Доминикан Республикасының дәстүрлі сусыны – Мама Хуана

Drink from the Dominican Republic

Mama Juana (or Mamajuana) is a spiced alcoholic beverage made by infusing a mixture of rum, red wine, and honey with tree bark and herbs. The taste is similar to port wine and the color is a deep red. It originates in the Dominican Republic. The specific herbs that make up Mamajuana were originally prepared as a herbal tea by the native Taíno; post Columbus, alcohol was added to the recipe.

The term Mama Juana has the same French origins as the English word demijohn, which refers to a large squat bottle with a short narrow neck, usually covered in wicker. It is thought to be derived from the French Dame Jeanne (Lady Jane), a term still used to describe this type of bottle. In the Spanish speaking countries, Dame Jeanne was transformed into "damajuana", or Dama Juana and later, in the Dominican Republic, into Mama Juana (mother Jane). There are many different variations of recipes to make Mamajuana, since the name refers to the container or bottle originally used to prepare and store the maceration, rather than to the finished product itself.

Mama Juana juices is considered one of the first distilled spirits in the Americas, even before rum, considering that early Spanish explorers mixed European alcohol with the Taínos' herbal tea; this combination created the first Mama Juana. During the dictatorship of Rafael Trujillo, the sale of Mama Juana was prohibited, except by those with a medical license. Mama Juana was popularized as a local herbal medicine and aphrodisiac in the 1950s by Jesus Rodriguez, a native of San Juan de la Maguana. Rodriguez would commute with others in trucks to Barahona, Azua, Pedernales, and many other provinces in the Dominican Republic to collect the stems needed to create the medicinal drink. He would reportedly use carne ce carey (leatherback turtle meat), which was the active ingredient that made the aphrodisiac. Rodriguez eventually would be known under the moniker "Mama Juana" by many of the locals, as well as Tatico Henriquez and other merengue típico artists, such as Trio Reynoso and El Cieguito De Nagua, who were close friends of Rodriguez. Another notable Mama Juana drinker was Porfirio Rubirosa, the famous Dominican playboy, polo player, race car driver, and secret agent. Rubirosa was famous for his sexual prowess, and was known to be an avid mama juana drinker, as mentioned in his biography, The Last Playboy.