Got talking to a thai farmer near Issan the other week who happened to be drinking lao khao with his mate.

 

I wasnt drinking, but the guy said to us that lao khao was best avoided as it contained benzine and proceeded to pour some on the wooden table and ignite it to produce a lovely looking blue flame that looked like a gas burner.

 

So benzine in the lao khao?

Long time understood.

 

Its the other way round they put lao khao (ethanol) in the Benzine
10% 20% and 80% Lao Khao !!

Do a Google search :

 

' Benzene  in soft drinks '

 

Stuff turns up all over the place.

Benzine  and Benzene

 

 

Quote

Is benzene same as gasoline?

Benzene is a hydrocarbon molecule and gasoline is a mixture of hydrocarbons. Naturally, benzene is present in petrochemicals like gasoline. Benzene is added to gasoline, to increase its octane rating. Benzene only has carbon and hydrogen atoms arranged to give a planar structure.

 

https://www.differencebetween.com/difference-between-benzene-and-vs-benzine-2/

Doesn't any alcoholic sprit burn with a blue flame...........Crepe Suzettes flambe-ed!

9 minutes ago, johng said:

Benzine  and Benzene

 

 

 

Thanks, I've learnt something there.

 

I wonder if the Thai farmer in the OP also knew the difference.

2 hours ago, johng said:

Its the other way round they put lao khao (ethanol) in the Benzine
10% 20% and 80% Lao Khao !!

Isn't Lao Khao more expensive than petrol @ Bht 30 a litre.
 

Ethanol burns with a blue flame. Hydrocarbons and benzene burn with a faint yellow flame. The farmer's demonstration only established the Lao Khao was overproof spirit.

The only way to positively establish if Lao Khao is contaminated with hydrocarbons or benzene is laboratory analysis, using a gas chromatograph.

12 minutes ago, wgdanson said:

Isn't Lao Khao more expensive than petrol @ Bht 30 a litre.
 

I think they either subsidise  the lao khao  in the petrol  or tax the drinkable lao khao

the home made lao khoa   can be dangerous  if the distillers didn't get it right and throw out the first 50+ ML  there could be methanol in there which is not good..however the antidote to methanol poising is to drink ethanol ( lao khoa )

Notable that when you used to fill up your car at the garage here you asked for ' Bensin '. ( with your octane of choice )

 

Now its gasohol.

6 minutes ago, Denim said:

Notable that when you used to fill up your car at the garage here you asked for ' Bensin '. ( with your octane of choice )

 

Now its gasohol.

Benzine 95 is still available.

"Benzine"  95  without the lao khoa (ohol)  is still available...but about 10 baht per litre more expensive than Gasohol 95.

Rubbish story.

And the OP does not notice that he has been taken for a ride.

Isan folks making a fool of the farang

40% spirit, warm temperature, evaporating alcohol and it will burn.

Never experienced flambe at the table?

 

1 hour ago, wgdanson said:

Doesn't any alcoholic sprit burn with a blue flame...........Crepe Suzettes flambe-ed!

One had to say it

By theory it should be 50% volume alc. to burn under any conditions.

But  a 40% poured on a table in hot Thailand evaporates quickly and so easy to burn.

Good that it was a clear blue/white flame.

Otherwise reason for concern

It is not that much of a rubbish story.

The alcohol board are afraid to come out & actually ban this killer drink as it sold cheap to the locals 

& who cares about the peasants who drink it & die of liver cancer.

I personally know of 5 great folks who have been hooked on this shit & died (&2 more to come.

Lao Khao is Thais curse because somehow it avoids the correct alcohol tax as well

Even in the village I flatly refuse to drink along with them as they pass the shot glass around.

But I usually take a bottle of scotch with me & happy to share

Just like when we poured brandy over the Christmas pudding ..and lit it ..same blue glow.

3 hours ago, natway09 said:

It is not that much of a rubbish story.

The alcohol board are afraid to come out & actually ban this killer drink as it sold cheap to the locals 

& who cares about the peasants who drink it & die of liver cancer.

I personally know of 5 great folks who have been hooked on this shit & died (&2 more to come.

Lao Khao is Thais curse because somehow it avoids the correct alcohol tax as well

Even in the village I flatly refuse to drink along with them as they pass the shot glass around.

But I usually take a bottle of scotch with me & happy to share

Some villagers I know say scotch is too watery.

Best to partake of real home brew Lau Khao.

Avoiding any confusion that might come up.

(It is not that much of a rubbish story.

The alcohol board are afraid to come out & actually ban this killer drink as it sold cheap to the locals 

& who cares about the peasants who drink it & die of liver cancer.

