Siam Sato

[Beacher]

I typically drink a couple of beers a few times a week. However, last weekend while doing my shopping, a beverage (to use the term loosely) called Siam Sato caught my eye. I've seen the stuff before but have never tried it, so I decided to buy a bottle. Yeah, I know it's really cheap (under 30 baht a bottle) and that should probably tell me all I need to know, but I guess I wanted to believe that this stuff might be something a little different and maybe even half-decent in an interesting kind of way.

I took it home and put it the freezer to get it well chilled. After reaching a nice cold temperature, I poured myself a little glass and tried it. I must say that this is some of the foulest stuff I have ever tasted. I figure that it best compares to what gasahol and sugar must taste like when mixed together -- very nasty stuff.

Anyway, I was just wondering if other people have had any experience with Siam Sato. Is it safe to drink? Is there any way to make it palitable? Can I put in the gas tank of my car? Will it destroy my PVC piping if pour it down the drain?

[Bangyai]

I typically drink a couple of beers a few times a week. However, last weekend while doing my shopping, a beverage (to use the term loosely) called Siam Sato caught my eye. I've seen the stuff before but have never tried it, so I decided to buy a bottle. Yeah, I know it's really cheap (under 30 baht a bottle) and that should probably tell me all I need to know, but I guess I wanted to believe that this stuff might be something a little different and maybe even half-decent in an interesting kind of way.

I took it home and put it the freezer to get it well chilled. After reaching a nice cold temperature, I poured myself a little glass and tried it. I must say that this is some of the foulest stuff I have ever tasted. I figure that it best compares to what gasahol and sugar must taste like when mixed together -- very nasty stuff.

Anyway, I was just wondering if other people have had any experience with Siam Sato. Is it safe to drink? Is there any way to make it palitable? Can I put in the gas tank of my car? Will it destroy my PVC piping if pour it down the drain?

I used to drink this stuff watered down about 50 / 50. As to its long term safety....hmm I'll just say I had to give up on it in the end as after drinking it I always felt a bit arthritic in the legs. As a friend also said when he saw me drinking it ' If you're not diabetic now, you soon will be .'

[bob4you]

More popular with Thais but served cold or on ice I find it palatable, but be careful I think it is 7.5% alcohol so it has a kick.

[Captain Chaos]

Put it this way, my mother in law makes a home brew version of Sa To in her kitchen in deepest darkest upcountry! I tried two cupfuls (charmingly served in an old tin cup) and had to lie down in a hammock for the rest of the afternoon to recover! Not recommended!!

[Tod Daniels]

That is truly some rough stuff. The recovery process can be very long indeed after drinking an excessive amount.

I have found it more useful for stripping paint, fire starting, and as a weed killer.

[terrier123]

I typically drink a couple of beers a few times a week. However, last weekend while doing my shopping, a beverage (to use the term loosely) called Siam Sato caught my eye. I've seen the stuff before but have never tried it, so I decided to buy a bottle. Yeah, I know it's really cheap (under 30 baht a bottle) and that should probably tell me all I need to know, but I guess I wanted to believe that this stuff might be something a little different and maybe even half-decent in an interesting kind of way.

I took it home and put it the freezer to get it well chilled. After reaching a nice cold temperature, I poured myself a little glass and tried it. I must say that this is some of the foulest stuff I have ever tasted. I figure that it best compares to what gasahol and sugar must taste like when mixed together -- very nasty stuff.

Anyway, I was just wondering if other people have had any experience with Siam Sato. Is it safe to drink? Is there any way to make it palitable? Can I put in the gas tank of my car? Will it destroy my PVC piping if pour it down the drain?

Reference from the indispensable Wikipedia link ---http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sato_(rice_wine) . Like other replies, some web-sites suggest leaving this potion to the locals

[PoorSucker]

No problem for me.

On the other hand I prefer Lao khao daeng.

[Beacher]

I appreciate all the replies.

The general advice to not actually drink this stuff comes as no surprise (after tasting it). Even if one managed to make it a little more palitable by watering it down, etc. seems like health concerns are an issue.

I guess I'm just destined to be only a beer drinker, although I do like a bit of Sang Som with soda, coke and lime -- sort a cheap version of a Cuba Libra. OMG, that just brought up another question: Is Sang Som safe?

[Boater]

My Friend drinks 3 pints of the stuff before he goes out!

