Drink 113: Frankie Say

I read an article today about the hot new trend in beverages, relaxation drinks. These drinks are the yin to energy drinks’ yang. They have names like iChill and Dream Water and usually contain some herbs or other supplements that supposedly have calming or sleep-inducing effects. The CEO of one of the companies says these drinks are "a positive alternative to reaching for a bottle of pills or a six-pack of beer." We here at TBIAW tend to get defensive when people take pot-shots at alcohol. Our position on bottles of pills is still under consideration.

The orange may
be a tad large

The beverage the aforementioned CEO’s company makes is called “Drank”. According to their web site, Drank contains valerian root, rose hips, and melatonin. They also helpfully provide links with more information about each of those ingredients. The melatonin link states that “melatonin products are not approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Since melatonin products are not regulated by a government agency, their purity, safety and effectiveness can't be guaranteed.” Wait, what?

Next up is valerian root. Apparently valerian root helps those who suffer from “anxiety; restlessness; insomnia; mental strain; lack of concentration; excitability; stress; chronic headaches or migraines; nervous stomach cramps; bladder control issues; chronic pain, menopause; and the discomfort, and emotional distress which may occur with menstruation.” Holy crap, that sounds great. I definitely get stressed when I am menstruating and would love some help with that. I was hoping to learn more about valerian root at the link that Drank provided, but there isn’t anything on that page that even mentions it. I’m too lazy to click all the links on that page and search for info.


Finally, it contains rose hips. The Drank link goes to BodyBuilding.com, my first choice in medical advice. According to BodyBuilding.com, rose hip has no known side effects. Using AOL, I heard about another site called WebMD. WebMD says “Rose hip can cause some side effects such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, heartburn, stomach cramps, fatigue, headache, inability to sleep, and others. Inhaling rose hip dust can cause an allergic reaction in some people.” I have heard both sides and am not sure which to believe. I will wait to see what side of the issue Donald Trump takes and then I will choose. The opposite.

Also wants to know "is it safe"

Even though in 2010 the FDA sent a letter to the manufacturer of Drank that said melatonin is an "unapproved food additive" and not "generally recognized as safe” it is not my place to judge. After all, I am not a doctor. For all I know the stuff works great and is perfectly safe. Plus, you will undoubtedly look like a badass walking around with your purple Drank can. And then you will sleep like a baby.

Here at TBIAW, we have our own drink we use to relax and it is called the Gentle Ben. You know it will be relaxing. After all, it has “Gentle” right in the name so it is already sending a soothing message. It also has vodka, tequila, and gin, all of which contain alcohol. Alcohol is known to cause relaxation when consumed in moderate quantities. After drinking it, I can confirm that I was pretty relaxed after one of these. After two I might be pretty sleepy. As far as taste, it was pretty strong even though it had orange juice to balance the alcohol. Mrs. Bottle thought it tasted just like a really strong Screwdriver. At first I agreed with her, but after a few sips I could definitely taste both the gin and the tequila. If you decide to make this drink, I would recommend using quality liquors since they provide the majority of the flavor. Just don’t drank too much of it.

Overall Rating for the Gentle Ben

Taste: 4

Presentation: 4 – Saved by the garnishes

Ease of Preparation: 3 – Done in by the garnishes

Drinks Until Blackout: 6– 20% Alcohol

Ingredients

1 oz Gin

1 oz Tequila

1 oz Vodka

Orange Juice