December Drinks - December Theme Month

Fill up your cup for this episode all about beverages that folks drink in December! Continuing our theme of "December," Quizmaster Tanner found four recipes for drinks from around the world. But one of them is fake! Join hosts Andi and Sups as they take sips of each and try to figure out which December drink is unreal! 

Transcript

Andi 0:01

the most important question, though, is would you drink it?

Sups 0:03

I would. Yeah. The moment you said Wine or rum? or both. Yeah.

Andi 0:10

This is very

Sups 0:11

a feeling we just did a reverse UNO, too. don't know. Yes.

Andi 0:21

to... And also there is physical... Hello and welcome to this episode of I Should Have Known, the trivia game show that can't be trusted. Each week, one of our Quizmasters will present you with four facts about a topic, but one of them is a lie. And for the month of December we are celebrating winter. with our theme And this week your quiz master is Tanner. And Tanner is going to be doing a find the fake episode on December drinks but one of the drinks that he presents is not really a drink that people drink. So join me, Andy, and our other host, Supes, in figuring out which one of his drinks is fake.

Tanner 1:04

a and Our other host, Supes, in figuring out of these drinks Is sugar, heavy cream, milk, nutmeg, cinnamon, vanilla extract, eggs, and rum.

Andi 1:21

Oh, hell yeah.

Sups 1:23

think only Americans drink

Andi 1:24

know that. It's

Tanner 1:26

popular in America.

Sups 1:27

Yeah, I was in the US in October and I was just seeing aisles full of this eggnog.

Tanner 1:32

Yes. Snack. Yes, exactly.

Andi 1:35

for last. Oh yeah, and

Sups 1:38

this was the first time.

Andi 1:39

Yeah,

Sups 1:40

Yeah. store bought. Yeah. Yeah.

Andi 1:42

That was

Sups 1:42

I was amazing. I got addicted to this. yeah, yeah. Yeah. I loved it. Yeah.

Tanner 1:46

Well it's

Sups 1:49

real

Andi 1:50

I can't imagine drinking eggnog in like, the summertime. That would be so weird.

Tanner 1:54

with a drink and a place where not too cold. Drink number one. Sorrel. Sorrel is a cold red punch from Jamaica.

Andi 2:06

Yes.

Tanner 2:07

So, they traditionally drink it at the end of the year, which is December.

Andi 2:13

Exactly. It's like a

Tanner 2:15

this is why it's not a winter drink.

Andi 2:17

It's

Sups 2:18

it's a cold drink. but Not a winter drink. Yes. Okay.

Tanner 2:21

it's in the tropics.

Andi 2:23

Yeah.

Tanner 2:23

So, sorrel is made from hibiscus. Specifically, roselle hibiscus flowers, or sometimes known as sorrel flowers. And traditionally, they were only available At the end of the year. And So that's why this tradition of drinking it in December became a

Andi 2:40

a thing. This flower is native to the Caribbean? This

Tanner 2:45

West Africa. Where this drink originated,

Andi 2:48

Okay, I

Tanner 2:49

see. But it really came into its own and became sorrel in Jamaica, where they grow the flowers. Now available year round, but it's traditionally drunk at the end of the year.

Sups 2:59

year. Okay.

Andi 3:00

Because that's when the flower would be in season and then you could harvest it and make this

Tanner 3:05

Exactly. But now you can get it anytime.

Andi 3:07

So what's this drink like? Is it a tea? Did they distill it? What is this? Explain

Tanner 3:12

So it's very simple to make. You take hibiscus buds, put them in a sauce pan and mix it with spices, including cinnamon, and cloves, and ginger.

Andi 3:21

Mm hmm. Classic.

Tanner 3:23

it. steep it, so kind of like a tea. And then you add sugar. you can add wine or rum. if you want. chill it, and then you can serve it.

Andi 3:33

it. Okay.

Tanner 3:34

So it's like a cold alcoholic tea. It's more of a punch. It's really a

Andi 3:39

Yeah. that's a big thing in the Caribbean is

Tanner 3:42

Yeah.

Sups 3:42

Like a sangria. or

Tanner 3:44

like... it

Andi 3:45

does have sangria vibes, where you have like, a liquor and wine, potentially.

Sups 3:50

Yeah. That's the only way I would drink fruit. So

Tanner 3:53

Okay.

Sups 3:54

I haven't heard of this drink.

