Booze Traveler - Travel With A Twist... Of Lime

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When I first heard of Travel Channel's 15 episode series, Booze Traveler, I was afraid the show would either be a hootch-centric clone of Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations (not that Bourdain's shows

Subject: Array of liquors | Date: 02/24/2009 | Photographer: Angie Garrett | This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.

aren't already booze heavy), or it would be 15 1-hour episodes of Booze Traveler's host sampling Tequila in Mexico.

The show features self proclaimed cocktail connoisseur, Jack Maxwell, traveling to exotic locations to sample off beat potables.  As Maxwell drinks his way around the world, viewers are given insight into how each liquor plays its role within its culture of origin.  For example, viewers recently learned about holy men of Napal who drink "marijuana milkshakes" to clear their minds of negative thoughts.

In addition to the show's anthropological value, the show gives viewers ideas about drinks to add to their "to try" list. After 7 episodes, drinks of interest have included, but not been limited to:

1. Boza - a popular milky beverage in Turkey, made from fermented wheat|
2. Kumis - a fermented dairy drink, traditionally made from mare's milk, popular to the peoples of the Central Asian steppes|
3. Golia Vodka, AKA Genghis Khan Vodka - filtering of the vodka through diamonds, rather than charcoal, removes the chemicals which cause headaches when one drinks it|

Personally, I'll never drink Boza or fermented horse milk, no, no, no.  However, I have added Golia Vodka to my list of liquors to keep my eye open for.

Booze Traveler, while not a clone of past productions, is reminiscent of its predecessors.  Given the uncommon nature of some of the featured libations, the show is more comparable to Andrew Zimmer's "Bizarre" franchise than Bourdain's work.  Still, Maxwell relays enough unique subject material to make the show worth watching in its own right.

Airing Mondays at 10pm on Travel Channel, I give Booze Traveler 8.6 out of 10 stars.
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