Sang Som

[paulfromphuket]

Is it just me or has this cheap rum been removed from the shelves? I heard a batch got out that was basically methonol and was withdrawn, I have not seen it at my mom and pop store for a couple of weeks and they said the wholesaler had none.

Anybody out there know the truth?

[Guest]

Methanol I guess. That would be a big thing. Methanol is nasty stuff which causes death, brain damage and blindness to the unfortunate people who drink it.

Methanol was sold in Parnu, Estonia on september 9 2001, which resulted death of 68 people and disabilities for 40 other people in following few days.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P%C3%A4rnu_methanol_tragedy

Then again, that story was not the top world news as there was something else which news was paying their attention to..

I guess the only effective way to treat a person who has drunk methanol is to get him/her ethanol.

[BanglaMayor]

SangSom is only dangerous when you mix it with Roi Hasip and force fee youjr temp tilac prior to going up to heaven.

Edited February 13, 2012 by BanglaMayor

[necronx99]

IT would take a fairly significant if not catastrophic screw up in the distilling process to end up with meths instead of ethynol.

I'm not even sure it's possible.

[barka]

Like all alchohol, its only dangerous when you drink to..MUCH..of it

[Peterocket]

My local supplier has said that there is a nationwide shortage which i can only presume is linked to the Schweppes/Pepsi/Tonic shortage which is still ongoing

[katabeachbum]

My local supplier has said that there is a nationwide shortage which i can only presume is linked to the Schweppes/Pepsi/Tonic shortage which is still ongoing

ad coke light, coke zero and pepsi max

flooding issues still not done

[stevehaigh]

SangSom is only dangerous when you mix it with Roi Hasip and force fee youjr temp tilac prior to going up to heaven.

'temp tilac', funny

[iSabai]

Have noticed the scarcity of Sang Som lately, no idea why. Same thing happened with Mehkong a couple years ago, and it never returned to the shelves.

I do have a sneaking suspicion that if/when it (SS) does return, the price will be higher...

[keestha]

Saeng Som was called Saeng Thip till about 1999, I understood the licence to use the name Saeng Thip had expired. Yes, Maekhong seems to have disappeared. Can confirm there still is no tonic. If you order a gin and tonic now , you might get gin and soda with an aspirin dissolved in it, makes you feel better the next morning anyway.

Edited February 14, 2012 by keestha

[merijn]

My local supplier has said that there is a nationwide shortage which i can only presume is linked to the Schweppes/Pepsi/Tonic shortage which is still ongoing

ad coke light, coke zero and pepsi max

flooding issues still not done

Nothing to do with flooding, those problems where solved a long time ago.

It is all politics now.

A few big players used the floods to try to renew their contracts on their terms or to take over contracts from others.

[Ping]

Saeng Som was called Saeng Thip till about 1999, I understood the licence to use the name Saeng Thip had expired. Yes, Maekhong seems to have disappeared. Can confirm there still is no tonic. If you order a gin and tonic now , you might get gin and soda with an aspirin dissolved in it, makes you feel better the next morning anyway.

Sang Som rum's been around for over 30 years and has won international gold medals (which you can see on the label). I wouldn't touch it with a thirty foot barge pole, but if you want to test your system with some serious lowbrow, try spirits out of Burma.

[grumpyoldman]

Saeng Som was called Saeng Thip till about 1999, I understood the licence to use the name Saeng Thip had expired. Yes, Maekhong seems to have disappeared. Can confirm there still is no tonic. If you order a gin and tonic now , you might get gin and soda with an aspirin dissolved in it, makes you feel better the next morning anyway.

Sang Som rum's been around for over 30 years and has won international gold medals (which you can see on the label). I wouldn't touch it with a thirty foot barge pole, but if you want to test your system with some serious lowbrow, try spirits out of Burma.

Ping, 99.99% of the time I'm onboard with your posts. Except the time you wouldn't go to a TV party in Rawai area, thus I subtract 00.01%, but Sangsom "will cure what ails ya". The problem is all you drunks out there drinking it up, you've caused a shortage !! So stop ! Yea, you know what it's full of methanol, yea, thats right, stay away! I'm having to find hole-in-the-wall liquor outlets to find some.

Actually it's a nice rum, and you mix it with enough soda, snap of lime, won't give you a tremendous hangover, snappier and fresher than a dam_n beer.

Story goes from my local mart lady, it's undergoing a label rennovation and yes, as a previous poster mentions, will be back with a new "value added price" better known as VAP.

