Village Still · Fermented Rice Spirit
Lao-Lao (Rice Whisky)
📷 Closely related photo — Photo: Rafael Antonio / Wikimedia Commons · Public domain
The name is a play on two words: the first 'lao', said with a different tone, means alcohol, and the second means Lao, so it reads roughly as 'Lao liquor'.
Steamed sticky rice is fermented, then distilled in small village stills into a strong, usually clear spirit. Villages on Champasak's Mekong islands run their own small-batch stills, selling it by the bottle at local markets and roadside stands.
Why it's made this way: Home distilling has long been a household trade run mostly by women across Laos, and sharing a round of it in one gulp is a standard part of Lao festival and guest-welcoming custom.
More from Laos
Part of World of Street Food — 3443 dishes from 118 countries.
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