THIS ISN'T YOUR DAD'S MAMAJUANA

BY Led Black (@Led_Black)

I remember when I was kid, growing up in Washington Heights, my dad would keep his Mamajuana bottle stashed behind the living room sofa. That bottle was an object of sheer fascination for me. When my dad came home drunk and was unaware of my peeping, I would see him, as he gently caressed the bottle like a baby, he’d take a sip for tasting purposes and then adding the necessary but mysterious ingredients, he would, just as quickly, put the bottle away. For him, Mamajuana was serious business. It was a kind of alcohol alchemy. The bottle itself looked like a biology project. It was filled with a murky, brownish liquid and various twigs and herbs. It resembled a mini-ecosystem. Being a child, I thought it was some sort of brujeria thing, that my dad was some kind of brujo (witch doctor), which might explain why I didn’t dare disobey my dad as a kid. That man’s word was law in my house. Anyway, when his little concoction was just right, it would bring a smile to his face. On the day I finally mustered the courage to give the darn thing a taste for myself; I took an outrageously long swig of it and ended up almost puking and dropped, and subsequently smashed, the entire bottle on the floor. Needless to say, my dad was not a happy camper – and neither was I. Over the years, I have come to appreciate a good Mamajuana, the problem is that since Mamajuana has been, essentially, a homemade product, what you get when you drink Mamajuana can be a toss-up ranging from the sub par to the sublime. That is no longer the case; The Original MamaJuana is the result of the marriage of old school Dominican tradition with state-of-the-art facilities and methods. The Original MamaJuana is just as good on the rocks as it is with other accoutrements and garnishes. Come see for yourself, this Sunday, November 21^st at Liquid Skin Studio (165 Sherman Ave) from 5PM to 11PM, the wonders of this luxurious libation. Salud!!!

RSVP: [email protected]

Check out our interview with Liquid Skin Studio owner, Miguel Moronta: http://bit.ly/TheUC-LSS

[youtube= https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=86JwSiKIuhA]