This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Not all local spirit-makers are trying to operate within the confines of a globally recognized type of alcohol. Indeed, with local laws only permitting generic “white spirits,” some of our best creations have no international comparisons at all. The result is very strong, rough and earthy on the nose. Quite a contrast from any gin you might be familiar with, it has a distinct sweetness (likely from the cane alcohol) that reminds us of cachaca (Brazilian rum). Who: Malai, Kristall, Niikki and small-batch village products like Chiang Mai’s S-Berry (made from unripened strawberries).

In the mouth: no alcohol burn. Brown sugar, raisins, ginger, and those spicy Christmas gum drops you hated as a child but now find oddly delicious. Fruitcake. The finish comes after the ginger gets done doing its thing, it gets shooed out the door by the raisins, who linger and frolic on the tongue and gums on a slab of fruitcake. Score: including monetary value 6/10. On taste alone, 4/10. Abigail’s Conclusions This is the drink that is almost on a par with Sangsom, and although it is again often given the ‘whisky’ moniker, it is also distilled largely from sugar cane and rice (on a 95/5 percent ratio) to a mere 35% proof. Lao Khao comes in dark brown bottles that look a little like beer bottles, and there are 2 different sizes with a volume of 0.33 litres and the larger 0.625 litres. Hong Thong (translated as ‘golden phoenix’) is another very cheap and cheerful ‘whisky’ from the Thai Beverage Company that also has more ‘H’s than is necessary for the spelling.This cookie is set by Rubicon Project to control synchronization of user identification and exchange of user data between various ad services.

I tired sipping a little of this rum and was surprised to find that it wasn’t too bad. I added my usual cola and found the rum to be a fruity lightly spiced rum. It’s quite distinctive. I’m not sure what goes into the blend but a number of spiced rum producers could certainly learn a thing or two from these guys. So yes it is safe to say that the majority of consumers who drink this stuff (which is usually on a daily basis) remain blissfully unaware of the fact that it plays no small part in the figures for alcohol-related deaths and health issues and that they are in fact abusing alcohol. Despite the fact that this is the Mekhong whiskey to taste it is closer to the classic rum than Sang Som, because it serves as a raw material for molasses from sugar cane (95%) and Thai rice (5%). The manufacturer claims that the composition is also added to a mixture of Thai herbs, spices and plant roots, the recipe of which is kept in the strictest confidence. Alcohol content in Mekhong whiskey – 35%. Compared with SangSom rum, taste of the Mekhong whiskey in my opinion worse, tighter. But this is my opinion and you may think differently, so try for yourself.Rural Thai communities and villages have distilled their own alcohol for decades, and the practice remains commercially legal thanks to the One Tambon One Product scheme set up in 2001 to support local industries.