Sang Som: More than you wanted to know

Combover says:

Isn't Sang Som "whiskey" actually rum?

Can anyone confirm what Sang Som, Mekong etc are made from? I guess rum should be made from sugar, but I heard once that Mekong was made from rice.

Actually - don't mind it too much. After a few days on the lash in Thailand it takes a few Thai whiskeys to get me kick started in the early evenings.

mr peter says:

This stuff is absolute muck, but I swear it tasted better when it was called san thip, it is rum and I thought made from sugar. Of course no Thai whiskey is the real thing, with the exception of black cat, that is imported from Scotland and bottled in Thailand. Should we call it Thai whisky then? ha ha-peter

Paul says:

Following is accurate.. to clarify for those of you that are guessing.

"Rice whisky is a big favourite in Thailand and somewhat more affordable than beer for the average Thai. It has a sharp, sweet taste not unlike rum, with an alcoholic content of 35%. The most famous brand is Mekong (pronounced 'Mae-khong'). In rural areas you'll find several other labels, including Kwangthong, Hong Thong, Hong Ngoen, Hong Yok and Hong Tho. Mekong costs around 120B for a large bottle (klom) or 60B for the flask-sized bottle (baen). The Hong brands are less expensive.

More expensive Thai whiskies appealing to the 'can't-afford-Johnnie-Walker-yet' set include Blue Eagle whisky and Spey Royal whisky, each with 40% alcohol. These come dressed up in shiny boxes, much like the far more expensive imported whiskies they're imitating.

One company in Thailand produces a true rum, that is, a distilled liquor made from sugar cane, called Sang Som. Alcohol content is 40% and the stock is supposedly aged. Sang Som costs several baht more than the rice whiskies, but for those who find Mekong and the like unpalatable, it is an alternative worth trying."

tonychang says:

Mekong is unfit for human consumption but Sang-som, I can drink that all day(and have).I found the day after a Mekhong sesh I would halloucinate and could hear imaginery voices,then again just the other day the toaster told me to go out and kill women.....

Toby says:

i'm all about the mekong and cokes. it's cheap, you get fucked up. it's not like you have to drink the shit everyday.

on a side note, of the hudreds of bar girls i've banged, i've only paid maybe five or six of them.
i have this dream where i go to thailand and there is an enormous invoice with an outstanding balance waiting for me.

Pumpkin says:

On a side note it does seem like you are still hallucinating, Toby!

Punchdrunk says:

Anything with Scotch means that it is produced in Scotland (I suspect but am not sure that it has to be bottled there) and aged for a minimum of 3 years with a hands off process in production.

Spey Royal, Johnie Red, 100 Pipers are all cheap and are Scotches.

Blended spirits don't require control and don't claim to be scotches either - these are the ones like Master Blend, Blue Eagle etc.

Almost all of these come from either Richmonde or Seagrams - two huge worldwide conglomorates.

And all of the above are utter crap to drink, as are bourbons - real men drink single malts hur hur hur.

Jules says:

The medical effect of long term abuse of low grade high strength alcohol is that it seriously fucks you up.

Just thought I would mention that. Now where is my Mekhong and Coke....

s kin mee of says:

Fucking evil stuff that mehkong....(slurp)

I got plastered on that shit once in Pattaya on a night out with the sabia dee massage girls (well about 26 of them). You can drink shit loads of the stuff without really getting drunk and your on such a high! Anyhow that was my first session and I recall throwing up in my sleep for the first time.

I dont know whats in it but after that experience i seemed to get the taste for it and was finding myself drinking more than 1 large bottle a night. Ive seen mates drink it with red bull and go into a coma for a day. Just sit in their chair and stare into space. I was told it had anthetamins in it. God knows but its evil stuff.

Looks like all the Thai's are drinking 100 pipers now. Errm, so am I.

Same with that Sang Som, no wounder the bloody thing exploded.

Is mehkong and sang som the same thing?

Geez says:

Contains Mercury, amphetimines and fuck knows what else.....but how good is the stuff!

Bring shed loads of the shit back to England every time i go to the land of smiles.

Punt the stuff on the streets.....the kids just love it

fuck crack mines a large bottle of brown danger

martin says:

i really enjoyed mehkong and coke. sang som too. Is there a place to buy it in england?
i found it very kind on my head. I didn't have any side effects like some other people have suggested. If i drank the same ammount of bacardi or vodka at home i would feel worse.
can't find it in safeways. why not???

jeff2 says:

Can anybody (preferably a chemist) clear up the mystery of what stimulants are contained in a sang som and redbull bucket? I am convinced there is more than just alcohol and caffeine as I definitely felt a feeling akin to speed or even ecstasy after drinking a large amount.

