[Sca-cooks] kumiss

[lilinah at earthlink.net]

I hear, or, rather, read lots of comments and speculation on kumiss. 
I gather from the "yuck" comments that some folks are imagining some 
sort of milk wine or milk vodka. Plus the "mare's milk" factor, as 
opposed to cow's milk which is our "standard".

So, i feel compelled to ask:
Has anyone on this list actually drunk kumiss made by Mongolians, not 
by speculating, experimenting SCAdians who never had real Mongolian 
kumiss?

If so, can those people please try to describe the aroma, flavor, 
mouth feel, etc.

As we discussed some time ago, there are milk beverages made by 
yeasts which are slightly alcoholic, sometimes even a bit fizzy, but 
they are not all that odd or yucky - such as the Moroccan 
"buttermilk" i had when i was there - and kefir, which is apparently 
derived also from Central Asian or Steppes culture. So i can imagine 
a range of possible beverages made of fermented milk, but i really 
don't know how kumiss really tastes, feels, etc. And i really want a 
better idea.

Anahita