Street Liquor - Yadong, How Damaging

[kuma]

Does anyone out there have any links to any real information about this Yadong moonshine that is popular on the streets?

I have a friend - previously girlfriend - who in addition to drinking regular alcohol too much, also drinks this to excess on a daily basis in order to cope with her life (as she puts it)

I can see her physical condition deteriorating. As is common with those abusing alcohol she is in denial about it (or kind of grudgingly accepts it - but says she needs to in order to work) and continues on.

Normally, having unfortunately run into this a lot, I would have left the person to figure out for themselves. But she was a heavy drinker before we met ( I did not know til later just how heavy) and stopped completely until we separated, so it seems she is perhaps capable of controlling herself (we were together over 2 years).

This moonshine I think is probably toxic and the quantities she drinks amount to slow suicide from what I can see, but I would like to know if anyone has some facts on this stuff.

Thanks

[ManInSurat]

Does anyone out there have any links to any real information about this Yadong moonshine that is popular on the streets?

I have a friend - previously girlfriend - who in addition to drinking regular alcohol too much, also drinks this to excess on a daily basis in order to cope with her life (as she puts it)

I can see her physical condition deteriorating. As is common with those abusing alcohol she is in denial about it (or kind of grudgingly accepts it - but says she needs to in order to work) and continues on.

Normally, having unfortunately run into this a lot, I would have left the person to figure out for themselves. But she was a heavy drinker before we met ( I did not know til later just how heavy) and stopped completely until we separated, so it seems she is perhaps capable of controlling herself (we were together over 2 years).

This moonshine I think is probably toxic and the quantities she drinks amount to slow suicide from what I can see, but I would like to know if anyone has some facts on this stuff.

Thanks

I am familiar with Yadong and visit my brother-in-law once every 2 weeks or so to share a bottle.

It is not 'moonshine' in the sense that the alcohol used in it is illegally produced and not monitored by the authorities.

Ya-dong, as I understand it, is mixed herbs in an empty and sealed bottle that can be purchased at most pharmacies. I read Thai and the label on the bottle my brother-in-law uses confirms what he told me, that the original idea was put forth by either a pharmacist or physician. The fact that the main word is Ya or Yah (meaning medicine - as in Ya-ba or 'crazy medicine) backs this up.

Added to the bottle and the herb mixture is any amount of Lao Khao (White Spirit) you choose and honey. The mix is left to 'ferment' for about a week and then a cloth filter is fixed over the bottle opening with an elastic band or string and the drink poured into a shot glass.

The taste is hard to describe, it is not particularly over-powering but it is pretty potent, with the ABV being somewhere in the region of 35-40% dependant on the Lao Khao used. It tastes (as you would imagine) of herbs with a touch of menthol and quite sweet.

It is in no way illegal or toxic - AS I EXPERIENCE IT - I cannot give an opinion on what your girlfriend drinks/uses to make it or who she buys it from as these factors will detemine how stong it is and how much it affects her.

Any form of alcohol from beer to brandy, whisky to wine can seriously deteriorate your health if not taken in moderation and responsibly.

I extend my sympathies to you and hope the current situation improves and that this may help you in some way.

Best of Luck.

[John_Rambo]

I like a bit of Yadong from time to time, but hammer it every day? Not if you intend to have a future.

[Captain Chaos]

I don't know Yadong - I do wonder if (based on ManIn Surat's post) - the OP actually may mean 'Sa To' - which is illegally distilled rice moonshine. This stuff is - so far as I can tell - just an unofficial version of Lao Khao - but presumably with the problems of excessive strength / impurities that can go with homemade hooch. I am alternately amused and horrified that my mother in law makes the stuff in her kitchen, and whilst I would say that the majority of the menfolk in my wife's village in the north have some kind of alcohol problem, I do know at least one male relative who has suffered brain damage and is now incapable of coherent speech, bathing or otherwise taking care of himself, and is in (what appears to be) a gradual terminal decline. Mrs CC blames his plight on drinking too much Sa To (I suspect it may be too much alcohol full stop as he certainly likes Lao Khao too) and fiercely forbids me to touch the stuff. I broke this prohibition once with an uncle who was in a playful mood. Two charmingly served battered tin cup fulls later and I had to retreat to a nearby hammock for the afternoon to recover! I am 6'2" and weigh about 135kg so god knows what effect it must have on the probably 'slightly' less heavily built average Thai!

