When it comes to booze, you’ve got three categories: brewed beverages (wine, beer, sake), distilled spirits (whiskey, brandy, vodka), and those that mix the two (liquor, vermont). The most popular of these in Asia, however, comes from the beloved oryza sativa (rice plant).
Originating from China’s Yunnan-Guizhou provinces, rice-based-liqueurs (often incorrectly called rice wine), spread throughout the continent, creating new varieties wherever it went.
Each country has its own take on liquor and while some, like Japanese sake, became internationally recognised, others, like Vietnamese ruou, are on the precipice of the world’s stage.
China: Baiju
If we’re kicking off, it’s best to go with Baijiu, China’s predominant liquor and one of Vietnamese ruou’s closest cousins.
Taken from China’s original alcohol, huangjiu, it was shaojiu ‘burnt wine’, before becoming baijiu ‘clear alcohol’. While the distilled version never caught on with China’s aristocratic elite, who preferred the taste of huangjiu, baijiu became the drink of choice for the working man and woman.
It was therefore no surprise that the birth of the People’s Republic of China in 1949 would rise baijiu to celebratory status within the country. While it still struggles to make its way onto bar shelves internationally, thanks to its popularity in China, it is one of the most popular spirits consumed around the world.
Japan: Shochu
You may be wondering why we’ve opted for sake’s lesser known cousin, rather than the macdaddy of Japanese booze itself. In truth, sake is not a spirit, as it’s fermented with yeast rather than distilled – making it closer to beer than vodka. Interestingly, while sake may be the more popular Japanese spirit internationally, shochu is more widely consumed in Japan.
Unlike sake, shochu is made from fermented sweet potato, barley, or rice, falling comfortably into the spirit family. Each of these ingredients will give the shochu a different taste, making sweet potato shochu taste pretty different from its rice-based relative.
Korea: Soju
Though soju may have previously fallen into the category of ‘Asian rice spirit’, thanks to the ban on distilled rice during the Korean War, that’s no longer the case. While the ban was lifted in the 1990s, soju is still made from a range of starchy foods, like potatoes, sweet potatoes, tapioca and, yes, rice.
Known to the Russians as ‘baby vodka’ for the similarity in taste, but a lower alcohol percentage (around 20% ABV, usually), soju is the highest consumed liquor in the world, and is deeply embedded in everything South Korean.
Nepal: Aila
Traditionally served in decorative pitchers in the Newari communities, this Nepali spirit has moved from local tipple to cocktail-influencer in the country’s major cities, like Pokhara and Kathmandu.
Made from kodo, millet or rice and cooked up in brass pots, it takes just one week to ferment to satisfaction. Moonshine skeptics should be aware that, if ever want to test out the quality, simply set it alight; the best brews will burn a deep blue.
Like many Asian spirits, aila is deeply rooted in Nepalese culture and is at the root of the Newari feasts, and often the prime offering to the Newari gods and goddesses. A potent liquor, you’ll know you’ve had a shot of aila as it courses down your throat and into your intestines!
Thailand: Lao khao
Don’t be surprised if you’ve not heard of Thailand’s answer to rice spirits before, in truth, lao khao is by far the underdog of the Asian spirit community.
While Thailand may be known these days as a partier’s dream holiday, the country itself has never had much of a drinking community, preferring a drink in a party situation, rather than having it alongside dinner.
These days, alongside lao khao, or ‘white spirit’, you’ll find a range of distilled concoctions, from distilled sugarcane, with one brand making up 70% of spirits sold in Thailand each year, to smaller brands that make liquor from coconut flowers, potatoes and bananas.
India: Feni
While we may say India in the subheading, what we really mean is Goa, as feni made outside of Goa is legally not feni.
While we may say India in the subheading, what we really mean is Goa, as feni made outside of Goa is legally not feni.
Like many spirits, feni has humble beginnings, drunk in shots by labourers after a hard days work. It has since escalated, and you’ll now find feni lining the shelves of fancy cocktail bars in the U.S.
According to connoisseurs, however, mass-production is slowly degrading the spirit, and more importantly, the complex flavours of feni, and you’ll still find the best product at home in small batches in Goa.
Vietnam: Ruou
Ruou (pronounces zeo) has been the go-to alcohol in Vietnam since the 14th century, traditionally homebrewed by pig farmers. These days this rich and complex liquor can be found everywhere in Vietnam, from blue plastic stools on the side of the road to becoming a key ingredient on the shelves of mixologists. Asian tipples
At Son Tinh, we’re bringing ruou into the 21st century, using western-style distilling techniques to accentuate the flavours, and removing the toxic elements, for a unique liquor deserving of the world’s stage.
Philippines: Lambanog
On the more potent side of spirits, this ‘coconut vodka’ fermented from the coconut or nipa palm sap yields the alcohol content of up to 45 % ABV after first distillation and 83% after the second.
Asian tipples
The history of this quite controversial beverage is deeply rooted in the Filipino culture predating colonial times: Tuba, the ancestor of this drink, is a native palm wine that was widely consumed for recreation and was also used in religious rituals by Babylon shamans. The 15th-century Spanish colonial rule brought distillation technologies to derive liquor from Tuba and brought it closer to the modern version of what we recognize today. Asian tipples
Lambanog has a clear to milkier color and is usually served pure or with traditional flavoring of raisins, though modern distilleries market new flavors like mango, pineapple, and berries to appeal to a wider market. Asian tipples
When purchasing this liquor always opt for bottles that are FDA-approved and properly sealed. Unsanitary Lambagog that hasn’t passed appropriate health and safety inspection tends to have toxic levels of methanol as well as other impurities, that can be fatal and have resulted in relatively high death rates annually.
Laos: Lao-Lao
Also known as rice whiskey. Despite the way it’s written, these are in fact two different words pronounced with different tones that literally translate to Laotian alcohol.
This ubiquitous, home-brewed sticky rice moonshine can be found in nearly every household of any village in the lowland river valleys or in the higher altitudes of Laotian mountains. For centuries Laotians have been fermenting and distilling sticky rice to make it. These days, pouring some Lao-Lao at the end of the family meal has almost become a ritual, and as a gesture of warm hospitality, hosts will often bring out a bottle to treat their guests when they arrive.
The taste will vary depending on the alcohol content, but it’s generally sweet and slightly yeasty like Japanese sake. Sometimes, It’s added to local beer to make it boozier. You’ll also come across bottles of Lao-Lao with preserved snakes or scorpions inside sold in villages, not for the faint-hearted. Asian tipples
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