But he drinks it like a lager top, basically adds a bit of sprit into it

[Deke]

From some of my trips upcountry, I've learned that sato is properly served out of an old engine oil jug.

[Johpa]

I guess I'm just destined to be only a beer drinker, although I do like a bit of Sang Som with soda, coke and lime -- sort a cheap version of a Cuba Libra. OMG, that just brought up another question: Is Sang Som safe?

I have been drinking Sang Som, and before that Mae Khong, Hong Ngen, Hong Thong, lao khao bottles with no brands, lao paa (homebrew), as well as some lao khaopoot (corn based) when fortunate enough to be in-country for Mong New Year, for nearly 30 years with no long term ill effects as yet other than a good chance the formaldehyde might preserve my corpse a little longer than average once I hit my expiration date. That being said, I am not an alcoholic drinking every day, just a social drinker, and the alcoholics I have known who drank this stuff are, for the most part, quite dead by middle age.

Edited August 28, 2008 by Johpa

[jts-khorat]

I typically drink a couple of beers a few times a week. However, last weekend while doing my shopping, a beverage (to use the term loosely) called Siam Sato caught my eye. I've seen the stuff before but have never tried it, so I decided to buy a bottle. Yeah, I know it's really cheap (under 30 baht a bottle) and that should probably tell me all I need to know, but I guess I wanted to believe that this stuff might be something a little different and maybe even half-decent in an interesting kind of way.

I took it home and put it the freezer to get it well chilled. After reaching a nice cold temperature, I poured myself a little glass and tried it. I must say that this is some of the foulest stuff I have ever tasted. I figure that it best compares to what gasahol and sugar must taste like when mixed together -- very nasty stuff.

Anyway, I was just wondering if other people have had any experience with Siam Sato. Is it safe to drink? Is there any way to make it palitable? Can I put in the gas tank of my car? Will it destroy my PVC piping if pour it down the drain?

Thee self-made Sato is very good (especially while it is still sweet). I have done it a few times and one can get very badly hammered. There are issues of hygiene, but then everything in Isaan is a little bit rough around the edges.

The stuff you can buy as 'Siam Sato' is really pretty horrible and in no way comparable. The problem is that Sato is not stable, so I guess they have to wait until all the sugar is used up, which means that parts of it might already turning into vingear -- at least that is the taste. Not recommended!

[libya 115]

Drinking Siam Sato is the end of the road. Unless you want to die of pancreatitis. I would not even have those green bottles in my fridge because I know it can cause health problems. It is 8% ethanol but the congeners are plentiful enough to make a grown man cry.

[DP25]

What's amazing about this stuff is how low alcohol it is given how foul it tastes.

[Birdman]

No problem for me.

On the other hand I prefer Lao khao daeng.

that completely explains the avatar.

[PattayaParent]

I bought a bottle mistanely thinking it was a brand of beer.

But it turned out to be a very sweet brew akin to barley wine back home.

The first bottle tasted awful but by the 4th I ddn't notice it so it must be an acquired taste I guess.

[Cuban]

As a point of information - it comes in two versions - I'm told the blue/gold label is better.

When I was given some - I wondered what all the sugar was doing in there - Thais not being able to understand an alcoholic drink without sugar or it was there to disguise the taste of something else?

[Cuban]

As a point of information - it comes in two versions - I'm told the blue/gold label is better.

When I was given some - I wondered what all the sugar was doing in there - Thais not being able to understand an alcoholic drink without sugar or it was there to disguise the taste of something else?

[Cowboyshoe]

Siam Sato is what Thai high-schoolers drank in the days before alco-pops.

[Furbie]

I have tried the Siam Sato with no ill effects – it does not taste that good. I have had some of the homemade Sa To on a number of occasions, even buying it on the street, which actually tasted quite good. However, it is the only alcohol which has ever made me hallucinate - I now avoid it.

[warfie]

sitting there in the 7-Eleven refrigerator between the Chang and Archer I too thought it was just another beer... and I attempt to economise as it gives the short brown one less to nag me about...

"hmm.. " says I, "I can get four of these for less than the price of 3 Chang... AND the alcohol content is higher! should be a good night, so long as I can carry-off the 'stupid-farang act' at the checkout and get them to sell to me out of hours..." (roughly 14:45 Saturday afternoon, what're the alcohol sales restrictions trying to achieve, anyway?)