[Deke]

Saeng Som was called Saeng Thip till about 1999, I understood the licence to use the name Saeng Thip had expired. Yes, Maekhong seems to have disappeared. Can confirm there still is no tonic. If you order a gin and tonic now , you might get gin and soda with an aspirin dissolved in it, makes you feel better the next morning anyway.

It was called Saeng Som before it was called Saeng Thip. Then it changed back to Saeng Som. I don't know why; always been curious about that.

[chiang mai]

It's available here in the North but only at small shops/stalls and the occaisional 7/11, it was a long time gone but is now back with a heavier price tag, THB 240 from a market vendor.

[iSabai]

Okay guys, while I won't swear to this due to years of memory cell abuse, I seem to remember both Sang Som and Sang Thip being available at the same time. This was in my earlier Thai holiday years so some 20 - 25 years back.

There was Mehkong which was the standard 'Thai whiskey' of the time, Sang Thip which I was told was a more 'refined' (more expensive) type of Mehkong, and there was also Sang Som which was not as popular as the former two. But as I say, I can't swear to it 100%.

I also remember a Black Cat whiskey, which if (admittedly poor) memory serves, was more of a rye type whiskey ala Seagrams 7 or Canadian Club and the like. Nasty stuff!

[LivinginKata]

I seem to remember that when Sang Thip (the black label) disappeared then Sang Sum came along. The black was more than Ok but the white Sang Sum was just some horrible chemical and I reject it.

[Deke]

I seem to remember that when Sang Thip (the black label) disappeared then Sang Sum came along. The black was more than Ok but the white Sang Sum was just some horrible chemical and I reject it.

Okay guys, while I won't swear to this due to years of memory cell abuse, I seem to remember both Sang Som and Sang Thip being available at the same time. This was in my earlier Thai holiday years so some 20 - 25 years back.

There was Mehkong which was the standard 'Thai whiskey' of the time, Sang Thip which I was told was a more 'refined' (more expensive) type of Mehkong, and there was also Sang Som which was not as popular as the former two. But as I say, I can't swear to it 100%.

I also remember a Black Cat whiskey, which if (admittedly poor) memory serves, was more of a rye type whiskey ala Seagrams 7 or Canadian Club and the like. Nasty stuff!

As iSabai mentions there may have been a few brain cells lost over the years but I'm about 95% sure that there was no overlap in the brands; it was Sang Som - Sang Thip - Sang Som. I just had a look at the Thai Beverage website to see if I could learn anything but they only mention Sang Som (they also mention Mekhong whiskey which I haven't seen in awhile).

Was Black Cat a Thai product or an "Admix" (as the Thai Beverage site describes Crown 99 and Blend 95)? I"m pretty sure that I drank it at one time or another but don't remember much about it.

For reference, I just walked next door to my office and bought a bottle of Sang Som for 215 Baht. It's a 0.7 ml bottle, not the old standard 0.75.

[Guest]

I seem to remember that when Sang Thip (the black label) disappeared then Sang Sum came along. The black was more than Ok but the white Sang Sum was just some horrible chemical and I reject it.

With too much testing the rejection comes to most of us on next morning.

So, what are the best mixes of local and cheap alcohol? I'll start.

Cheap mans cider (and better than the ready made, which are available on the normal shops).

1 part of Siam Sato

1 part of soda

Soda will give some co2 and also make the mix less sweet.

Give it a try.

[LivinginKata]

Have you tried Blend 285 ? Can buy in most shops, I buy in Patong Wiskey for 187 Baht (700 ml) and 260 Baht (Litre). 195 Baht in Tesco.

[keestha]

Instead of Maekhong, I started selling a very similar product called Hong Thong. Believe it has been around for some time. Black Cat, which tastes like an imitation of normal whisky, has become more difficult to find, if still available at all.

[chiang mai]

Whatever happened to Maekhong, it was an old favorite for many many years?

[iSabai]

Have you tried Blend 285 ? Can buy in most shops, I buy in Patong Wiskey for 187 Baht (700 ml) and 260 Baht (Litre). 195 Baht in Tesco.

Instead of Maekhong, I started selling a very similar product called Hong Thong. Believe it has been around for some time. Black Cat, which tastes like an imitation of normal whisky, has become more difficult to find, if still available at all.