Toni says:

Sang Som, Meh Kong, Black Cat they are all crap and will kill you if you drink enough of it, but so what I m an alcoholic and drink at least a litre of vodka a day. If I can I will go for the best stuff I can get but failing that I have resorted to the rotgut you can buy in any Spanish supermarket and it is worse than what you can get in Thailand, generally Thais are rubbish at drinking, but they are used to the crushed cockroaches or whatever ends up in a bottle of Mehkong. I think the rule is if you are suffering lay off the grog for a bit or at least switch to some quality booze. Final warning avoid Manilla Rum and Larios Vodka at all costs.

The Shocking Truth says:

"Can anybody (preferably a chemist) clear up the mystery of what stimulants are contained in a sang som and redbull bucket? I am convinced there is more than just alcohol and caffeine as I definitely felt a feeling akin to speed or even ecstasy after drinking a large amount."

It's all in your head mate. The Thai Red Bull contains the same things as the Euro variety, although the concentration is slightly stronger in Thai Red Bull - i.e. the same amount of active substances in a smaller amount of liquid. It is also not carbonated.

The myth that Sang Thip (later Sang Som) contains amphetamines/ephedrine/other speed-like substance is a myth. Do you think anybody would be stupid enough to waste precious chemicals on a brew that cheap. You're just experiencing the effects of large amounts of sugar, caffeine (Red Bull) in combination with alcohol (Sang Som). No more, no less.

It still packs quite a punch.

Anonymous says:

Earlier in this thread Punchdrunk commented, and I quote:

"Anything with Scotch means that it is produced in Scotland (I suspect but am not sure that it has to be bottled there) and aged for a minimum of 3 years with a hands off process in production.

Spey Royal, Johnie Red, 100 Pipers are all cheap and are Scotches."

Since its drop in price a few years ago Spey is now bottled in Thailand and the PI.
It also makes my head hurt so I'll stuck with Benmore or Clan McGreggor.
For a cheap drink try Crown 99, a blend of scotch and various other stuff they found in the woodshed...as my Thai mate says:
"Mai pang and drink same same Black".
He would know; he's a pisshead.
On a related topic:
My mates and I swear that, despite what it says on the bottles, the alcohol content of Thai drinks is WAY under that
of the UK.
Extensive research carried out by professionals over many years (ie. my mates and I drinking heavily)show that 6 pints of beer and a couple of large small ones in the UK gets you well pissed whilst 10 bottles of Leo and a shared bottle of 100 Pipers does little more than make you get in a taxi and head for Nana Plaza.
Also, you don't get a headache in the morning although sometimes these little lesions (sic) appear, just on the head of your cock.
Enquiring minds need to know.

698 Days Overstay says:

Having gotten good drunks on in Thailand with just about everthing. I stock up in Essan with Bacardi. I check the sang som for cloudy sediment, thin colour, but it is hit or miss. Sometimes it's rocket fuel and other times carmel water. Seen many a visitor go crazy drinking that shit. Myself included. Sick as a dog. Drank good results with Regency and soda, I drink to get drunk. Long term use can result in headache splitting hangovers, sharp pains in the liver and kidneys, pissing brown and loss of tastebuds. Master Blend seems to be a drink of choice for some bar girls, but all the thai scotch, blended wiskeys the whole gamut even Tondgena taste the same to me. Once ordered a Glenlevit at some dumpy hole, it was the last of some bottle someone probably left at a party. The cashier poured the leftovers all in a glass and charged me 120 baht. I puked it out on contact, all alcohol had evaporated and it tasted like an old bar girl smells. Find a good cashier or owner stick with that Bar! Do not settle for constantly re-refrigerated beverages! (Some unplug the ice box at night) Bargirls saving electricity. Also you've seen the refrigerated beer trucks and chilled warehouses stacked with regularly rotated stock right? The beer in the back is not always the coldest and most likely has a rust ring around the neck. Guaranteed sour stomach. Stay with high turnover like Heinekin or Singh, non bulged or faded ice cold cans of Chaing or chilled bottles of Leo from 7-eleven stay clear of dirty mak stained glasses of Lao Khao from toothless villagers at five in the morning etc. etc. etc.......