Andi 3:56

I mean, it doesn't sound like anything I've heard of. Like, I mean, I've had like hibiscus tea, So I guess that's close. Mm-Hmm. I thought Sorel was something else.

Tanner 4:07

meanings. Yeah, okay.

Andi 4:08

Yeah, okay.

Tanner 4:10

it for many plants. Yeah. And Colors. and It has a ton of meanings. But In Jamaica, if you say sorrel or sorrel drink. Or Sorrel flowers. you mean hibiscus.

Andi 4:21

Sure. I mean, it makes sense to like, being available only one time of the year traditionally. I mean, that is how plants work. They don't bloom continuously, most plants. So, I mean... That makes sense.

Sups 4:34

Makes sense. I don't

Andi 4:41

I don't know.

Sups 4:41

the only thing that stands out to me Here is the name of the drink. Sorrel, because there's many others.

Andi 4:47

Yes. To me Sol is something else entirely. So I don't

Sups 4:50

and I wouldn't necessarily associate with Jamaica. So That's the only part that's kind of fishy to me. I mean, the ingredients are like the recipe. Okay. I can believe. it.

Andi 5:00

Mm-Hmm. We'll have to hear more before I can really. past judgment, but okay. the most important question, though, is would you drink it?

Sups 5:06

I would. Yeah. The moment you said Wine or rum? or both. Yeah.

Andi 5:12

That's like the,

Tanner 5:13

care what color it is.

Andi 5:14

important salient part of it, though. It's like the hibiscus flower. mean, yeah, sure. It sounds a little sweet for me, but I'll try it.

Tanner 5:24

right, let's Try drink number two. Cola de Mono, which is a smooth, cinnamony coffee drink from Chile.

Andi 5:33

Okay.

Tanner 5:34

This translates to Tail of the Monkey, it's drunk cold, and it's best to beat the Chilean December heat. So they drink it in December, when it's summer.

Andi 5:44

yeah, I was just gonna it's summer there. I see why this is December drinks now.

Tanner 5:50

So, to make this, milk and sugar are mixed and boiled with spices, including cloves, cinnamon, lemon, orange, and vanilla. And then coffee is mixed in. You strain the liquid from the solids. Liquor is added, whether that's Pisco, or Rum, And then it's stored in glass bottles and refrigerated. Best drunk the next day.

Sups 6:15

I mean, I just feel bad for lactose intolerant people. Because you've got like milk and orange there, like put together. Well yes,

Andi 6:23

you've got like milk and orange there,

Sups 6:32

actual juices that would

Andi 6:34

to... And also there is physical... Instant coffee. I refuse

Tanner 6:47

let sit? Oh my god.

Sups 6:49

Hmm.

Andi 6:49

wouldn't use

Sups 6:51

No, I refuse

Andi 6:52

coffee.

Sups 6:54

You think Chileans use... No.

Andi 6:56

it's basically a cold brew. It's also very sketched though, why are you letting milk sit out? This is very

Sups 7:02

a feeling we just did a reverse UNO, too. Hahaha.

Andi 7:10

I mean like infusing the milk is not super weird. Right. then to chill it later I don't understand that. Yeah. But definitely like Iced coffee in the summertime in the heat is perfect. So like, that checks out. And you, can basically cold brew steep coffee. Like you don't have to get it hot. So again, that checks out. the milk is the only thing throwing me off.

Sups 7:33

For me, the thing stands out, like, the fact that Chileans use instant Coffee is something really, I think it's like a matter of

Andi 7:41

for chili, but honestly I don't know Chili's not exactly famous for its coffee. And honestly. I don't think Tanner would make up a drink and then say they used instant

Tanner 7:50

he

Sups 7:51

Mm.

Tanner 7:51

into

Andi 7:52

That I find much more skeptical. Okay. That he was like, yeah, they use instant. that to me is a sign of like, oh, that might be real then. And The milk is throwing me off. Who wants to drink milk in the summer? Who's leaving milk out in the summer? And who's putting orange and lemon into milk? That's throwing me off.

Sups 8:11

the descriptions were coming out, I was feeling really bad for the lactose intolerant people. I was like, how's that even

Andi 8:17

I, I feel bad for the milk. It's just gonna curdle., You can add those things to cow's milk. You just have to be very careful. So, I mean, it's not impossible, but it seems very unlikely.