Could it be that Sang Som and Sang Thip was from the same company, and just later merged them under the Sang Som label? In those earlier years I’m pretty sure I remember Mehkong, Sang Thip, and Sang Som. But not 100% sure like I said.

The Black Cat whiskey was Thai made I’m pretty sure, haven’t seen it in years. The Blend 285 is a scotch type tasting whiskey which to me tastes like an imitation scotch flavored spirit of some sort, really nasty stuff! Tho I am not a Scotch drinker anyway...

For my tastes, and I’m going strictly by taste here, the Mehkong was tolerable and mixed ok with Coke if you like that rum & coke sort of thing. It was 70 proof or 35%. And it was cheap at ฿120 a bottle.

Sang Som is a better tasting style of Mehkong to me, also goes okay in the rum & coke mixtures, but 80 proof (40%) so a bit stronger. Personally I think they both tasted better with Coke than the Bacardi rum here does. The Bacardi here is made in India, and tastes like they wrung it through used sweat socks, yuck! I was a Bacardi drinker back in farangland, and the stuff here tastes waaaay different.

I’ve tried the Hong Thong when the Mehkong dried up last year, and I found it has a funny aftertaste that I didn’t like. Maybe it’s something you can get used to, or maybe not!

Just my personal tastes though, and how they may affect you after you’ve had too many, or whatever kind of hangover each one inflicts is another matter entirely! I do my best not to get to that point anymore...

On a side note, some of you may remember the original Kloster Beer they made here in Thailand with German authorization and/or assistance. Was the best tasting Thai beer ever, sadly long disappeared now. When they first went down, for what reason I don’t know, another company picked it up and re-marketed it. But it just wasn’t the same taste after that and never regained popularity. Haven’t seen it in several years now.

[KRS1]

I remember seeing Sang Som and Sang Thip for sale at the same time 15 years ago. Before i came to thailand i had never puked from drinking too much alcohol, all that changed when i found Sang Thip, rock salt and madon fruit.

Now just thinking of the smell of Sang Thip makes me want to hurl.

[iSabai]

Well after a brief absence Sang Som is back in circulation. New slightly updated label, new bottle with plastic insert pourer, new price at ฿230 a bottle by the case. At least in my neck of the woods...

[keestha]

On a side note, some of you may remember the original Kloster Beer they made here in Thailand with German authorization and/or assistance. Was the best tasting Thai beer ever, sadly long disappeared now. When they first went down, for what reason I don’t know, another company picked it up and re-marketed it. But it just wasn’t the same taste after that and never regained popularity. Haven’t seen it in several years now.

Beers come and go. Once there was Amarit, it disappeared around 1995. Still miss Carlsberg, would trade in Heineken for it right away. I remember Mittweida,it was only there for a short while late 90's early 0's. For a long time, my favourite beer was Singha Gold. Is Becks still there? And what about Phuket Lager, or was it called Phuket Blue Eyes? Always wondered why there is no alcohol free beer in Thailand, it goes so nice with a meal if you have the habit to drink only late in the evening, if at all.

Edited February 21, 2012 by keestha

[Ping]

^Phuket Lager is still around, though hard to come by (as always).

[Shot]

On a side note, some of you may remember the original Kloster Beer they made here in Thailand with German authorization and/or assistance. Was the best tasting Thai beer ever, sadly long disappeared now. When they first went down, for what reason I don’t know, another company picked it up and re-marketed it. But it just wasn’t the same taste after that and never regained popularity. Haven’t seen it in several years now.

Beers come and go. Once there was Amarit, it disappeared around 1995. Still miss Carlsberg, would trade in Heineken for it right away. I remember Mittweida,it was only there for a short while late 90's early 0's. For a long time, my favourite beer was Singha Gold. Is Becks still there? And what about Phuket Lager, or was it called Phuket Blue Eyes? Always wondered why there is no alcohol free beer in Thailand, it goes so nice with a meal if you have the habit to drink only late in the evening, if at all.

I saw Phuket Lager at Super Cheap a few months ago. I should have picked some up, have not seen it since. I did see Carlsberg there on Sunday, they had about 25-30 cases.

[ozymandious]

I went to Prom Phan the other day looking for Sang Som. The guy at the counter said that they are doing a lable redesign and that he will be receiving a shipment of new bottles (big ones only) this week.

[keestha]

Saw the new Sang Som in Khao Lak today, so it should trickle down to Phuket soon enough. Cool new label, less cluttered than the old one. Was surprised it said "40%", always thought it was less.