raisins in gin to relieve pain
 

One of my relatives reported the following after visiting a retirement home:
"Anyway, was with a room full of srs. yesterday & one said that he used white raisins & soaked them for several days in gin, keeping them in the frig, then ate 9 each day. His pain & flexibility were much improved. Said he'd done it for a long time & others in the room agreed that it worked for them also."
Anybody heard of such a thing, and have any idea of the mechanism at work here, other than the placebo effect?
Electron

Snopes usually has an accurate take on things like this ..

http://www.snopes.com/medical/homecure/raisins.asp