Rare spirits from China, Kazakhstan, Mongolia and Russia

We will be travelling in China, Mongolia, Russia and Kazakhstan this summer. Any rare spirit I should pick up that may not be available in Chicago? Any rec would be most appreciated.Thank you.

The best vodka I have ever tasted came from Mongolia. It must be the water (and beats the hell out of fermeted Yak milk). I would love to see some real Kvas. There are variou Ersatz types sold here, the closet to real being a brand from Torronto that actually has bits of bread floating in it. But I would love to see some of the real stuff like grandma used to brew. Be careful though, the bottles will explode. Be sure to let some of the Co2 off periodically. Another thing that comes to mind is Georgian Congac. Lately some has been available locally, but as a kid my family hosted many Soviet physicists, and they invariably brought bottles of Georgian Congnac. The bottles were crooked and the poorly printed labels were pasted askew. The bottles were sealed with corks covered with wax drippings. They looked totally bootleg, but the Congnac was stellar. In china there is a liqour called gau liang. It is made from sorghum, and is the Chinese equivalent of Meszcal, gauranteed to blow your head off, and possibly the worst hangover ever. In China they sell lots of booze with lizards spiders and snakes in the bottles, they all have specific medicinal purposes, but make for interesting gifts.

d4v3 wrote: In China they sell lots of booze with lizards spiders and snakes in the bottles, they all have specific medicinal purposes, but make for interesting gifts.

I bought some rice wine with scorpions and snakes in it, thinking "LTH Holiday Party grab bag gift," but this could be just the kind of gift that makes people angry, so maybe I'll keep it, but I doubt I'll drink it (unless I can figure out what it's good for...but I'm guessing it's basically just good for a joke).

David Hammond wrote:

d4v3 wrote: In China they sell lots of booze with lizards spiders and snakes in the bottles, they all have specific medicinal purposes, but make for interesting gifts.

I bought some rice wine with scorpions and snakes in it, thinking "LTH Holiday Party grab bag gift," but this could be just the kind of gift that makes people angry, so maybe I'll keep it, but I doubt I'll drink it (unless I can figure out what it's good for...but I'm guessing it's basically just good for a joke).

We sampled a coconut brandy in the Mekong delta that had lots of snakes and birds and other creepy crawly things in it. Our guide told us that it was generally reserved "for men" and gave us a sly wink and said that the women enjoyed it when the men drank it. After a well timed comedic pause, he explained that this was because...

the men would pass out and not bother them.