Chouchen

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article does not cite any references or sources. (January 2007) Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed.

Chouchen (bret. chouchenn) is an alcoholic beverage popular in Brittany, France. It is made from the fermentation of honey in water. A form of mead, chouchen normally contains 14% alcohol by volume.

Chouchen is drunk cool, generally as an aperitif. There are different kinds of chouchen in Brittany, some of which are prepared with a mixture of seawater as well as fresh water and honey.

Original Chouchen was made of apple cider and honey, though it is reported that the name has been registered as a trade mark for a version that is not based on cider.

Formerly the effects of chouchen were very violent. Bees would often get into the mixture along with the honey and their venom would diffuse into the beverage.^{[citation needed]} Chouchen could then have a stunning effect as the venom attacked the cerebellum, leading to a loss in balance.^{[citation needed]} This is no longer the case today.