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The Fabled Pour
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Country

Laos

I have one sourced drink connected to Laos. The label on each card says how: where it began, what the country is known for, what people drink there, or where the origin is disputed.

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Laos on the world map. Boundaries are generalized Natural Earth data.

Drinks of Laos

Signature drinks and regional ones, with the evidence behind each. A drink marked non-alcoholic has no alcohol in the traditional serve.

  • Illustration of Lao Hai (Jar Rice Wine): hazy pale rice wine, only the surface visible at the mouth of the jar, in an earthenware jar with a pair of bamboo straws in its mouth.

    Lao Hai (Jar Rice Wine)

    IconicRegional drink

    Rice-based alcohol brewed in large earthenware jars (hai). Water is added to the jar to maintain the liquid level as the drink is sipped, and drinkers share the jar through long bamboo straws.

    The name joins lao, meaning alcohol, with hai, the jar or pot. Wikipedia calls lao hai a less powerful version of lao-lao, the Laotian rice whisky, and says it is especially popular with the Khamu ethnic group in Laos. The sources found give no date.

    Made with: fermented rice, water.

    Confidence: lowEvidence: en.wikipedia.org (opens in a new tab), en.wikipedia.org (opens in a new tab)

Map data: Natural Earth, public domain.