers alpine meadows to farmland; it is protected in parts of Europe and wild harvesting is subject to strict controls. (A poisonous look-alike, Veratrum album, also makes foraging for gentian a dangerous pursuit for amateurs.)

  One of the reasons wild gentian requires protection is that the root is used in liqueurs and medicine; there is no way to harvest it without digging up the entire plant. The bitter compounds include gentiopicroside and amarogentin, which modern researchers have investigated for their ability to promote salivation and the production of digestive juices. (No wonder it is an ingredient in so many aperitifs.) Gentian even has benefits for people undergoing cancer treatments who have difficulty tasting or swallowing food, and it is under investigation as an antimalarial and antifungal drug.

  The plant is typically harvested at four or five years of age, when the long, tuberous roots weigh several pounds. Eight tons are collected every year in the Pyrenees alone; far more is harvested in the Alps and nearby Jura mountains. The bitter components reach their peak in springtime and are more prominent in gentian harvested at higher altitudes, making the precise timing and location of the collection critical.

  The bracingly strong bitterness of gentian is precisely what makes it so appealing in a liqueur. It acts as a foil to sugars and floral flavors, giving cocktails like the Negroni the backbone they require. Yellow antioxidants called xanthones give gentian liqueurs a natural golden color; this is evident in products like Suze, a white-wine-based gentian aperitif that is well loved in France but only just becoming available in the United States.

  Gentian was also a key ingredient in Moxie, a soda that was once more popular than Coca-Cola. Essayist and Charlotte’s Web author E. B. White once wrote in a letter, “I can still buy Moxie in a tiny supermarket six miles away. Moxie contains gentian root, which is the path to a good life. This was known in the second century before Christ, and is a boon to me today.”

  DR. STRUWE’S SUZE AND SODA

  Dr. Lena Struwe, a botanist at Rutgers University, has made gentian her life’s work. She studies the taxonomy, biodiversity, and medicinal uses of the plant—and she collects vintage bottles and posters that feature the plant. This is her favorite gentian-based cocktail.

  2 ounces Suze

  2 to 4 ounces soda or tonic water

  Lemon twist

  Pour the Suze over ice, top with soda water to taste, and add a twist of lemon. Santé!

  GERMANDER

  Teucrium chamaedrys

  lamiaceae (mint family)

  This low-growing perennial herb from the Mediterranean is known to gardeners as an edging plant in knot gardens. With a stiff, upright habit and dark, glossy, narrow leaves followed by spikes of small pink blooms, germander is perfect for marching in a straight line through formal landscapes. The leaves give off a strong herbal fragrance similar to sage, a close relative. Medieval physicians prescribed it for a wide range of ailments, and over time it became a bitter flavoring in vermouths, bitters, and liqueurs.

  GINGER

  Zingiber officinale

  zingiberaceae (ginger family)

  This tropical plant might not look like much—it rarely blooms, instead producing only green, reedy stalks three to four feet tall with strappy leaves—but its root is one of the world’s oldest spices. A native of China and India, ginger was an important part of ancient Chinese medicine and was adopted for medicinal use in Europe after arriving on the earliest trading routes. It has been used to flavor beer since the Middle Ages and adds a note of heat and spiciness to herbal liqueurs, bitters, and vermouth. Domaine de Canton, Snap, and the King’s Ginger are just a few modern liqueurs that add a bite of ginger to cocktails.

  Today ginger is grown around the world, primarily in Nigeria, India, Thailand, and Indonesia. How the plant is grown, harvested, and stored has tremendous influence on its flavor. Roots harvested after only five to seven months are quite mild, but the flavorful oil content increases quickly after that, peaking at about nine months of age. Plants grown in the shade tend to have more citrus flavor than those grown in the sun. If the root is harvested and dried rather than sold fresh, about 20 percent of the oil simply evaporates, taking with it the bright, citrus characteristics and leaving more zingiberene, the compound that gives it such sharp spiciness. There are several dozen differen
t varieties cultivated for the spice trade today, and each has its own distinct reputation.

  Ginger beer was once a mildly alcoholic beverage made with water, sugar, ginger, lemon, and yeast. In its modern nonalcoholic incarnation, also called ginger ale, it plays a starring role in many classic cocktails. A shandy is a mixture of equal parts beer and some fizzy soda like lemonade; a shandygaff is beer and ginger beer. A Dark and Stormy is a mixture of two parts dark rum and three parts ginger beer, served over ice. Gosling’s has actually trademarked the name Dark ’n Stormy and recommends, not surprisingly, that you mix it with its brand of dark rum and its brand of ginger beer.

  The Moscow Mule, invented in 1941 by a vodka distributor, not only put ginger beer to good use but also introduced Americans to vodka, helping sales of Smirnoff triple in just a few years. It is traditionally served in a copper mug, but this is merely a marketing gimmick. The story goes that a vodka distributor and a bartender concocted this drink to make use of the bartender’s unsold ginger beer and to jump-start vodka sales. Apparently the bartender’s girlfriend owned a company that manufactured copper mugs, so her product became part of the recipe, too.

  MOSCOW MULE

  ½ lime

  1½ ounces vodka

  1 teaspoon simple syrup (optional)

  1 bottle ginger beer (Try Reed’s or another natural, not-too-sweet ginger soda)

  Fill a copper mug or highball glass with ice. Squeeze the lime over the ice and drop it in the glass. Add the vodka and simple syrup, if desired, and fill the glass with ginger beer.