Now the idea of a drink with the name Front End Lifter conjures up many thoughts that must be left to the imagination. But imagination rightly plays into this drink as you will see.
Notably, many men claim that without this drink, their "horizontal endeavors" would be an exercise in futility. Imagine that…Huh? Well don’t be alarmed that few would let you in on the secret of Front End Lifter’s contribution to any such personal private matter, if you will.
Because "lifting," or the lack thereof, is not a talked-about subject…you know what I mean. And men would only assure you that a massive intake of Front End Lifter daily or weekly is nothing but "bedroom insurance." Well…well…well.
Anyway, as it were, this name is a general term used for any of the several drinks that have more than an ample amount of ground cashews or peanuts, oatmeal, tiger bone wine, and Irish moss.
The taste and texture of this drink will vary from person to person and city to city. But the truth is there is no one drink that’s called Front End Lifter...believe it. I have had many Jamaican drinks that were supposedly the real thing, but I can’t agree. I’ll tell you why.
A few years ago I was in Brooklyn, New York, and met some of my old friends from back home in a "juice shop" that was the talk of the town. We met at about 3:30 p.m. that Saturday evening.
Crowded with men from the Caribbean playing dominoes and "juicing up" for the night, this little haunt carried its weight with local entertainment and the like. As such, the only female in the store was a buxom young woman in her twenties whose clothes were one size too small for her and revealed some noticeable contours …it goes with the territory - she works there. Of course I stuck out like a sore thumb because I am not a regular.
My friend, Peter, told me to order from the hand written menu board hanging on the west wall. I read the menu and tried to decide which one of these "juice" to have.
There were striking titles like, The Hammer, Tear Drawers, Tan Pon it Long, Rod of Correction, Easy Rider, and more names too high testosterone to mention. I could not decide, so Peter said to the brown-eyed man over the counter with the peculiar stare, "Give him the special."
And the "juice engineer" responded, " mek ‘im ‘tan up ‘trong."
I was in my mid-twenties then, how much stronger am I going to get, I thought to myself.
You see, any of these drinks could have ended up with the name Front End Lifter, if you get my drift. However, the drink he made for me was very good though. Unfortunately, I never did ask him for the recipe…that would have been forward.
Quite recently I went into a "natural juice" Jamaican shop and bought a "Lifter,"because that’s what the label says. The taste is different from the blend I am used to. Not bad just different. But then again, there was no "Front End" on this drink.
In the old days no one ever heard of Front End Lifter. The only "tonic" that was mentioned was roots or Irish moss.
So if you're up for a little adventure and choose to go off the beaten path in your drink quest, you can make your own Front End Lifter following this recipe:
Front End Lifter
Ingredients:
Method:
Put the oatmeal into the electric blender and turn switch to puree. This will make the oatmeal into a powder. Remove the oatmeal powder and add it to the soymilk. Mix oatmeal and soymilk together and let it sit in the refrigerator overnight.
The next day, add Irish moss and cashews to electric blender and puree mixture until cashews are finely chopped and smooth. Next add the oatmeal and soymilk mix to the blender then add the sugar, molasses, and wheat germ.
Blend until smooth then add other ingredients. Add some crushed ice and blend for another minute.
Serve in 8 oz. Cups.
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