Thai whiskey

[Saltire]

I never touched spirits until I moved to Thailand around 3 years ago, drinking mainly beer, wine or cider before that. Around 2 years ago I went low carb to lose weight which restricted the beer somewhat.

 

So I looked quite hard for a substitute tipple and tried all the Thai offerings, but as many have said, they could not be in any way be desribed as 'smooth'. I then tried the 7/11 offerings and settled on Gin, however tonic has too many calories and not sold locally, and soda water with lime is not very palatable.

 

It's a challenge drinking here for me. No decent affordable wine (gone are the days of tasting at a Majestic Warehouse and buying a case!). No slimlime tonic; Schweppes bitter lemon as much sugar as a can of coke. Restricted to 2 cheap brands of gin anyway, so my alcohol intake is at an all-time (healthy) low. If I go on holiday I ignore all the above and drink G&T or beer, but even the gin served from one bar to the other varies from 'is there any gin in this?', to 'are the brushes clean yet?'.

 

But I am still looking.

 

As a Scot I am tempted to buy a nice malt at the airport one day and give it a go.

 

 

[Darkside Gray]

None!

[sandyf]

5 hours ago, beavenlen said:

having lived in the or rather along the Moray firth,i would dare anyone on this sitr to ask a true scot to compare Thai whisky to any whisky distilled in Scotland.  there is absolutly no comparison except as afore mentioned paint thinner or paint stripper.

Me too, born and brought up in Forres. My grandmother used to work in Ben Romach and used to bring home small bottles of whisky, don't know about paint but it was certainly a gut stripper.

I would go along with the poster that suggested Crown, I think that is as good as some of the blends sold in the UK. Just because a whisky is distilled in Scotland doesn't make it good, world of difference between grain and malt whiskies

[Max69xl]

52 minutes ago, sandyf said:

Me too, born and brought up in Forres. My grandmother used to work in Ben Romach and used to bring home small bottles of whisky, don't know about paint but it was certainly a gut stripper.

I would go along with the poster that suggested Crown, I think that is as good as some of the blends sold in the UK. Just because a whisky is distilled in Scotland doesn't make it good, world of difference between grain and malt whiskies

This isn't about comparing thai whiskey with a single malt or a good scotch. OP asked a question about thai whiskey, and then 90% of the replies are totally irrelevant. Thai people don't drink whiskey neat, they even mix Johnny Walker Black Label with coke. So far only one thai whiskey has been mentioned, Blend 285. Mix it with a lot of coke like thai people do, then it will taste like a cheap scotch. After a few glasses you won't be able to tell the difference between a scotch and Blend 285. 

[sandyf]

32 minutes ago, Max69xl said:

This isn't about comparing thai whiskey with a single malt or a good scotch. OP asked a question about thai whiskey, and then 90% of the replies are totally irrelevant. Thai people don't drink whiskey neat, they even mix Johnny Walker Black Label with coke. So far only one thai whiskey has been mentioned, Blend 285. Mix it with a lot of coke like thai people do, then it will taste like a cheap scotch. After a few glasses you won't be able to tell the difference between a scotch and Blend 285. 

What part of this sentence in my reply didn't you understand.

"I would go along with the poster that suggested Crown, I think that is as good as some of the blends sold in the UK."

Crown is produced at the Red Bull Distillery in Samut Sakhon, that makes it about as Thai a whiskey as you will get.

 

Crown 99 whisky is a blend of imported Scottish malt whisky and locally produced grain spirits.
Launched in early 2000. Crown 99 has been highly successful in the Thai spirits market, establishing itself as segment leader and now making new forays into the broader Asian market.

http://www.interbevgroup.com/brands-spirits-crown99.php

 

Remember what was asked.

"What Thai whiskey comes near to Scotch whisky in taste? "

[Orton Rd]

4 hours ago, Baerboxer said:

 

Black Label - is Johnnie Walker Black Label which is an actual blended Scotch whisky!

 

It's smoother than the cheaper Red Label which is very popular and always used to be what my dad drank.

285 is only 35% but has some whisky in it, red label is probably the worst one in the world, suitable only for mixing

[Montnoveau]

6 hours ago, mo3s said:

If you ask a Thai man what kind of liquor they like the most, invariably they will respond that they like whiskey. I don’t know if it’s just lack of knowledge, a word that was poorly used and translated in the past or wanting to seem sophisticated, but the vast majority of the “Thai whiskeys” are in actuality rum, have been made from distilled sugar cane.

Hong Thong (which means “golden swan”) is by far the most ubiquitous of the colored alcohols that is consumed by Thais. Regency is a step up, and if you are really fancy then you’ll splurge for some real whiskey in the form of Johnnie Walker. Other brands that are common to see in bars include Blend 285, Sang Som, Mekhong and 100 Pipers.

I don’t recall any Thai person ever drinking these straight, they are always mixed with ice and soda water. In fact, the association of alcohol with soda water is so strong that my co-teacher was confused when I once bought a soda water just to drink on its own and was concerned that I was going to be drinking in the middle of the day.
 

