This is the first in what will be a regular series of posts on the strange alcoholic beverages that Renee and I encounter on our travels and bouts of drinking that might provide some entertainment for the few reading. Before I get into the first of these encounters, I’d like to write a little in the way of explanation.
As you may or may not know, we have no fixed time period for our travels. We have a certain amount of money that we are willing to part with and once it is gone, we’ll be headed back home. We’ve established a budget of $32 a day, which is more than sufficient to travel with minimal comforts. However, anywhere that we can cut costs to come in under our daily budget means a longer trip. With the low cost of living in the countries we are planning to visit, saving a few dollars a day could add weeks to our trip in no time.
As such we have not been drinking much during our travels. Not only is sobriety easier on our collective purse, but it is also more conducive to early mornings and long bumpy bus rides without my head in a bag. Nevertheless I consider it my duty to try what spirits the world has to offer for you dear reader, if not to satisfy my own curiosity. Luckily, with a bit of persuasion I can usually get Renee to partake as well.
As such we have not been drinking much during our travels. Not only is sobriety easier on our collective purse, but it is also more conducive to early mornings and long bumpy bus rides without my head in a bag. Nevertheless I consider it my duty to try what spirits the world has to offer for you dear reader, if not to satisfy my own curiosity. Luckily, with a bit of persuasion I can usually get Renee to partake as well.
Which brings us to Tawau, a sweltering, rat infested hole on the east coast of Malaysian Borneo. Unfortunately this small city was not representative of the many wonderful places that we had previously visited in our month long journey through the area. The city had little to offer us outside of…it had absolutely nothing to offer us. What was worse was that due to holidays, we were trapped there for five days as we awaited the opportunity to get our Indonesian visa. With little to do besides teach ourselves new card games, I thought it would be a perfect time to find some arrack and spend the night drinking and playing Gin.
I left Renee in the hotel one morning as she was unwilling to brave the heat, and set off to take some pictures. As a secondary goal I decided to check every grocery store that I passed for arrack. Tawau is in the state of Sabah which is mostly Muslim. While traveling in a society centered around Islamic law has been interesting, availability of alcohol is not one of its strong suits. After several fruitless attempts, I entered a grimy grocery store with an ancient Chinese proprietor that looked as if he could sell me a Gremlin if I was in need.
After sifting through a shelf full of dusty bottles, I found the bottle for me. Golden Hammer! Some go for more pastoral, folksy names in their liquors. Not me! The name said “Drinking me will be akin to being bludgeoned by a tool made of precious metals!” Literally smashed? Only time would tell. Arbor Mist indeed!
Victorious, I headed back to the Hotel Soon Yi where we had been holed up for the past three days. Unfortunately, Renee did not share my enthusiasm for shiny blunt objects. “It smells too sweet.” Arrack is usually distilled from palms or sugarcane. It is usually served as an aperitif abroad, but as far as I can tell here in Malaysia, it is served whenever time needs to be passed. With no refrigeration available, I gave the bottle a position of honor on my pillow, directly in the path of the A/C (also a rarity) and left it to chill for a few hours.
After a delicious dinner at Curry House, it was time to get down to business. As the time drew near, Renee’s protests grew louder and more frequent. She was out of practice and needed some coaxing. After lamenting the fact that I would have to drink alone, she caved and we broke out the cards for a game Gin.
The ratio of our first drink was 1 part arrack 3 parts water. I had mistakenly identified our arrack as arak, a drink distilled from anise that’s popular in Eastern Europe and the Middle East and this was the recommended way to drink the latter. On first sip I thought it was a tasty beverage, but Renee thought it was much too sweet. I think she had prepared herself not to like it, but only she knows for sure. We both agreed that it tasted a lot like brandy, which we’re not crazy about. On our second drink we both felt better about the taste and so we upped our proportions for the third. This was Renee’s breaking point and she opted out of further drinking. Determined to do the research I continued on for three more drinks. Afterward I stumbled out to take some pictures and meet some locals, a bit anticlimactic I know, but at that point in our stay any stimulus was welcome.
After a delicious dinner at Curry House, it was time to get down to business. As the time drew near, Renee’s protests grew louder and more frequent. She was out of practice and needed some coaxing. After lamenting the fact that I would have to drink alone, she caved and we broke out the cards for a game Gin.
The ratio of our first drink was 1 part arrack 3 parts water. I had mistakenly identified our arrack as arak, a drink distilled from anise that’s popular in Eastern Europe and the Middle East and this was the recommended way to drink the latter. On first sip I thought it was a tasty beverage, but Renee thought it was much too sweet. I think she had prepared herself not to like it, but only she knows for sure. We both agreed that it tasted a lot like brandy, which we’re not crazy about. On our second drink we both felt better about the taste and so we upped our proportions for the third. This was Renee’s breaking point and she opted out of further drinking. Determined to do the research I continued on for three more drinks. Afterward I stumbled out to take some pictures and meet some locals, a bit anticlimactic I know, but at that point in our stay any stimulus was welcome.
Arrack was not really my type of drink but within that qualification it wasn’t so bad. Renee wasn’t feeling it. It scored as follows.
Brad Renee
Cost-$5 for a liter-8 points 8 points
Taste-6 points too sweet for me 4.2 points-much too sweet
Effectiveness-45% 7.5 not bad not available due to lack of commitment
Misc.Bonus-10 points for packaging. Violent! 3 points for a high alcohol content
Stay tuned for our review of arak’s cheaper, sluttier cousin!
-Brad-
1 comment:
We've since tried some arrack in Indonesia. It was clear, and came to us in black plastic bags. I preferred the taste of this clear arrack, and actually kind of enjoyed it.
Post a Comment