"Coconut is something that is very popular in Sri Lanka, we use it for practically everything, for cooking to oil, for beverage. It wasn’t a surprise to use coconut sap as a base to make arrack."

This decade has seen huge leaps in the Asian cocktail scene: built upon renewed interest in craft cocktails has saw invigorated interest in the flavours, techniques and flairs hailing from the region. That also meant that curious palates have caught on to new spirits beyond the classics; high-proof shochus made with sweet potato, barley and black sugar from Japan, premium soju from Korea... the list goes on!

Toddy (right), which is distilled to make arrack. Source: Ceylon Arrack (Rockland Distillery)

A buzz is slowly but surely building from South Asia, with distilleries championing an age-old spirit that recently had a much-needed facelift to stand beside their contemporaries on the bar shelf. That spirit would be arrack; a coconut-based spirit hailing from tropical Sri Lanka.

So, what exactly is arrack, and why is it so deserving of a spot on a bar shelf?

We've recently headed down to Kotuwa, a Sri-Lankan bar and restaurant helmed by two-Michelin-starred Chef Rishi Naleendra. Helming the beverage programme was arrack maverick and Colombo native Head Bartender Ashaka Harith; mixing up cocktails featuring the coconut spirit in the recently launched "Lion's Cup" bar menu - inspired by the pivotal Sri Lankan win against Australia in the 1996 Cricket World Cup.

Ashaka Harith shaking up cocktails at Kotuwa's bar counter. Source: @kotuwa.sg

We spoke with Ashaka on all things arrack: how the spirit is made, what to look out for when searching for a bottle, and hearing about his experiences growing up with the spirit in Sri Lanka. Let's go!

[88B] To someone who came to know about arrack for the first time, how would you explain arrack to a newcomer and how is it similar or different to other spirits?

Our tasting flight of arracks, curated by Ashaka during our visit at Kotuwa.

[Ashaka]: Arrack is something that falls between rum and whisky, and given how matured they are, they would lean either way. It’s a spirit that is a category on its own. I’m talking about Sri Lankan arrack; I won’t go into flavours just yet, but it's something that can be enjoyed at any given day, any occasion to be honest. 

Pots of freshly tapped toddy. Source: @ceylonarrack

What makes up arrack is coconut sap. There’s a flower on the coconut tree, and people who collect this sap, they’re called toddy tappers: what they would do is they will climb the tree, make a small incision on the flower, and they will leave a pot there. They will do a number of trees. And on the next day, they would go and collect the sap. Itself, by its own, it’s consumable. When you drink it on its own in Sri Lanka, it’s called toddy. It has a milky texture to it, but it’s a bit on the sour side, there’s a nice sweetness to it. So Sri Lankan arrack is made by fermenting that stuff; that stuff ferments on its own as well. But it’s distilled and aged to be called Sri Lankan arrack.

Palmyrha palm sap is used in the northern parts of Sri Lanka.

There is a Sri Lankan arrack that is made out of palm sap, which is popular in the northern part of Sri Lanka, but the coconut arrack is most popular and most consumed one today.

[88B] Is there any law or regulation within Sri Lanka that dictates you can only use coconut sap or palm sap?

Coconut trees are called the "tree of life" in Sri Lanka. Toddy tappers often pray to the tree before climbing up for toddy. Source: BBC

[Ashaka]: There isn’t, but tradition is such, and also apart from those two, I can’t think of any other tree sap that you could use to make arrack. And coconut is something that is very popular in Sri Lanka, we use it for practically everything, for cooking to oil, for beverage. It wasn’t a surprise to use coconut sap as a base to make arrack.

Arrack is very versatile, you can drink it with pretty much anything you want. Mix it with coke, sprite, soda water, coconut water. It can also be had on its own as well, with ice or neat. 

[88B] Let’s touch on the cultural aspect of arrack in Sri Lanka. How long has arrack been in Sri Lanka and how do people normally enjoy it there?

[Ashaka] A few hundred years at least. It’s considered one of the oldest spirits in the world. When it comes to enjoying it, it really comes down to your preference. Also arrack is very versatile, you can drink it with pretty much anything you want. Mix it with coke, sprite, soda water, coconut water. It can also be had on its own as well, with ice or neat. 

Drinking arrack with some sort of carbonated beverage seems universally accepted by the folks in Sri Lanka.

How the locals enjoy arrack are with these two most popular mixers: soda or water. But like I say, a lot of people drink it with coke, or with ginger beer. Ginger beer is very popular in Sri Lanka. You can drink it with juice as well.

The Aliya by Rockland Distilleries combines Ceylon Arrack and coconut water, with the option to top up with ginger beer. Source: Ceylon Arrack

Let’s say if you’re trying arrack for the first time, I would recommend having it on ice with a little bit of soda water on the side. You try it first, and if you want it to be diluted, top it up with soda water. 

[88B] Is this a spirit that people in Sri Lanka normally consume neat on its own like a scotch or a rum? 

