SangSom Thai Rum (“Whiskey” to the locals)

Malt Mileage Rating: ★★★☆ (3.5)

Type: Rum

Origin: Thailand  

ABV: 40%

Price: $4 (in Thailand) 

SangSom is made from sugar cane molasses and then aged in oak barrels. According to the owners of the SangSom brand, the rum is aged for at least three years. Many Thai people affectionately call SangSom “Thai whiskey”; perhaps that is just their way of getting us tourists to just buy the stuff so we stop blocking the entry to the bar/Family Mart/Bamboo Mart. 

I had extremely low expectations for SangSom, primarily because a bottle of it cost me about $4 in Phuket and a bottle of Blend 285 Thai Spirit which I purchased on a previous trip to Thailand tasted – in my opinion – like the tail run of a distillation. I shudder just thinking about Blend 285, which I gained use from by using it as a disinfectant. 

The $4 bottle of SangSom did not last long. It was enjoyable and easy to drink. The rum was extremely mellow and moreish; almost dangerously so (perfect on a trip to Thailand). It soon became ritual for me to read the Bangkok Post by the pool with a bag of lychees and a few nips of SangSom. The locals like to drink it with soda water and a dash of cola, while others enjoy it with a dash of red bull. I prefer the way the locals drink it, simply with soda. 

SangSom has soft mellow sugars, coconut, and mild sweet coffee flavours; the aroma is light and sweet and the flavour is approachable. It is a very simple, but enjoyable, golden rum.