Short version: to be avoided.

CC

Edit: typo

Edited August 21, 2008 by Captain Chaos

[JohnBanPrang]

Yadong is nothing new in Thailand. It's Lao Kao mixed with 11 herbs. The herb mix can bee bought in most thai

grosseries around the country.Many elderly thai women drink this daily.In small dose same like Ferne Branca,

good for stomach.

[JohnBanPrang]

Saato is the same like rice wine.If fermented longer it becomes Lao Kao.

[dotcom]

Wine will max out at 16% alcohol..Above that you have to run it through a still. (distillery).

Yes if you want brain damage by all means drink lao khao

[kuma]

Thanks for al the replies.

I can see some silver lining in that it seems that it is not as toxic as I had feared, which is good to know, but still not something you should down daily like water.

Quantity and frequency are issues, but she has to wrestle with that in her own way.

Cheers

Wine will max out at 16% alcohol..Above that you have to run it through a still. (distillery).

Yes if you want brain damage by all means drink lao khao

[jts-khorat]

Does anyone out there have any links to any real information about this Yadong moonshine that is popular on the streets?

I have a friend - previously girlfriend - who in addition to drinking regular alcohol too much, also drinks this to excess on a daily basis in order to cope with her life (as she puts it)

I can see her physical condition deteriorating. As is common with those abusing alcohol she is in denial about it (or kind of grudgingly accepts it - but says she needs to in order to work) and continues on.

Normally, having unfortunately run into this a lot, I would have left the person to figure out for themselves. But she was a heavy drinker before we met ( I did not know til later just how heavy) and stopped completely until we separated, so it seems she is perhaps capable of controlling herself (we were together over 2 years).

This moonshine I think is probably toxic and the quantities she drinks amount to slow suicide from what I can see, but I would like to know if anyone has some facts on this stuff.

Thanks

As other posters mentioned, Ya Dong is just White Thai Whisky (40 Degrees) with a range of herbs; the herbs are sold as finished mixes in shops. Honey is added, but only to soften the sharp taste of the thai lao kahow -- at this alcohol content, no further fermentation will be possible to take place. The herbs are not particularly toxic, the alcohol definitely is.

If the health of your friend is deteriorating visibly, I would guess it is not from the Ya Dong alone (and you mention she is an alcoholic). Most Thais that I know of drink it as a traditional medicine and blood tonic, eg a #very# small glass every morning or evening.

Of course if the amounts are bigger, the same applies as if hammering down 80% rum or pure vodka in large amounts; you will kill your liver really quick.

Also the states of drunkenness are extreme, as I can attest to -- again little to do with the herbs. Not knowing the alc content and the taste masked by sweeteners on my first try I downed a really big glass in one go; very much to the amazement of everybody involved who intended to have me take a small sip. This got lost in translation, I woke up the next morning after a night of events that would better be not remembered, and the hospital would not have been a bad solution for much of the time in-between. But this is another story.

[frenchfarangjomtien]

Hi,

do you know what is the cheapest RICE WINE or any WHITE ALCOHOL sold in Thailand ?

And where can you find people who do it at home for cheaper ?

Thanks.

[Jdietz]

Desperate aren't you? resurrecting every post about alcohol made in the last 5 years asking for cheaper stuff..

[metisdead]

We have all seen Thais drinking their homemade rice wine at weddings or while relaxing in the countryside and the ubiquitous Bangkok corner side or rolling cart Yaa Dong sellers with containers of some concoction of herbs like ginseng, plaonoi, tree bark and vodka or whiskey. That is why expats and Thai nationals are always shocked when they find out that it is illegal to produce and/or sell alcohol in Thailand without a license. The Thai Government authorizes local governments to regulate alcohol production and sale under the Health Code. Local Government Rules 112 Section 58 NDOR, enacted 20th of July 1995, ‡15 provides that individuals cannot produce or sell alcohol without a license from the Thai Government. There is no exception in the law for personal consumption. While the law is obviously not enforced with any vigor in Thailand it is still against the law and those that engage in such activity are always in jeopardy of being caught.

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