Potent homemade rice whisky poured at every Lao celebration and offered to guests and to spirits alike. Bottles are sometimes steeped with snakes, scorpions or roots, which is a separate practice from the distilling.
Unlicensed distilling is illegal in Laos and almost everywhere else, and a village still without a proper cut leaves methanol and other volatiles in the bottle.
What goes into it
- glutinous rice
- a starter cake of moulds and yeasts
- water
How it is made
Steamed glutinous rice is mixed with a crushed starter cake carrying both a mould that converts starch to sugar and yeasts that ferment it, and left in a covered jar for about a week. The mash is then distilled in a simple village still, often a drum with a bamboo condenser cooled by running water.
How long it takes: about a week to ferment, then a day to distil
How it is eaten
Neat in small glasses at weddings, baci ceremonies and gatherings, with the first pour given to the spirits.
History
Rice spirit distilled in villages and offered to guests and spirits; bottles are sometimes steeped with snakes, scorpions or roots.
Frequently asked questions
What is Lao-Lao?
Lao-Lao is a wine & spirit from Laos: potent homemade rice whisky poured at every celebration. Rice spirit distilled in villages and offered to guests and spirits; bottles are sometimes steeped with snakes, scorpions or roots.
How is Lao-Lao made?
Steamed glutinous rice is mixed with a crushed starter cake carrying both a mould that converts starch to sugar and yeasts that ferment it, and left in a covered jar for about a week. The mash is then distilled in a simple village still, often a drum with a bamboo condenser cooled by running water. It takes about a week to ferment, then a day to distil.
Can I make Lao-Lao at home?
No, and the atlas gives no method for it. Unlicensed distilling is illegal in Laos and almost everywhere else, and a village still without a proper cut leaves methanol and other volatiles in the bottle.
What goes into Lao-Lao?
Glutinous rice, a starter cake of moulds and yeasts, water.
How is Lao-Lao eaten?
Neat in small glasses at weddings, baci ceremonies and gatherings, with the first pour given to the spirits.
