Spirits to Bring Home: What Indian tourists should buy in Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam & beyond
6 Photos . Updated: 18 Jul 2025, 06:22 AM IST
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From tropical sugarcane rums to Himalayan single malts, South and Southeast Asia are crafting spirits worth checking in your luggage.
1/6Thailand: Chalong Bay RumThailand's craft liquor scene has several delights, and Chalong Bay Rum is one of its brightest stars. Distilled in Phuket by a couple from France, this agricole-style rum is made from Thai sugarcane juice and distilled in a copper still imported from France's Armagnac region. Chalong Bay offersseveral variants, including a classic white rum, spiced rum infused with Thai herbs like lemongrass and kaffir lime, and seasonal flavours such as Thai sweet basil and cinnamon. Chalong Bay's rums are priced between THB 800 to THB 1200 (about
₹ 2,000 to
₹ 3,000), and it is available atretailers across the country.
2/6Sri Lanka: Ceylon ArrackArrack, one of the world's oldest distilled spirits, has been made and enjoyed in South Asia, including southern India, for well over 1000 years. While arrack is banned in Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Karnataka, the Sri Lankans, who still have copious amounts of it, have taken it to another level. Made by fermenting sap from the coconut palm, the liquid is thendouble-distilled and often aged in native halmilla wood casks. The result is a smooth libation with a subtly floral, pleasantly complex taste profile. Modern labels like Ceylon Arrack from Rockland Distilleries have given this traditional drink a contemporary edge. From the same company, youmight also come across Colombo No. 7 Gin, a crisp, cohesive spirit that uses botanicals like curry leaves, cinnamon, and ginger alongside classic juniper. Ceylon Arrack costs about LKR 25,000 (
₹ 7,000) at local stores, while the gin, which makes infrequent appearances at Colombo duty-free, retails for about LKR 17,000 (
₹ 4,800).
3/6Bhutan: K5 Himalayan WhiskyBhutan imports a lot of spirits from India, as well as from other countries, but they also make some interesting stuff of their own. Red Panda, a weiss beer, is one of them, and so is K5, which claims to be the first whisky blended and bottled in the country. Created to commemorate Bhutan's fifth – and current – king Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, the whisky is a blend of Scottish malt, Bhutanese grain spirits, and Himalayan spring water that is aged in ex-bourbon and Sherry casks. K5 retails for about BTN 800–1,200 (
₹ 800–
₹ 1,200) depending on the store and city you purchase it in.
4/6Vietnam: Song Cai Single Malt WhiskyVietnam grows, imports, and consumes a lot of corn — and it's at the heart of Sông Cái 'single malt' whisky. The Hanoi-based distillery sources native corn varieties directly from Vietnamese farmers and uses both malted corn and nixtamalized corn, a traditional method that improvesdigestibility and flavour by soaking the grain in an alkaline solution. The grain mixture is fermented for one to six months, then distilled twice with the solids still present in a fire-heated pot still. The leftover grain is fermented again and distilled once more in a wood-fired alquitar, a traditional still of Spanish-Arab origin. The whisky undergoes a soleramaturation, half of it in ex-bourbon American oak casks seasoned with yellow rice wine, and half with sweet purple rice wine. If all of this sounds interesting – and if you are considering visiting Hanoi – drop a DM at @songcaidistillery to find out specifics.
5/6Indonesia: Keris Single MaltIndonesia is massive. The archipelagic country, which consists of over 17,000 islands, is especially famous for its Batavia Arrack, which is made from molasses in Java. But their first single malt whisky happened fairly recently – in fact, as recently as September last year. Keris Single Malt is made in Bali by the Pt Asti Dhama Adhi Mukti Distillery, and named for the traditional Javanese dagger. The whisky, which comes in an attractive bottle shaped like the namesake dagger, is made from locally sourced barley and matured in a mix of ex-bourbon and sherry casks. A bottle will cost around IDR 1.5–2 million (
₹ 7,500–
₹ 10,000), and it's usually found at upscale liquor stores in Jakarta or Bali.
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