Habu Sake

29 May

Ever look at the bottom of the tequila bottle and wonder how the worm would taste? Well, I kind of had that moment last night when I decided to take things one step further by trying some habu sake. If you have no clue, habu sake is made using the poisonous venom of the habu snake and is a very popular drink in Okinawa, Japan.

The strange thing is that habu sake isn’t actually sake at all. It is made with awamori . Unlike sake, awamori is created through the distilling of rice. Generally, longer awamori aging will produce a smoother more potent awamori that tastes absolutely terrific.

One major concern about drinking habu sake is thinking the snake venom will be harmful to your body. However, the habu sake poses no risk because the poisonous venom dissolves in the alcohol. Actually, the habu is said to contain 19 amino acids that are actually beneficial to humans. So I would suggest drinking this stuff as often as possible!

Here are a couple photos from last night when I got the bartenders from the Tokyo Dai-ichi hotel to join me in a couple shots of habu sake. For some reason some of them were reluctant to have a shot with me.

Click to enlarge

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Comments 11 Comments
Categories Okinawa
Author Jay

11 Responses to “Habu Sake”

McAlpine 30. May, 2009 at 10:53 pm #

Are you the boy in the picture?? Kawaii! 可愛い
Jay 30. May, 2009 at 11:16 pm #

@McAlpine,
Unfortunately, that is a picture of one of the bartenders from the night of “The Habu” and I am not that good looking….haha
Chris 31. May, 2009 at 2:37 am #

I have a hate/love for Habu Sake. I miss Orion
Jay 31. May, 2009 at 9:51 am #

Chris,
You can probably order Orion online and have it mailed to you.
Amanda 04. Jun, 2010 at 11:10 pm #

Okinawa World has a HUGE vat of this stuff in the making with tons of habu snakes in the bottom of it.
Shun 02. Feb, 2011 at 11:09 pm #

I spent four years in Yokosuka, Habu sake made me black out for two hours.
Maria Elena 10. May, 2011 at 8:33 pm #

I was in Okinawa and tried the Habu Sake, actually I loved. I had so much faith in it that it would be good for my health, I don’t know why. I actually think that it worked for me.
Sandy 21. Oct, 2011 at 8:26 pm #

Hi Jay..I’ve heard so much about habu sake and want to try it but I live in NY..would you or anyone else know how I can get a bottle? Thanks!
Jay 23. Oct, 2011 at 7:11 am #

Sandy,

Unfortunately I do not know where to buy a bottle of Habu Sake. I left Japan several years ago and no longer have the contacts I once had.
bill 14. Mar, 2012 at 10:02 pm #

Are you people sick nuts? Stuffing a snake in a bottle of alcohol is good for you?

Please give me a break.