[Ashaka] Not always. However, there are distillers that make really high quality arrack nowadays, and are serving arracks that are aged a little bit longer that almost resemble a whisky. Those I recommend to try neat or with a glug of ice, because they have a lot of flavour that would be lost if you were to mix it with something else. 

I have a nostalgic relationship with it. It is something I always see my members of my family, my dad drinks it all the time. As I became of age I started to enjoy alcoholic beverages, and it’s something I am attracted to.

[88B] As someone who grew up in Sri Lanka, what is your relationship with arrack?

[Ashaka] I’ve lived quite a few years in Singapore now, but, arrack was always, even in my family, always associated with a gathering or celebration of sorts. I have a nostalgic relationship with it. It is something I always see my members of my family, my dad drinks it all the time. So, naturally, I was quite curious about it. As I became of age I started to enjoy alcoholic beverages, and it’s something I am attracted to.

Culturally, alcohol is always accompanied with food in Sri Lanka - with many anecdotes of travellers having been served arrack in households or at bars. Source: Kingsbury Hotel

It’s a wonderful spirit.

[88B] How was your first experience drinking arrack?

[Ashaka] I do remember. I don’t remember afterwards, but I remember starting the drink. Obviously when you are 16,17 years old, you don't really know what to drink or what to drink. First time I had an arrack was with coke. And it was with a bunch of friends, just having a good time.

It was a cheaper brand as well, we didn’t have that much money. So we went to the shop and got the cheapest brand we could afford, and we sat by the river, by the beach, a bottle coke and a bottle of arrack. And that was my experience drinking arrack.

[88B] You know how some folks get a bit afraid of a spirit after they get exceedingly drunk from it - was there the same experience with arrack? 

[Ashaka] No, not really. Because it was something associated with a gathering, and it's just fun. I really enjoyed the taste of it. Of course, it was driven by the sugar content of the cola, but it was still a very enjoyable experience.

But I would still say that if you’re throwing a party at home or if you have family coming over for dinner or lunch, arrack is almost always the go to.

[88B] You mentioned that arrack has been enjoyed all the time with your family, so picture this: for arrack, has it always been a “my father’s drink” “my grandfather’s drink”, something that belongs to the previous generation; or is it something that every generation enjoys regardless?

[Ashaka]  I’ll say that everybody enjoys. Also, it’s a lot more accessible, it’s flavours that everybody’s familiar with.

Every time I go back home, I would bring back a different type of spirit to let my family try. And I remember there was a time I brought a bottle of rum with me, a spiced dark rum. I was sitting with my dad and uncles, and I was like “try this”. They sipped on it, they enjoyed for a bit, but they felt that it was a bit too sweet for us, and they fell back to the arrack. Everyone has developed a palate towards arrack and a preference towards arrack.

Old & Smoked by Smoke & Bitters: Spiced arrack blend, chai, cinnamon, smoked orange bitters, Ceylon bitters and smoked in cinnamon and halmilla wood. Source: @smoke.bitters

I have been here in Singapore for 14 years now. so I can’t speak about the young drinkers anymore, the drinking culture has evolved a lot since back then. Before that, it was a slightly different drinking culture. Now, there's a lot more brands and types of spirits available in Sri Lanka. Whereas when I was growing up, it was mostly arrack, or maybe a little bit of gin or rum. When I go to a bar or a pub in Sri Lanka now, I do see a lot of foreign brands of gins and rums, and it’s improved a lot in a way where now everybody has more options.

Smoke & Bitters, one of the top bars in Sri Lanka that was featured in Asia's 50 Best. Source: @smoke.bitters

But I would still say that if you’re throwing a party at home or if you have family coming over for dinner or lunch, arrack is almost always the go to. If not, maybe a bit of whisky.

Especially, because it’s the native spirit, right? It’s a very versatile spirit as well that you can do a lot with, rather than figuring out what kind of gin or tequila or rum, I think arrack has this solution for everything.

[88B] Let's shift towards the cocktail culture about arrack. In Sri Lanka, do bars often use arrack as a spirit base for cocktails nowadays?

[Ashaka]  Definitely. So the cocktail culture itself has developed, evolved almost quite rapidly in say the last six or seven years. Not to compare it with Singapore, craft cocktails weren’t a thing in Sri Lanka growing up. Because the idea was to go to a bar, you either have a beer or a bottle of arrack, and chill with your friends.

In a SilverKris article, it has been noted that arrack, which used to be seen "as a working class beverage", has now made its way into top bars within Sri Lanka; representing the country's cultural heritage. Source: SilverKris

But in recent times, it has been evolving very well, and a lot of people are getting into cocktails with arrack. Especially, because it’s the native spirit, right? It’s a very versatile spirit as well that you can do a lot with, rather than figuring out what kind of gin or tequila or rum, I think arrack has this solution for everything. You can’t really go wrong with it in a cocktail. It’s increasingly becoming popular in Sri Lanka and almost every bar that I would go to will have at least one or two dedicated arrack cocktails in the menu.