 

....as I copied this story from the web....cheers! ????

My understanding is that in thai vocabulary the word 'whisky' is used for all alcoholic spirits as a generalization.

[Montnoveau]

6 hours ago, SteveK said:

It's because they seem to call anything stronger than beer เหล้า.

 

My wife calls soju lao.

 

Most Thai people translate เหล้า as whisky - hence they call vodka, gin, rum, tequila etc all just "whisky".

 

Yes, exactly. It's also my experience. 

[Tchooptip]

4 hours ago, SteveK said:

I remember the first time I came to Thailand, and everyone seemed to think that Johnny Walker black label was a good whisky. As I had been working in Scotland at the time, I found that quite amusing.

There are not a lot of real connoisseurs, me for example my favorite whiskey for decades is J&B it is likely to amuse you even more maybe. Some people make me taste expensive pure malt I still prefered J&B.????

By cons I do not like the Johnnie Walker at all and even less the black label. So if the Scots call me iconnoclast I would gladly accept it ????

[Dazinoz]

1 hour ago, Max69xl said:

This isn't about comparing thai whiskey with a single malt or a good scotch. OP asked a question about thai whiskey, and then 90% of the replies are totally irrelevant. Thai people don't drink whiskey neat, they even mix Johnny Walker Black Label with coke. So far only one thai whiskey has been mentioned, Blend 285. Mix it with a lot of coke like thai people do, then it will taste like a cheap scotch. After a few glasses you won't be able to tell the difference between a scotch and Blend 285. 

Actually I mentioned Grande which is a Thai blended spirit but as I mentioned I am not sure what it is classed as. I ordered a whisky drink and got this.

 

PS. Just copied this from their Facebook. "High quality grand liquor. Easy to drink. Comfortable neck. Suitable for new generation. It's another quality choice for both whiskey and Brandy."

 

[Max69xl]

6 hours ago, mo3s said:

If you ask a Thai man what kind of liquor they like the most, invariably they will respond that they like whiskey. I don’t know if it’s just lack of knowledge, a word that was poorly used and translated in the past or wanting to seem sophisticated, but the vast majority of the “Thai whiskeys” are in actuality rum, have been made from distilled sugar cane.

Hong Thong (which means “golden swan”) is by far the most ubiquitous of the colored alcohols that is consumed by Thais. Regency is a step up, and if you are really fancy then you’ll splurge for some real whiskey in the form of Johnnie Walker. Other brands that are common to see in bars include Blend 285, Sang Som, Mekhong and 100 Pipers.

I don’t recall any Thai person ever drinking these straight, they are always mixed with ice and soda water. In fact, the association of alcohol with soda water is so strong that my co-teacher was confused when I once bought a soda water just to drink on its own and was concerned that I was going to be drinking in the middle of the day.
 

 

....as I copied this story from the web....cheers! ????

Regency is a Brandy. This thread is still about Thai whisky compared to scotch. In your list of liquor there is only one thai whiskey, Blend 285. 

[Max69xl]

8 minutes ago, Dazinoz said:

Actually I mentioned Grande which is a Thai blended spirit but as I mentioned I am not sure what it is classed as. I ordered a whisky drink and got this.

 

PS. Just copied this from their Facebook. "High quality grand liquor. Easy to drink. Comfortable neck. Suitable for new generation. It's another quality choice for both whiskey and Brandy."

 

Never seen a bottle in real life. But it looks nice.

[Susco]

23 minutes ago, Max69xl said:

Regency is a Brandy. This thread is still about Thai whisky compared to scotch. In your list of liquor there is only one thai whiskey, Blend 285. 

As other posters have told you in about every other thread on these forums where you are involved, you should educate yourself before you start blaring like you know it all.

 

There are at least 5 FIVE Thai whisky's mentioned in this thread alone, and there are more

[Jaxxper]

According to my taste buds, none. Next question. 

[Dazinoz]

46 minutes ago, Max69xl said:

Never seen a bottle in real life. But it looks nice.

Actually tastes ok. Took photo of bottle where it was served in Pattaya. Been looking around for awhile for it in Chiang Mai and found it at Big C. Cheap too, about 269 for a 640ml bottle.

[Number 6]

10 hours ago, liddelljohn said:

Regency is NOT RUM its made from grapes and is  a type of Brandy  , French cognac it aint its  a bit rough but  acceptable  and  more palatable than  yuckky sang som thai whiskeys or lao khao

That's right. Stand corrected. It's Brandy.

[Dazinoz]

Ok, off topic but  does anyone know where I can buy Port in Chiang Mai?

 

[Nyezhov]

10 hours ago, Deli said:

No, not really. Maekhong is still in the market with an old style yellow label. Just hard to find but still tastes well.

I love Mekhong. Greatest screaming flopping around triple header I ever had, with a bar girl mind you wiping me and cleaning me up as I convulsed and sobbed and spewpuked and shatmeself and peed, just hunk of semidigested fried crickets and fried rice everywhere, damn that was great, I was laid up for three days!