Sups 8:29

Likely. Mm hmm. All right.

Andi 8:31

Tanner's like, do I want to decide

Sups 8:34

to decide

Andi 8:35

that it's not cow's milk? I don't know. Is that going to sell it better or worse

Tanner 8:39

it better or worse?

Andi 8:41

your fake drink?

Sups 8:43

Yeah.

Tanner 8:43

trying to get in my head. All right. Drink number three. Oot. Oot is a toasty, bluish purple, milky drink made on the island of Crete. Made from boiled goat milk, With ground orchids, and flavored with pine or sage.

Andi 9:01

sage. This

Tanner 9:03

This is a traditional Cretan drink, drunk at the end of the year to celebrate the winter solstice. So it's usually very thin, you can sweeten it and make it alcoholic by adding wine. And sometimes it's described as tasting sweet or tart. So the recipe is, you bring goat milk to a boil in a saucepan, you grind fresh orchid flowers, which by fresh they mean it's about three days since they've opened, and you grind it with pine needles or sage, mix until smooth. and sweetened with wine.

Andi 9:34

orchid flowers. Yes. that's weird.

Tanner 9:37

Traditionally, they would harvest their orchids at the end of the sailing season on Crete, and they would celebrate making it through another year and having peace around the winter solstice. with these drinks.

Sups 9:49

Can you spell OOT?

Tanner 9:51

U H T?

Sups 9:53

Just like in Milk. like

Andi 9:54

mean like milk? Yeah.

Sups 9:56

This,

Andi 9:56

UHT Milk

Tanner 9:58

Apparently, it's from their deciphered clay tablets from the old Minoans. So it's a very old traditional drink.

Andi 10:06

Okay. The flowers. That's weird. I mean, I do know some orchid flowers are edible. I've never heard of people making a drink out of the flower. I was thinking, so in Turkey, which is dangerous to mention when talking Crete and Greece, but like, there's a drink made with orchid root. That's pretty popular and really delicious and it's kind of a milky spiced Thing So I was at first I thought that was what this was and then I'm like no he says the flower Which explains the color? but It's kind of weird. I mean sure. think orchids are native to this region, so that's not telling me anything. I don't

Sups 10:50

I'm just trying to think if there's like any fictional drinks in one of these stories. Like, I don't know. Oh. Like in Lord of the Rings or...

Andi 10:59

Or like on Star Wars, maybe.

Sups 11:02

maybe,

Andi 11:03

could be the blue milk that Luke drinks. I don't know why he put it on

Sups 11:06

he put it on green. I

Andi 11:09

Tatooine is Tunisia, but okay.

Sups 11:11

an island. Yeah. It shows like an island because there's like sea all around, so there's like blue, Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Possibly. No.

Andi 11:20

But, you know, if we doubt this one is real, then that means that Chilean drink is

Sups 11:24

real. That's a true

Andi 11:26

to keep in mind. The, all of the milk involved, this,

Sups 11:30

Why did you go? Aren't you

Tanner 11:31

you go, Aren't you lactose intolerant? I would

Andi 11:35

I put up with it. He's a Wisconsinite, he's like, I suffer through it.

Tanner 11:38

It's

Sups 11:39

Yeah, this is what I always say every time I'm traveling to Italy. I'm not lactose intolerant when I'm in

Tanner 11:44

Yeah.

Sups 11:44

Yeah.

Andi 11:46

Take a lactase whenever.

Sups 11:47

Yeah. Okay. So Expensive,

Andi 11:50

awfully expensive I think nowadays because orchids now are like valuable. So if you're grinding them into a drink feel a little, a little we only drinks made flowers. The milk

Sups 12:04

could split the milk. Yeah.

Tanner 12:06

good. Okay, we'll

Sups 12:08

Okay.

Andi 12:09

So we have one more, One

Sups 12:10

more. yeah. Okay.

Tanner 12:11

Drink number four, Tombo. This is a sweet, milky wine from Nigeria.

Andi 12:18

Okay.

Tanner 12:19

Specifically it's part of the Yoruba and Igbo cultures, where they harvest palm trees. So this is made from the palm sap. So palm trees are cut, and sap is collected, and... Because of the natural yeast in the air and in the collecting vessels, it quickly ferments We're talking like two hours. It can reach up to like a normal beer's alcohol content, around 4%. And then, this is basically done. You can serve it chilled. And it's... slightly sweet and tangy, it's best in December to beat the heat in Nigeria. And they also use it for celebrations all year round. For weddings, birthdays, and Christmas. So, the important thing is that you drink it fast. Because the fermentation doesn't stop. It continues fermenting the longer it sits. And after about a day, it's basically vinegar.

