Mamajuana – Dominican Republic Vitality Herbs

If an aphrodisiac has been  used repeatedly for hundreds of years, does that mean it is proven to work? Well, let’s find out.  In preparation for my Valentine’s Day aphrodisiac collection, I have been experimenting with oysters, champagne, roses, chillies and now Mamajuana.   Historically, this mixture of roots and herbs has been used for over 800 years originally by the Taino Indians who inhabited the Caribbean and the region known as Hispañola in the times prior to Christopher Columbus.

Today, the blend of herbs are regularly used in the Dominican Republic and are fermented, cured and then mixed with rum, vermouth, honey, molasses and other ingredients to produce a potent liqueur.  Mamajuana is also known as the “Baby Maker” and “El Para Palo”, which means Lift the Stick~

Want to test 800 years of history?   Below is a list of ingredients to gather before you get started.

Mamajuana Herbs – You can buy your magical herbs here.
Molasses – I like Plantation Blackstrap Unsulphered (at Wholefoods)
Honey – Try Raw Manuka honey for extra health benefits. (at Wholefoods)
Red Vermouth – I used Noilly Pratt Red
Rum – I like Cuban style but Dominican made Matusalem Rum

PRECONDITIONING HERBS
Fill a 700 ml or larger bottle with dry herbs.  Fill bottle to the top with Red Sweet Vermouth.  Insert supplied hemp rope filter and cap bottle.  Shake well and set aside for 3-4 days.  Shake well to loosen sediment, remove rope filter and dispose of liquid (Vermouth) contents only, not the actual herbs or rope filter.

BREW PREPARATION
In a separate container combine and stir: 2 oz. honey, 6 oz. Red Vermouth, 1/2 teaspoon of Molasses, 6 oz. of plain, Mango or Pineapple fruit infused white or a Dominican dark rum. Taste mix.  More rum will strengthen the rum taste and more Red Sweet Vermouth with sweeten and tone down the rum flavor.  Do not use more honey than recommended.

Fill Mamajuana herb bottle with prepared mix, replace rope filter, replace woven sombrero cap and allow bottle to sit undisturbed for a minimum of 48 hours. Note: First batch may be a little strong.  However, each new batch will get smoother.  New batches require minimum of 2 days of fermentation before drinking.  Follow same preparation instructions above for all refills.

Serve at room temperature or over crushed ice.  And, be sure to check out the new Sweet Coquette Collection when it launches mid January.

This entry was posted on Monday, January 4th, 2010 at 2:17 pm and is filed under recipes - drinks. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.