Nice and cold now, I popped the top off one and had a swig

I guess this is the last you'll all be hearing from me... bye all.... nice knowing you...

[Groongthep]

Sato (Rice Wine from Thailand) Exported worldwide in 640 ml. bottles and 330 ml. bottles The Taste if we try to describe it the closest you can imagine to Japanese Sake` ALC. containment by vol : 8 % . The sato should be served chilled, but can also be consumed within room temperature. The River Kwai Sato is based on old Thailand traditions for rice wine making, and is now bought to the world market after the conclusion of Thailand's success as a tourist country, and therefore a rising interest on products from Thailand. We have a full product lineup starting with the traditional Sato, followed by Sato with Pomegranate Alc 9.4 %, Sato with Butterfly Pea Alc 9.4 %,Sato with Roselle Alc 9.4 %,and the last one is Sato with Nonifruit (this one is more like medicine 2 % alc )All bottles are available in 640 ml. and 330 ml.

The above is from Google and Wikipedia neither of which I trust very much but the description seems plausible enough.

[syd barrett]

sitting there in the 7-Eleven refrigerator between the Chang and Archer I too thought it was just another beer... and I attempt to economise as it gives the short brown one less to nag me about...

"hmm.. " says I, "I can get four of these for less than the price of 3 Chang... AND the alcohol content is higher! should be a good night, so long as I can carry-off the 'stupid-farang act' at the checkout and get them to sell to me out of hours..." (roughly 14:45 Saturday afternoon, what're the alcohol sales restrictions trying to achieve, anyway?)

Nice and cold now, I popped the top off one and had a swig

I guess this is the last you'll all be hearing from me... bye all.... nice knowing you...

More lethal are the 330 ml bottles of imitation Japanese sake which are cheap.

[Garret]

I amost never drink anything besides Beer and good Saki if I can get it. Yet........I don't mind Sato at all ,it is better with ice and a bit of water. I also like to buy the homemade sato when I can find it. Hmmm.....maybe I will go get a bottle now.

[Briggsy]

This dominating of the satho market by the big boys makes me really sad. I remember the old days when you could just ask any motorbike taxi driver to go score you a bottle of homebrew satho for less than 100 Baht. Made from sticky rice as opposed to made from the industrial effluent of the rice mill or sugar cane mill. Nowadays the homebrew has been removed from the streets. Ah, dem were de days.

[rgs2001uk]

I have tried the Siam Sato with no ill effects – it does not taste that good. I have had some of the homemade Sa To on a number of occasions, even buying it on the street, which actually tasted quite good. However, it is the only alcohol which has ever made me hallucinate - I now avoid it.

it is the only alcohol which has ever made me hallucinate.

Jeez at 30 baht a trip this needs investigating, cheaper than blotting paper, tabs and micro dots, wheres my copy of Space Ritual?

[Birdman]

I have tried the Siam Sato with no ill effects – it does not taste that good. I have had some of the homemade Sa To on a number of occasions, even buying it on the street, which actually tasted quite good. However, it is the only alcohol which has ever made me hallucinate - I now avoid it.

it is the only alcohol which has ever made me hallucinate.

Jeez at 30 baht a trip this needs investigating, cheaper than blotting paper, tabs and micro dots, wheres my copy of Space Ritual?

...try Retsina - Greek Wines of the Gods

[Garret]

I still see it on the streets every great once in awhile and it's 40b a liter.........they peddle it around Nana and I saw it a few months ago when I was there last.....The wife says it's still going strong in the village. They remove the rice and make a dessert with it as well....OFF TOPIC A BIT......What about the new Saki they are making here in the weird little bottle??? not the stuff in the old brown bottle this is new and I saw it at Villa then forgot to put it into the cart....Anybody try it ???

[Hawkup2000]

I really don't understand why everybody say Sato is so awful. Mixed 50/50 with Miranda it have almost the same taste as Spy, but tastier.

IMHO If somebody want to talk about awful stuff Lao khao is closer in mind.

Edited September 16, 2009 by Hawkup2000

[longstebe]

Not just me that got burnt on this. Phew.

I was in 7 eleven alone and being cheap decided to try it out.

I thought it was beer . Just as I was about to pay, the wife walked in and told me what it was.

To save face I bought it .

Awful is the word.