Andi 13:12

Yeah, I was gonna say, it gets nasty fast.

Tanner 13:14

So, it's really hard to find it outside of Nigeria. It's not like... Commercially made

Andi 13:19

cause you can't stop the fermentation process. Okay. So,

Sups 13:25

This one.

Andi 13:25

This one? Yeah,

Sups 13:26

one's like, simple yet complicated enough. And I think like the palm, sap, to the bark of the trees, or you know, something that you have to consume faster.

Andi 13:36

that's the weird thing is that you have to drink it fast

Sups 13:40

Fast,

Andi 13:41

ferments so quickly. That's really fast.

Sups 13:44

Yeah.

Andi 13:45

don't know why chemically something would ferment faster than something else. That's

Sups 13:50

a similar drink in India, a similar fruit called the kokum fruit. which they pluck in the morning and they make juice and you got to consume it straight. If you keep it like for 24 hours, it basically ferments and there's like alcohol there. So yeah, they just drink it like really quickly as soon as you pluck it.

Tanner 14:07

really

Sups 14:08

so it's possible that this is true. I don't see the fictional. part here.

Andi 14:13

Yeah, I mean, it could be something where it's like, you can't eat palm sap. It's not edible. So then that bam, that's the lie. Maybe.

Sups 14:21

Okay. Yes, yes.

Andi 14:22

It's. Sounds like one of those things where if it's real, it's obvious, right?

Sups 14:26

right? Because

Andi 14:28

you know, you eat what's available to you. Very convenient that it's not exportable. So then knowing that we've never been to Nigeria

Tanner 14:37

Nigeria,

Andi 14:38

are not Yoruba or Igbo then okay Sure, we have to kind of just believe him. We can't use context here. So that's convenient for him and his life

Sups 14:52

Yeah.

Andi 14:53

Maybe

Sups 14:54

And palm trees do grow in Nigeria, right? Yeah, I think. Yes.

Andi 14:58

That's also a good point. I don't know.

Sups 15:01

want to. Yes. I want to say I am Slightly more than mildly confident palm trees do grow. Yeah. Ha. where

Andi 15:10

That's, it has places where you can definitely see where it could be a lie, but then it also is just so simple that it... Feels like a truth, because usually Tanner's lies are more

Sups 15:20

are more elaborate. That's what I said, me this, drink sounds like simple, yet complicated, but terms of the description, complicated in terms of it's made. yes, Probably Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah,

Andi 15:33

Hmm. Okay, so it's very interesting that we actually kind of inverted the expectations of this episode because normally when I think of December drinks, it's cold outside. So it's warm stuff,

Sups 15:45

But all of

Andi 15:46

these are served cold,

Sups 15:47

Yeah.

Andi 15:48

But okay. So, Supes and I are going to guess in a little bit which one we think you made up. But before we do that, you please repeat the four of

Tanner 15:57

Drink number Sorrel, from Jamaica. Drink number two, Cola de Mono. from Chile. Drink Number three, Ut. from Crete. And drink number four. Tombo. from Nigeria. One of those is not a real drink.

Sups 16:27

Okay, let's do like this. Let's try something new. We're gonna do a countdown. I'm just gonna say 1, 2, 3, and then you have to just say which drink you think is it. Yeah, let's do the number, okay? And we just say it together just to see if we think it's the same thing or

Andi 16:43

or not. Okay. Okay? Are we doing it on, like, three, two, one, go?

Sups 16:46

1, go? Okay, We can do it on 3, 2, 1, go. Okay. So. Three, two, one. go.

Andi 16:53

Three. Oh, shit!

Sups 16:55

Okay, so we

Andi 16:56

we got the same thing. That went, that went about as well as I thought it would go. Do it.

Sups 17:07

Okay, so we're thinking the same thing. All right, good.

Andi 17:10

Okay

Sups 17:11

Why do you think this is fake? Number three.