I personally know of 5 great folks who have been hooked on this shit & died (&2 more to come.

Lao Khao is Thais curse because somehow it avoids the correct alcohol tax as well

Even in the village I flatly refuse to drink along with them as they pass the shot glass around.

But I usually take a bottle of scotch with me & happy to share)

 

Don't know about that, but we have a neighbour, she 80+ and goes to the local ma & pa shop every night, same time and drowns a double shot (big ones) in one go. And she has all her marbles and fit as a fiddle.

probably do you less harm drinking a bottle of 95 rather than the Lao Kao.

"lao khao", literally just meaning "white spirit" is often used as a synonym for all kind of home brew, dubious stuff.

But the stuff produced by the same manufacturer as Chang beer (Boonrawd) is simply "white" alcohol from sugar cane. It comes in different strenghts.

The tough ones will always drink "see sip" (40 %) with the blue label.

"Simply": potentially as addictive and dangerous to your health as other spirits.

But I must admit that it tastes terrible and gives me a heartburn.

And most local folks drink it diluted with water as a cheap alternative to expensive beer e.g.

There is an other major "brand" but can't find it at the moment...

I think this is the best seller in our area.

And the title simply says "spirit 40 %".

The word for spirit used is the formal one, little known "sù-raa".

 

6 hours ago, natway09 said:

It is not that much of a rubbish story.

The alcohol board are afraid to come out & actually ban this killer drink as it sold cheap to the locals 

& who cares about the peasants who drink it & die of liver cancer.

I personally know of 5 great folks who have been hooked on this shit & died (&2 more to come.

Lao Khao is Thais curse because somehow it avoids the correct alcohol tax as well

Even in the village I flatly refuse to drink along with them as they pass the shot glass around.

But I usually take a bottle of scotch with me & happy to share

Agree, I've had five fathers-in-law die before their time as a result of drinking that toxic rubbish.

Benzene is in many drinks, mainly softies. Don't forget that the French call Petrol or gasoline "Benzene" which it is NOT. Benzine is an aromatic organic compound C6H6 and when it burns, it burns with a filthy yellow flame with lots of smoke. A clean blue flame can indicate many organic compounds,  but alcohol is actually ethyl aclohol, c2h5oh, and it burns with a clean flame. So the farmer is probably barking up the wrong tree. (Ever heard the story that you get headaches from beer Singh because of formadehyde? That's BS too, all pasteurised beers have it as a preservative, Singh has no more or less than the others)

 

Having said this, unnscrupulous manufacuturers could spike lao kao with benzene as it is also a clear white fluid. There are many reported deaths from upcountry hooch drinking, many from incorrect distillatoin techniques, some from inappropriate additions. That's it for now.

23 hours ago, munchlet said:

Benzene is in many drinks, mainly softies. Don't forget that the French call Petrol or gasoline "Benzene" which it is NOT. Benzine is an aromatic organic compound C6H6 and when it burns, it burns with a filthy yellow flame with lots of smoke. A clean blue flame can indicate many organic compounds,  but alcohol is actually ethyl aclohol, c2h5oh, and it burns with a clean flame. So the farmer is probably barking up the wrong tree. (Ever heard the story that you get headaches from beer Singh because of formadehyde? That's BS too, all pasteurised beers have it as a preservative, Singh has no more or less than the others)

 

Having said this, unnscrupulous manufacuturers could spike lao kao with benzene as it is also a clear white fluid. There are many reported deaths from upcountry hooch drinking, many from incorrect distillatoin techniques, some from inappropriate additions. That's it for now.

Wrong way around. Benzene is the trivial name used by chemists for the compound C6H6. Benzine is the term used to describe a mix of aliphatic n and iso hydrocarbons in the C5 to C8 range.

Benzene is also a clear white fluid? That's a contradiction in terms. There is a term water white, which is equally contradictory if you are a pedant like me.

I get a headache from drinking Chang. I don't get one from drinking Leo or Heineken. That could be from individual physiology, or a difference in concentration and type of congeners and additives.

Deaths upcountry from Lao Khao are more likely to be caused by methanol poisoning, either as a result of clumsy distillation or deliberate addition. Some deaths in Indonesia recently resulted from the latter.

Methanol metabolizes in the liver to formaldehyde, followed by formic acid. Both are highly toxic.

While addition of aliphatic hydrocarbons to Lao Khao won't do the gastro-intestinal tract much good in terms of irritation, IMHO it's doubtful they are toxic enough to cause death.

Please note: Benzene or Benzine are extremely CARCINOGENIC!!!!!

And it kills thousands  every year with liver cancer & yet the alcohol board does nothing

Tell me how it gets away with such little tax ?