Lets Talk Drinks; Ginger, Chilli, etc...

Howdy!
Don't worry, this won't be hocking the wonders of plants in the manner of mistletoe or elderberry...
the pseudo-spiritual, sorta para medical properties of plants... no.
I leave that to the fringe, as its their realm.
This is just a subjective reflection on some of those fleeting properties of 'taste' - subtleties that are highly subjective and differ person to person...

This is just sharing a few reflections on how awesome some plants are,
such as Ginger or Chilli - be sure to comment or inbox with your preferred plants and their uses or taste.

Recently, we made a punch? a spritz? some concoction,
using Ginger Brew, Cranberry (from your choice of provider), Pineapple juice concentrate (canned or fresh - unsweetened), and then water + ice.
The ratio was: 1-1-1.5/2:2:1, so, one part ginger with one part cranberry, one part pineapple, then double the sum of all of those worth of water (sparkling, tap, fresh, whatever water you like), with about 1 part worth of ice.
We chilled this, till it was an icey consistency.
It was awesome, not to sugary... maybe a little initially bitter, but with an excellent aftertaste.
 While awesome non-alcoholic, it could also be adapted into a margarita or an alcoholic.

The more adventurous of the group tried infusing the beverages with differing types of tea -
camomile and dandelion, red chai and black tea... the results were mixed, though Earl Grey seemed to work excellently. Further cola-experiments, using nutrisweet/stevia... will be ongoing. We hope these produce tasty AND consumable results.

I prefer my drinks to have a little ginger in them, just a bit.

I've found that,
if you crush 3 varieties of ginger, and add these to Pepsi or to Generic Cola, the result is - "How Pepsi used to taste circa 1980s-1990s". The ratio is 1 part crushed ginger pulp/juice to 7 parts cola. This seems to have the same taste as traditional sodas. Asian ginger varieties add to the flavor, resulting in a hazelnut aftertaste being detected if the ratio becomes closer to 1:6.
Cokecola made no taste difference in the sample group and control group with or without the ginger, or with or without being served in the glass cup or plastic - which was an unexpected outcome - people 'know their CokeCola", and the CokeCola seems to overpower the ginger or make no effect (be neutralised by the Coke's acidity).

It gets better!
There's a variety of non-alcoholic and alcoholic beverages available from Castle Glen; their "ginger brew" is among the finest in the world, and certainly seems coincident with preventing or lessening a cold. The ginger is not overpowering or too bitter, and is quite pleasant.
Because this beverage is sparkling, it provides a much better mix agent for making coca-cola like it used to be - the slight side-effect being a simple glass of Cola becomes both an alcoholic beverage (~1 standard drink per glass), AND the sugar content rises to 66g per glass - not for the diabetic-in-waiting.

Turning to chilli -
I find the best part of chillis and spicy food, apart from being great at making food interesting,
is that I feel chilli helps to lose weight - it might only be marginal water weight, but you feel like you have more "pep and vigor with chilli in yer".
Another Castle Glen beverage, retired now I believe (though who said Dragon's Breath or Dragon's Blood liqueur could retire? how can it survive these days, without income coming in... certainly, it doesn't qualify for a pension... bring back the Dragon's Blood Liqueur I say!)
this beverage, while stock standard being somewhat warm and spicy, and a little alcoholic...

with after market chillis and paprika/spices... can become a truly fire spewing beverage not for the faint of heart. Chocolate Bhutlas, capsicum concentrate and other wonders make the drink an anaphylactic timebomb... even for those who like their spicy stuff. All cultures cough and splutter helplessly when exposed to the "weapon of mass-reentry-burning"; even those renowned for stomaching spicy foods, such as South American, Thai/Asian, and Indian...

The drink must be consumed within 3 or 4 months... as it will begin to pickle and actual loses its heat potency: the decay sets in, and the beverage becomes sugary at first, with an 18month shelf life leading to a vinegary paste barely useable as a cooking vinegar (and certainly not for human consumption, unless drinking pure vinegar is your thing).

When I have a cold in its first stages, such as with a sore throat or a sniffley nose,
drinking the Dragon's Blood helps to completely alleviate the cold in my case.
It is gone in a flash of heat, and it has staved off the cold many a time.
Constipated? Not a problem... this Dragon's Blood from Castle Glen is sure to get your innards moving. Its much better than prune juice or other laxative options, much more fast acting, though with a drawback of that re-entry burn...

Apart from that,
The Dragon's Blood is a much more leveling beverage, separating the adults from the immature -
while many can drink their boilermakers and jaegerbombs, bingedrinking their way into carcinogenic oblivion and an early grave,
comparatively few can stomach the Dragon's Blood, even a simple shot let alone a full glass...
or endure the re-entry burn they know to be coming.
Its the best party drink to give to "friends"(frenemies if we're being honest), or to those ultra-competitive types.