1,000 Dollar Gin Imbued with the True Spirit of Harley Davidson. It is not quite what you think.

Automologist LING puts just about anything into her mouth (hey, mind out of the gutter!). But this latest gin has this borderline alcoholic wondering "WHY?".

So, I'm cainis. Put anything cooked, pickled or tartare-d in front of me and I'll eat it. Intestines and stomach in Bak Kut Teh, chicken leg from the Dim Sum cart and curry made from what they told me was wild boar (hmm), yes, I've eaten these once or twice or more in my life. Heck, if anyone offers me a balut, I'd probably even venture a nibble. But when I heard of this new ridonkulously expensive gin, imbued with the "true spirit" of Harley Davidson, I thought "No thanks." 

So, "true spirit" simply means old Harley engine parts, cleaned, soldered onto a piece of steel to hold it in place and covered in an alloy to make it safe for use with food. To his credit, the guy whose brainchild this is, Uwe Ehinger, ventured to remote parts of the planet to recover these items from antique motorbikes. His loot includes a 1939 Flathead camshafts found in the Mexican desert, a 1947 Knucklehead screw-nuts from Chile and a 1962 Panhead rocker arms that came from South Korea. These parts are individually bottled together with premium dry gin. But, Waiter, I like my gin just with tonic water and cucumber, sans the metallic flavour.

Yes, my people are notorious for drinking alcohol of dubious origins, in which the bodies of cockroaches, lizards and scorpions float around partially decomposed. But in our defence, we are a misguided bunch who also thinks that eating the nuts of a tiger would give our men's nuts extra paw-wer (pun SO intended).

Honestly, I think The Archaelogist, as the gin is called, is more an art piece than an actual alcoholic beverage, although it is being marketed as one. In the press release, more is said of the engine parts, and bottle and packaging design than the gin itself. And for US$1000 a pop, it is more likely to be bought by antique bike collector or Harley lovers, than a ginthusiast. 

That said, it would make a beautiful addition to my alcohol collection at home:

And Ehinger himself is a really cool guy. If he invites me to have a metallic-y G&T with him, I wouldn't say no.