The Tapper's Pot, by Shangri-La Colombo's Tiki Bar, which boasts 55 arrack infusions. The Tapper's Pot is made with arrack, carbonated mango pickle brine, and frothed coconut water. Source: @tikibarshangrilacmb

[88B] How is arrack received in the cocktail world outside of Sri Lanka? 

[Ashaka]  It’s been becoming very popular. Obviously for the flavour and versatility, I remember the first time I saw Sri Lankan arrack in Singapore was at Native, when Vijay just opened. He had a drink that was made with Ceylon Arrack ; it was a fantastic drink, I was blown away by it. It was quite cool for me to see as a Sri Lankan, a cocktail made in Singapore using Sri Lankan arrack, so every time I would come back from a visit, I would get a bottle they didn’t have access to and I would come in and drink it with them, and sometimes I would leave it at the bar. 

One of Native's most famous cocktails - the Tree of Life - uses coconut in all its entirety: Ceylon Arrack, coconut sap sugar (gula melaka), coconut wine (toddy), coconut water, coconut oil, coconut milk, and served in a coconut husk. Source: @nativebarsg

Nowadays, I see more and more bars using it in their cocktails. It’s very easy to work with. It has a very unique flavour profile, it has this malty, slightly nutty flavour to it, but it's nothing indigestible. There’s almost that fermented sourness to it, a bit of a hint of it, which adds to the depth of the spirit itself, and of course it’s aged, so there’s that complexity. It’s an overall very rounded spirit equivalent.

The Kandy, created by Luca Cordiglieri for China Tang in the Dorchester Hotel. The Kandy features arrack, creme de cacao, Frangelico, vanilla and orange. Source: The Culture Trip (courtesy of Ceylon Arrack).

[88B] When I look at an arrack bottle, what should I look out for at the label?

[Ashaka] I would look for the distillery, that’s the first thing I’ll look for. Some of the best arrack coming from Sri Lanka is coming from Rockland Distilleries. They have been spearheading this campaign of bringing arrack out of Sri Lanka and into the world. They have just celebrated their 100 year anniversary. If it’s by Rockland Distilleries, I’ll always go for it. I have a few other labels from them as well, and I have tried all the arracks they have to offer and they’re absolutely fantastic. Tthere’s another distillery called IDL (International Distillers Ltd): these two distilleries are the front runners of the arrack scene in Sri Lanka. 

Whilst also famous for the Colombo Gin, Rockland Distilleries started out as an arrack distillery. Source: @ceylonarrack

Apart from that, sometimes they would mention how they are aged. Sri Lankan arrack is aged, but they are usually aged in this massive wooden vats, and these vats are mostly made out of teak and this type of wood called halmilla. In some arracks, you get these peppery, oaky notes to it that comes from the wooden halmilla, and if you smell Sri Lankan arrack, it smells almost like fresh new furniture in a way. How it’s matured really isn’t that big of a factor, but I would focus on which distilleries they are coming from. 

Ashaka recommends giving IDL's Old Reserve Arrack a try, alongside Rockland Distillery's Ceylon Arrack.

[88B] If you want to recommend someone to arrack for the first time, what labels or styles would you pick?

[Ashaka] Ceylon Arrack from Rockland Distilleries will be the first one I'll recommend, it’s a very balanced arrack, and it’s very arrack. Some might find arrack pungent in a way, if somebody who’s never experienced and take a whiff of it, they might find it strong on the nose, but this is super clean, super refined, aged just a little bit to give it a bit of complexity, however it’s a very easy arrack. I’ll say start with this first, then work your way up to more matured ones. 

[88B] You mentioned the best way for someone coming into the category to try arrack is to have it with soda water and ice, right? On that note, what is your preferred way of enjoying arrack?

[Ashaka] It depends on what arrack I’m drinking to be honest. If I’m drinking the Ceylon Arrack, I would drink it in a highball, and halmilla, definitely on ice, and for the old reserve, definitely neat. Basically the more matured the arrack is, I wouldn’t dilute it. But the younger ones, they are a lot more refreshing to have with soda water and ice. 

Arrack has a little bit of everything for everybody. There’s smoothness, there’s maturity, there’s oak, it’s a very well rounded spirit that can be had however you want. ...There are no boundaries in a way.

[88B] If you had to pitch arrack to bar hoppers, cocktail drinkers and bartenders, how would you pitch it to them?

Papare Papare at Kotuwa: featuring Ceylon Arrack, sesame and jaggery.

[Ashaka] I would say if you want a more well rounded spirit, arrack has a little bit of everything for everybody. There’s smoothness, there’s maturity, there’s oak, it’s a very well rounded spirit that can be had however you want. There are certain spirits that you can’t have it however you want, if you go to a bar and ask for a gin and coke, you’ll get weird glances. Or say, if you ask for whisky with Fanta, people would ask if you’ve gone mad. But arrack is something that you can drink however you want. There are no boundaries in a way.

Want to learn more about arracks and their cocktails made by Ashaka himself? Head over to our recent escapade at Kotuwa!

@vernoncelli