Andi 17:13

So, I'm thinking it's number three. As skeptical as I am about number two and the fact that it includes coffee because that's such a Tanner thing to include, I think it's from Star Wars and I think he just was like, how could you possibly make blue milk and then it was like, well, if you mix orchids into milk, it turns blue because the flowers who eats orchid flowers, like in a drink that seems a little bizarre to me. And then I think Crete looks like the weird island that Luke ended up on and like the three newer ones. And so like, that's. That's where it comes from.

Sups 17:46

Yeah, for me, the moment he started with the description, I was like, okay, this is from some fictional thing, clearly.

Andi 17:51

Yeah. I think I'm going with three. I think it's the weird milk, blue milk from Star Wars.

Sups 17:56

I also wholeheartedly believe that it's number three, but at the same time, something also about number two is also like, I don't know. Yes. So I'll just stay with number three, but I think just to sort of split the difference, I'm going to say number two.

Andi 18:11

Oh, okay. You just want to get credit for both.

Sups 18:15

for both. Yes. At this point, yeah

Andi 18:19

I think we just do it. I think we go with and just give, give Tanner his laurels if he

Sups 18:24

Alright. Okay, so number three. Okay, fine.

Tanner 18:26

Okay. You're both going All in, you're filling up your cups to the brimm with number three Yep.

Andi 18:31

yup

Sups 18:31

Oot. Yes.

Tanner 18:32

right. Yes, you're both right. Yes.

Sups 18:35

it Does it look?

Andi 18:36

It's Lupin Yes blue milk. Awe, yes

Tanner 18:42

It's blue bantha milk from Tatooine. Yes, yes. And so much nerdiness was jam packed into this one So, on the set to make the blue milk... They took blue food coloring and put it in milk that they bought in Tunisia, because that's where Ted Tween was filmed. And the milk that they had was ultra high temperature milk.

Andi 19:02

Uh huh. Hard stable. Oh, literally, that's why OOT was U H T. Oh my god, we even mentioned

Sups 19:08

That's why I asked you. what's the spelling

Tanner 19:11

of OOT? Um, course to Americans is

Andi 19:13

of course, to Americans is

Tanner 19:14

have to be refrigerated.

Andi 19:15

It doesn't have to be refrigerated. Yeah, I that's why the Americans working on the set were like, What is this UHT thing? This is weird. This is weird milk. Whereas, like, in most of the world, that's, like, the most common kind of milk you get because it's the box milk that can be on the shelf for, like, months. And most Americans aren't even aware that like, no you can store milk

Sups 19:36

can store

Tanner 19:38

Yeah, People complain that it tastes like it's burnt or it's toasty Because it's cooked. you know, at a high

Andi 19:44

Yeah. I mean it's not as good, like a glass of it isn't very good, but for cooking and stuff. it's...

Sups 19:50

sure.

Tanner 19:51

Apparently Mark Hamill really hated

Andi 19:52

it.

Tanner 19:53

when he was drinking it on set, so It was bad. But yeah, Salep is the Turkish drink made from orchid tubers, which is similar.

Andi 20:01

That is really good.

Tanner 20:03

So that gave me an idea of like, oh, you could, drink orchids. And that's how you get them to be blue. That's how you get the blue milk. Orchids are native to Crete. But they don't eat them. And There's no winter solstice, life day. event sort of

Andi 20:17

Life day.

Sups 20:18

life day. Okay, cool.

Tanner 20:20

The other three are all real recipes, real drinks. You could go make them. for

Andi 20:23

should go try them. Yeah.

Sups 20:25

And blue milk. Let's leave it to the Star Wars world.

Tanner 20:27

Yeah,

Sups 20:28

to go

Tanner 20:29

go to like... Disney to try their their blue Star Wars milk.

Andi 20:33

your

Sups 20:33

your mouth. I have known. I for

Andi 20:36

I should have known.

Tanner 20:37

I should have known.

Andi 20:38

Thanks for listening to this episode of I Should Have Known. We'll be continuing with our... December theme next week. I will be your quiz master and I will be talking about icy worlds. So, kind of continuing a little bit with some sci fi, maybe. bit of sci fi. We'll see. And if you celebrate, I'd like to wish you a Merry Christmas, and Happy Holidays or just Happy December. And if you'd like to get us a little bit of a present, we have a Patreon where you can donate monthly, and get access to... know, behind the scenes features and stuff and help support the show. So if you'd like to give us a little Christmas present, you can do that there. and as always, Can you not do that right by the mic