2011-08-17

Drinking in Thailand

The drinking age in Thailand is 20. Not many tourists realise that when they first come gallivanting over here fresh out of school or university. Fortunately for students and young travellers, the laws are rarely enforced unless there are hints of trouble brewing. When the elections were held recently alcohol was banned for the entire time the polls were open which gives you an indication as to how the Thai people treat the drug.

Once you get past the age barrier and some severe looks from the police in certain areas, then enjoying a drink is a Thai national past time. There is more to choose from then you think so I have tried to break this post down into easy to read sections which will help any traveller looking to enjoy a drink whilst in Thailand.

Beers

The largest city in Thailand is host to the core business community, street performers, an incredible night market and copious amounts of alcohol guaranteed to satisfy the appetite of any traveller. Let’s go through some of the beverages available.

Singha Beer

This is the leading beer product in Thailand and no doubt you will have probably already sampled it in a Thai restaurant back home. Brewed locally in Bangkok by the Boon Rawd Brewery Company Ltd, Singha beer is the most popular beer in the country. A premium lager, Singha is special brewed using barley malt and hops. Designed to compliment Thai food the beer has an alcohol content of 6% so watch yourself before drinking too many!

Chang Beer

More alcoholic then the Singha, Chang is frowned upon by many locals as being nothing more then a cheap brew designed to get you drunk quickly and not much else. It lacks the light taste of Singha, but more then makes up for it with the 6.4% alcohol content. Chang has a bitter taste and darker colour then it’s more popular brother but the get-drunk-quickly factor combined with the low price makes it a traveller’s first choice when the money is running low. As I said, many of the high class locals turn their noses up at it, but it does pack a punch and will leave you with a silly smile on your face for the rest of the evening. Just make sure you drink plenty of water before you pass out – the hangover from a Chang beer can be harsh and unpleasantly effective for even the strongest of stomachs.

Beer Lao

Hailing from the Thailand’s neighbouring island of Laos, ‘Beer Lao'is a delicious golden brown beer that had me smacking my lips the first time I tasted it. At 5% alcoholic content, Beer Lao is a more suitable alternative to the Singha or Chang varieties, particularly if you have an early start in the morning. You should take advantage of tasting it whilst you’re in Thailand as it isn’t available much outside of South East Asia.

Tiger Beer

Again one that you’ve no doubt tasted back home from the supermarket or in a restaurant, Tiger has a deeper taste then the Singha or Lao varieties. Widely available I would recommend avoiding Tiger unless there is nothing else available. The taste is no different to the bottles you can get back home, and you are after all trying to sample new things aren’t you?

Heineken

Yes this isn’t a joke. The famous beer originally from Germany is to be found all over Thailand. So why have I included it in this list? Well for a start the Heineken you find in Thailand isn’t the same as the Heineken you can find in the west. It is brewed locally and tastes somewhat different. Not too strong at 5% alcoholic content, Heineken is one of the most expensive beers in Thailand, yet one of the cleanest. Only drink if you’re still suffering from the night before or nothing else is available.

Spirits

Now we come to the good stuff! After you’ve had your fill of beer the next thing you’ll want to definitely sample are the wacky spirits that Thailand has available. One of the most popular evening activities in Thailand is to sit in front of someone’s house with a group of friends and share several glasses of ice topped up with some of the local spirits. Coming in all shapes and sizes (literally!), Thai spirits can be deadly if you don’t know what you’re ordering. Also don’t forget that public drunkenness is frowned upon in Thailand, so pay attention and remember this guide!

Sang Som Rum

Sang Som is Thailand’s most popular liquor. Distilled from sugarcane and exported to more than 20 countries worldwide, you may have had it before. This 40% alcohol rum is often seen in plastic buckets mixed with Red Bull and cola at beach parties, but most drink it in bars or in front of a house with a glass of ice and coke.

Sang Tip Whiskey

Sang Thip fans like it cheap and fairly nasty. Sang Thip is a whiskey that’s a little rough. There are many rumours insisting that hallucinogenic ingredients are added for a little extra kick...but those are just rumours. Similar to Soju in Korea, Sang Thip drinkers habitually lose memory at some point while drinking a lot of it, hence the aforementioned drug rumours. To be honest though, drinking a lot of any kind of alcohol causes memory loss. Between 40-50%, just be careful when having a few glasses of this.

Mekhong Whiskey

Mekhong looks like whiskey, but smells like something from a carpenter’s shop. The only way to stomach this is with Coke unless you’re insane. To be honest you might be better off getting a johnnie walker black label instead of drinking this! Mekhong is named after a river that flows between Thailand and Cambodia and locals joke that the river is roughly the same colour. As Mekhong is more like rum, reports of people going blind from drinking too much are not exaggerations. I urge caution when trying this!

So there you are; a rough guide to the many wild and wonderful forms of alcohol Thailand has to offer. I hope it helps. Just follow the advice and you should be fine and remember: public drunkenness is frowned upon by the locals so try not to stagger about the streets of Bangkok completely inebriated.

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