What is "Jake" Jamaican Ginger Extract

Camel, who helped Jacob get work in the circus, was a drunkard who routinely drank Jake when he couldn’t get anything better, which was more often than not. Eventually, the adulterated beverage causes him to become incapacitated. So exactly what is Jake (Jamaican Ginger Extract)

In 1919 the National Prohibition Act, prohibited the manufacture and sale of alcoholic beverages. Consequently, drugstores became almost the only place where alcohol for drinking could be obtained legally, designated for “Medical use only”

In the 1930s, Jamaican Ginger Extract, was actually a patent medicine with a high alcoholic content that was adulterated. The 160-proof formulation contained in the two-ounce bottle was the equivalent of four shots of whiskey. The unfortunate persons who drank it suffered neural damage which eventually led to the development of a distinctive gait, impotence and more often than not, paralysis. It is estimated that the victims of Jake Leg numbered between 50,000 and 100,000.

The extract of ginger root had been used for self-medication in the United States since the middle of the 19th century. Normally the extract contained 70% to 80% liquid ethanol along with other ingredients packaged in two-ounce bottles. Several drops of the extract were added to a glass of water to aid digestion and to treat a runny nose or even regulate a menstrual flow. The minimum requirement of ginger solids resulted in a fluid that was extremely bitter and difficult to drink which the U.S. Treasury Department hoped would discourage the drinking of it.

Jake, became the poor man’s drink, sold for as little as 25 cents, the product was available at drugstores, groceries and general stores. To try and close this loophole, the Treasury Department increased the amount of ginger required in the extract, so that the liquid would be sufficiently irritating to the throat and stomach that it could not be easily drank. Attempts to slip the regulation led to the use of a number of adulterants, especially castor oil. However, as the cost of castor oil increased, some unscrupulous manufactures looked for other materials that would be less expensive and elude government detection.