Champa Meuanglao
Menu
  • Home
  • Section
    • Business
    • Lifestyle
    • Food
    • Travel
    • Lao Airlines
  • Contact
  • on ISSUU
  • Advertise with us!
  • ພາສາ: English
    • English English
    • ລາວ ລາວ
  • laoairlines.com
Champa Meuanglao
  • Home
  • Section
    • Business
    • Lifestyle
    • Food
    • Travel
    • Lao Airlines
  • Contact
  • on ISSUU
  • Advertise with us!
  • ພາສາ: English
    • English English
    • ລາວ ລາວ
  • laoairlines.com
Business, Food

Rhum Deal

posted by Thanouphet
May 1, 2020 3609 0 0
Share

A new entrant on the Lao beverage scene is truly top shelf.

A group of cows came trotting up the road towards us. They all looked remarkably sober, so I surmised we were still short of our target: the LAODI distillery, makers of rhum. I was right. We had another half hour’s travel ahead.

We arrived just before our host, Ms. Anna Sichanthavong, an engaging woman who took obvious delight in showing us how their elixir is made. A Filipino family had accompanied her.  They revealed they were collectors, and the patriarch was realizing his long-held ambition of having a set of LAODI bottles, I assume along with their contents.

“I have over 4000 bottles,” he announced. “So who dusts them?” I asked. “Me, I don’t trust anyone else,” he replied.

Is rhum the same as rum? It’s a special variety. Normal rum is made from fermenting molasses, while rhum is produced from sugar cane juice, yielding a lighter flavor.

The distillery itself is quite diminutive for a place that churns out so much really excellent rhum, and in this age of environmental awareness, they are proud of the fact that the whole process is eco-friendly. No agricultural chemicals are used and the bagasse, or residue of the crushing, is dried and used to fire the machinery, reducing the need for fossil fuels. Water from the nearby Mekong River ensures that the sugar crop is not contaminated with salt.

Enter Ikozu Inoue, with his wonderfully wizened laughter and exacting enthusiasm for the products of the distillery. In 2016 after being inspired by the local Lao hooch, Inoue saw the possibilities of using the tradition and skills used in producing lao lao or lao khao. But being a man who enjoys challenges, he saw the desirability of taking that process a few steps further. His first product was the classic white rhum which takes six to twelve months to mature. Later by changing and balancing the ingredients, LAODI now produces a range of rich multi-layered rhums with quintessentially Asian flavors, such as coconut, passionfruit, and coffee. 

After a few experiments, LAODI rhum came to fruition but not finalization. Inoue is not yet finished. The innovation goes on.

Inoue established LAODI as the materialization of his many dreams of brewing. The company continues to be innovative. Some of those works in progress were available to taste, while another sits simmering in a wooden barrel under close scrutiny.

Being sugar-based, I thought that the liquor would be too sweet for my taste. After a few small glasses, I can attest to the fact that the balance is just right. The name suits. It is called LAODI (good Lao) as it is very tasty.

Lao tradition has not been entirely abandoned. A tour of the distillery reveals signature lines of clay jars sealed with cotton fabric used to mature the traditional Lao drink. They have not eschewed that tradition, but are instead refining it.

He maintains his role as a part-time teacher at Japan’s Fukuyama University while establishing a Brewing Training Center at the LAODI distillery in Laos. The Lao staff assist in manufacturing, experimenting, managing, and monitoring. A set of thermometers nestling in a blue velvet lined box indicated the necessity of controlling the process all the way through.

As with wine, the flavor is enhanced by its period of rest in a wooden barrel. The barrel room was redolent with the smell of the old wood, bringing with them memories of bourbon, pinot noir, and cabernets, while a solitary barrel sat bathed in soft blue light as a tribute perhaps to Bacchus.

Of course, no tour is complete without a tasting. Anna was pleased to offer us some samples. We tried the experimental brews served from a counter that displayed the many prizes already won by this remarkable young enterprise. Then we retired to the garden to taste the well-established styles. Wow! I came away with three bottles to sip as the sun sinks into the Mekong.

All sales go towards expanding and sustaining this company and continuing to employ local people.

 

GETTING THERE

The Distillery is a 1.5 hour trip out of Vientiane through farm and industrial landscapes and rural markets. A tour lasts about an hour and is free, at the moment.

 

MORE INFO

You can organize a visit through their Facebook page: facebook.com/rhumlaodi

Or visit their sunset bar on Vientiane’s riverside near the Mekong River Commission: facebook.com/rumlaodi

 

Text BY Melody Kemp

PHOTOGRAPHS BY Phoonsab Thevongsa

LaodiRhum
Share

Previous

[:en]Bring in the Laos, Bring in the Funk[:]

Next

[:en]Growing Relationships[:la]ຄວາມສໍາພັນທີ່ກໍາລັງເຕີບໃຫຍ່ [:]
  • English
  • ລາວ

Recent Posts

  • City of Saffron, City of Faith
  • SAYABOURY’S ELEVEN DISTRICT
  • Spotlight on Sayaboury
  • New Year Lao Style
  • Lasting Laos

Categories

  • Art
  • Business
  • Café
  • Culture
  • Environment
  • Festival
  • Food
  • Lao Airlines
  • Lasting Laos
  • Lifestyle
  • Outdoors
  • Social Enterprise
  • Stay
  • Style
  • Travel

Archives

  • March 2023
  • January 2023
  • November 2022
  • September 2022
  • July 2022
  • May 2022
  • March 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • September 2021
  • April 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • November 2020
  • September 2020
  • July 2020
  • May 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • March 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • September 2018
  • July 2018
  • May 2018
  • March 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • July 2017
  • May 2017

Follow Us

Contact Form 7

Error: Contact form not found.

You Might Also Like

Business
May 1, 2017

Apple of her eye

As a marketing symbol, you can’t get much more potent than the apple. That remarkably simple and instantly...

Read More
1 0
Business, Food, Social Enterprise, Stay
Jan 15, 2022

The Academy Training Hotel & Restuarant

Come for the good cause, stay for the excellent service Located in the heart of Vang Vieng, The Academy Training...

Read More
0 0
Copyrights © 2018 Champa Meuanglao. All Rights Reserved.
Website by Designix Studio
Back top