A beer company has made a new product laced with watercress, claiming the unusual beverage may boost men’s sex drives.
The new Watercress Warrior bottles are adorned with the Giant of Cerne - an ancient symbol of fertility - but apparently, that’s not where the drink’s sexual powers end.
According to the makers, watercress is high in vitamins A and B6, which aid “the production of male sex hormones”.
It also contains high levels vitamin C, which they say can “increase count and motility of sperm”, as well as vitamin E, which can supposedly “help the sperm penetrate the egg”.
The Watercress Warrior is the brainchild of The Watercress Company, who teamed up with Cerne Abbas Brewery to make the product.
The resultant beer is a 4.5% ABV light and floral Pilsner which features watercress seed as its key ingredient to provide the unique peppery flavour.
In addition, the beer is made using 1,000 litres of spring water taken from the natural, mineral-rich springs used to grow watercress at the Company’s farm in Waddock, Dorset.
Special Flyer hops selected from the British Hop Institute’s experimental variety programme (and not yet commercially available) have been used to complete the ingredients.
While the beer may sound fun, nutrition consultant Charlotte Stirling-Reed pointed out that you shouldn’t take its claims about sexual benefits too seriously.
“By all means include watercress into your diet. It’s a nutrient-rich food, but when it comes to sex drive, I’m not sure there have been any studies on watercress’ effect,” she told HuffPost UK.
“So I have a few reservations on these claims – especially when you’re consuming it alongside alcohol. Sorry.”
Still, if you fancy trying a bottle, Watercress Warrior will be on sale in selected independent retailers and pubs and from the Watercress Company stand at the Watercress Festival in Alresford, Hampshire, on Sunday 21 May.
Visit The Watercress Company’s website for more details.