Clear village rice wine, distilled in Cambodia in improvised oil-drum stills and drunk neat at gatherings. It is cheap, strong and entirely informal, sold from plastic containers rather than bottles.
Unlicensed distilling is illegal in Cambodia and almost everywhere else, and improvised stills without a proper cut are the documented cause of the methanol poisoning outbreaks the country reports periodically.
What goes into it
- cooked rice
- a starter cake of mould and yeast
- water
How it is made
Cooked rice is mixed with a starter cake carrying a mould that converts starch to sugar and yeasts that ferment it, and left in a covered vessel for about a week. The fermented mash is then run through a still — commonly an oil drum with a condenser pipe cooled in water — and the distillate collected.
How long it takes: about a week to ferment, then a day to distil
How it is eaten
Neat in small glasses at weddings, funerals and village gatherings.
Frequently asked questions
What is Sraa Sor?
Sraa Sor is a wine & spirit from Cambodia: clear village rice wine distilled in oil-drum stills, drunk neat at gatherings.
How is Sraa Sor made?
Cooked rice is mixed with a starter cake carrying a mould that converts starch to sugar and yeasts that ferment it, and left in a covered vessel for about a week. The fermented mash is then run through a still — commonly an oil drum with a condenser pipe cooled in water — and the distillate collected. It takes about a week to ferment, then a day to distil.
Can I make Sraa Sor at home?
No, and the atlas gives no method for it. Unlicensed distilling is illegal in Cambodia and almost everywhere else, and improvised stills without a proper cut are the documented cause of the methanol poisoning outbreaks the country reports periodically.
What goes into Sraa Sor?
Cooked rice, a starter cake of mould and yeast, water.
How is Sraa Sor eaten?
Neat in small glasses at weddings, funerals and village gatherings.
