Sri Lankan arrack: stirring up the international cocktail circuit
Aliya, Ceylon Sailor, Serendib, the Baroness, Paddington, Tusker, Everlasting Summer, Orient Expresso…they all have two things in common. Firstly they are all cocktails. Secondly, and most importantly, the principal ingredient or base spirit is Sri Lankan Arrack.
The pear-shaped island’s drinking culture has revolved around its signature spirit, arrack, made from fermented coconut flower sap, or toddy, and tastes a bit like a mixture of rum and tequila with subtle citrus notes.
The late food and travel writer Anthony Bourdain described arrack as tasting like "a marriage of bourbon and rum, but with a stronger, burning kick and a mysterious bouquet". Yet the makers of Sri Lankan arrack - best described as similar to dark coconut rum, firmly believe it is still punching far below its weight when it comes to international recognition and appreciation.
There’s little evidence to suggest arrack’s origins and there is no way of really knowing how long Sri Lankans have been drinking arrack, but it is believed to be one of the oldest spirits in the world. According to oral history, centuries ago, toddy was given to elephants in the king’s army before battle. Robert Knox, a British sea captain who spent 19 years in Sri Lanka as a captive, wrote in his 1681 - book An Historical Relation of the Island Ceylon that captives distilled arrack to drink. In the mid-1600s, the Dutch began the commercial planting of coconut trees on the west coast of Sri Lanka and exported coconut arrack to Malaysia and several Indian destinations.
The price and quality of arrack has a lot do with the percentage of actual toddy in it. While the premium versions are a 100% natural spirit distilled from the sap of the coconut flower and aged in Sri Lankan halmilla wood casks, cheaper blends - which are somewhat erroneously called "Extra Special Arrack" - are usually also made from molasses, a form of treacle. Some of the most basic versions of arrack can actually contain, as little as 3% toddy.
For years, arrack was considered too "low class" to be taken seriously as a premium alcohol, even in Sri Lanka, whose elite in the capital Colombo preferred Scotch whisky, wine or rum. However, in recent years, Sri Lanka has seen a resurgence of interest in coconut arrack, as mixologist around the world begin to champion this hugely overlooked spirit.
The Singaporean bar ‘Native’ uses Arrack in one of its cocktails, and its owner and head bartender Vijay Mudaliar says it has been a bestseller ever since they introduced it. "Arrack is a beautiful spirit. The taste profile is very fresh and clean. Aged arracks are definitely a viable choice for any dark spirit drinkers."
Although lower grade arrack still accounts for almost 70% of sales in Sri Lanka, the premium versions are making Sri Lankans feel that they can take pride in the drink.
Sri Lankan mixologist Dhanushka Dias, opines; “When someone says Mexico, people think of tequila. I want the world to think of coconut arrack when they hear the name Sri Lanka,” says Dias, “It’s our history and culture blended in one drink. We must celebrate it.”
Hospitality Sri Lanka
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