[jesimps]

On 3/2/2020 at 4:14 PM, Dale75 said:

Well, I've drunk Scotch all my life, of all qualities. Over here I enjoy Hong Thong. I take it straight (like my Scotch) and it's fine and great value.

If you drink with mixers (ugh!) and/or ice (ugh! again) I guess you would barely be able to tell the difference between Hong Thong and a UK Supermarket own lable Scotch.

Cheers!

Except that it's only 35% proof, hence it's cheap like low alcohol whiskies in the UK.

[Dazinoz]

3 minutes ago, jesimps said:

Except that it's only 35% proof, hence it's cheap like low alcohol whiskies in the UK.

Do you mean percent alcohol or proof? They are different. Proof is twice the percent alcohol content. So an alcohol drink  with 40% alcohol content is 80 proof.

[jesimps]

23 hours ago, Number 6 said:

Regency is rum and it's everywhere???

 

I've done too much research on this topic. In my opinion local alcohol is swill although I could drink Hong Thong or Blend with ice, soda at a Thai get together if I had to.

 

I'm no fan of any "Scotch" under b700 although Bell's is sorta okay. Dewers price keeps bouncing around it's back to 759b. I won't touch it over 700. Piper's is a very poor value. Really dreadful stuff all "scotch" under 800-900L.

 

I suspect many international brands are adding additional grain spirits to what's sold in this country Dewer's and JW Red in particular. They never taste good neat, always nasty bite andvtaste. Bell's, Piper's. All of it.

 

600b should get you something that might not taste delicious but shouldn't make you wince.

100 Pipers is distilled, aged and blended in Scotland according to the label and I find that it tastes like any blended whisky that I buy in the UK. But the OP mentions "Thai whisky" so I won't go on.

[BritManToo]

8 hours ago, mo3s said:

If you ask a Thai man what kind of liquor they like the most, invariably they will respond that they like whiskey. I don’t know if it’s just lack of knowledge, a word that was poorly used and translated in the past or wanting to seem sophisticated,

The Thai word for distilled spirit is Lao, someone in the past translated Lao as whiskey without understanding ........

Whiskey is distilled from fermented grain.

Brandy is distilled from fermented grapes.

Rum is distilled from fermented sugar cane.

Vodka is slightly different as it's a distilled pure ethanol cut with water.

 

When a Thai says Whiskey, they are probably talking about distilled spirits.

[Number 6]

4 minutes ago, jesimps said:

100 Pipers is distilled, aged and blended in Scotland according to the label and I find that it tastes like any blended whisky that I buy in the UK. But the OP mentions "Thai whisky" so I won't go on.

I think it's the grain spirit that makes it so nasty.

[tifino]

4 hours ago, Sumarianson said:

No Thai whiskey tastes like a Scotch or Irish whiskey. There is no similarity whatsoever for a 40 year Irish born whiskey drinker like me.

 

I like the Mekhong 'because' it doesn't taste like any of those 'above' Whiskeys! ???? which to me are so rough that one is forced to add something to modify the liquid...  

Anyway, the attractiveness of Mekhong, isn't just about the taste - but the memories of 'where' you drank it

 heh heh heh 

[Lacessit]

54 minutes ago, Nyezhov said:

I love Mekhong. Greatest screaming flopping around triple header I ever had, with a bar girl mind you wiping me and cleaning me up as I convulsed and sobbed and spewpuked and shatmeself and peed, just hunk of semidigested fried crickets and fried rice everywhere, damn that was great, I was laid up for three days!

Catharsis seems to be a specialty of yours.

[Lacessit]

5 hours ago, emptypockets said:

Regency is Brandy, Hong Thong is rum. Neither are a whisky.

100 Piper's used to be popular amongst my friends but Regency is the current flavour of the month.

They did manage to polish this off yesterday.

Ok, let's get a couple of things straight, shall we?

Whisky comes from Scotland. Whiskey comes from Ireland and America.

I didn't realize there were whisky snobs as well as wine snobs. You're all up yourselves.

I once mentioned Glenfiddich to a Scottish millionaire who owned one of the pure malt whisky distilleries near Edinburgh. He remarked it was a well marketed blend.

AS far as I am concerned, after I have drowned whatever it is in Coca-Cola, my only criteria for quality is whether it gives me a headache or not.

[Max69xl]

10 hours ago, Centrum said:

Which is a rum

FYI: Hong Thong is not a rebranded Mekhong. I drank both for years late 80's and early 90's. 

[Max69xl]

2 hours ago, Montnoveau said:

My understanding is that in thai vocabulary the word 'whisky' is used for all alcoholic spirits as a generalization.

Common thai people have no clue about the difference between whiskey,rum or brandy. It's just liquor to them. 

[Nyezhov]

30 minutes ago, Lacessit said:

Catharsis seems to be a specialty of yours.

On the net, I have no Mouth, but I must Scream.

[Lacessit]

1 hour ago, Nyezhov said:

On the net, I have no Mouth, but I must Scream.

Yes, Benny.