Mmm... dead baby rattlesnake vodka

A Texas man is facing charges for selling liquor without a license after he was found peddling bottles of vodka containing dead baby rattlesnakes.

Bob Popplewell, who runs "Bayou Bob's Brazos River Rattlesnake Ranch" tourist attraction west of Fort Worth, was believed to be selling the vodka in the Asian community, where snakes are seen having aphrodisiac properties, state authorities said.

Popplewell faces misdemeanour charges for not having a liquor license but will not be charged over the 10-inch (25-cm) baby snakes in the bottles.

This type of preparation is not unheard of in other parts of the world. For instance:

In some of East Asia, parts of snakes and other animals are thought to have medicinal qualities and are used to make soups, powders and other preparations. In Vietnam, for example, the serpents are added to bottles of rice whisky and wine.

Still, I imagine local law enforcement in San Antonio will not exactly be tripping over itself to steal this stuff from the evidence locker. Sad to imagine those baby snakes gave their lives just to have that elixir dumped down the drain - oh the injustice!