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Fictional stories are great. “We are sitting with friends in the bath and remember the last vacation. We were just in Thailand. God, what a country. Sun, sea, fruits, beautiful girls! We had a goal not only to lie on the beach to the top with bellies, but to get the maximum impressions and emotions. And Thai food and alcohol will definitely not leave you without emotions. I ordered myself some kind of burda with vegetables and shrimp. I thought I would climb the wall, so sharp! And they laugh at me like children. But the spicies say it’s not spicy, that is.
I was already afraid to order alcohol, but what can you do for the sake of art and readers. Nothing, he remained alive, but something even liked it!
Thailand is a wonderful country with an exotic culture for a Russian person. How many emotions our tourists bring from this country! What types of recreation are not offered by Thais to their guests.
On vacation, you can relax, allow yourself to skip a glass or two of local alcohol. But is it safe to drink it and which one is better to choose so that the rest is not hopelessly spoiled? Today I will talk about the important nuances of choosing alcoholic beverages in this country.
Features of buying and drinking alcohol in Thailand
Thailand is famous for inexpensive and high-quality alcohol. You can buy strong drinks almost always and almost everywhere. Cheap alcohol is sold in local chain stores Tesco Lotus, Makro, Tops.
But on the beach they make a tangible markup on drinks, and, of course, alcohol is an order of magnitude more expensive in bars, clubs, and restaurants.
In Thailand, the sale of alcoholic beverages is prohibited from 00:00 to 11:00 and from 14:00 to 17:00. However, this rule is followed mainly only by large supermarkets, and in small shops you can buy a bottle of strong drink almost around the clock.
There is no ban on drinking alcohol on the street, but I will say right away that there are places where you can’t drink alcohol: gas stations, pharmacies, medical and educational institutions, temples, recreation parks.
A tourist drinking alcohol in the wrong place will most likely get off with a remark. Usually everything is limited to this, but you should not abuse the loyalty of the local population.
What alcoholic drinks are considered traditional in Thailand
In Thailand, rice is not only eaten. In most traditional alcoholic drinks of the country, it is used as the main raw material:
- Sato – Thai carbonated rice wine, resembles champagne, but the taste is quite specific;
- Lao Khao – national moonshine, which is driven from rice gluten and sugar cane or sugar palm juice;
- Yadong is a traditional Thai tincture made with spices, herbs and even snakes, spiders and reptiles. Lao Khao is usually used as the basis. It is recommended to try such tinctures in good bars and restaurants, and not in eateries.
Strong drinks in Thailand
The leader among the strong alcohol of the country is definitely Thai rum Sang Som – an inexpensive, but high-quality and soft-tasting 40% drink made from sugar cane. You can buy it almost everywhere in bottles with a capacity of 0,3 and 0,7 liters.
Sang Som enjoys well-deserved popularity among Russian tourists and it is he who is most often brought home as a souvenir.
Another popular strong drink in Thailand is 35% HongThong whiskey. The taste of the drink is a little tougher, most often it is diluted with cola, soda or energy drinks.
LaoKhao is a local cheap alcohol made from rice. Its strength varies from 28 to 40%. In local markets and bars, tourists are offered tinctures with snakes, spiders and other living creatures based on this rice drink.
Low alcohol drinks
The most popular weak alcohol in the kingdom is beer. The Thai foamy drink is quite strong, so you should be careful when drinking it in a hot climate. Locals prefer to add pieces of ice to beer to keep it cold.
All beer produced in Thailand belongs to light varieties and it is almost impossible to find a dark drink in the country.
The most popular brands of beer:
- Singha (lion) – slightly bitter pleasant light beer with a sour aftertaste;
- Chang (elephant) – the cheapest and most popular beer with a bitter, hoppy taste;
- Leo (leopard) – a light refreshing drink that tastes good, perfectly quenches thirst;
- Tiger (tiger) – a refreshing beer with a mild taste. Not the most popular drink among tourists, but also cheap.
Thai wine, unfortunately, is inferior in quality to imported ones. If you appreciate good drinks, choose trusted producers from Italy, France, etc. Among locally produced wines, the following brands can be noted:
- Siam Sato is a special variety of Thai rice wine;
- Monsoon Valley – is considered the best of the wine brands produced in Thailand;
- Fresco – fruit wines from berries and apples.
Cocktails
In the bars and restaurants of Thailand, you will be offered a wide variety of different alcoholic cocktails with exotic names and ingredients. In addition to the world-famous Mojito, Pina Colada, Daiquiri, Margarita, here you should try:
- Mai Tai is a cocktail of light and dark rums. In the country, it is served with the addition of orange juice.
- Singapura Sling is a spectacular Asian cocktail with many ingredients. The base is cherry brandy and gin.
- Long Island – Unlike the classic drink with Coca-Cola, in Thailand you can try this cocktail with iced tea.
The choice of alcoholic beverages in Thailand is very large and it is up to you to decide what is worth trying and what is not. What interesting drinks from Asia do you know?