Buckle up and get to know the marvelous story of first rum makers in Cambodia

Dec 15, 2018

There are numerous well-known types of alcohols in Cambodia, and one of them is “Rum”. However, not many people know what exactly rum is. So get ready to know the history of the first rum in town.

Samai Distillery, brought to us by two Venezuelans, has been the first Rum distillery in Cambodia making Cambodia's first premium Rum since 2014. Rum is the strong alcoholic drink made of sugarcane that can be found everywhere in Southeast Asia making the two entrepreneurs decided to base their production here in our beloved country.

As mentioned by Samai Distillery themselves, rum can be obtained by a three-step procedure:

1). Fermentation: this is where yeast eats the sugar in the molasses and converts it into alcohol and carbon dioxide, and become the “first stage” alcohol, which is not pleasant to the taste yet.

2). Distillation: the “1st stage” outcome will go through distillation to be purified so that they will become a very strong rum containing up to 80% alcohol.

**Optional stage**: the “2nd stage” rum may get combined with spices to produce another authentic flavor. A gratitude to Samai Distillery here for using local Cambodian spices especially Kampot peppers.

3). Ageing: the name of the step is self-explanatory! The longer it stays in barrels, the better and stronger taste the rum is.

Currently, an enormous provider to all local bars and shops, Samai Distillery also functions as a cocktail bar itself where many customers can come and try their genuine rum with various artificial flavors. The menu includes:

Samai Tasting Flight (the classic rum): raw and strong without any added flavors! Perfect for a fancy night out.

Rum with little twists: a signature cocktail of rum and other sweet/salty/sour flavor are made for you by the one and only Samai Distillery ranging from the “Aged Negroni De Cana” (the strongest, up to 50% of rum) to the “Frozen Mango Daiquiri” (the mildest, perfect for ladies)