Sombai

Sombai's workshop in a traditional Khmer wooden house
Painted bottles of Sombai Liqueur with pictures of Angkor temples

Sombai Cambodian Liqueur (Sombai) is a local beverage produced in Siem Reap.[1]

Liqueur

This liqueur was created by a Mauritian lady installed in Cambodia in 2012.[2] It has become the iconic beverage of Siem Reap,[3][4] and for some also of Cambodia.[5]

Indeed, this beverage takes inspiration from the Sraa Tram (or soaked wine) that Cambodians drink traditionally.[6][7] Some leading establishments in Siem Reap use this liqueur to cook, prepare cocktails ou accompany a whole meal in order to give a local touch[8], such as Chef Pola Siv at Mie Café[9] or the Park Hyatt[10]. There are 8 different flavours which are always a combinaison of 2 fruits or spices.

The particularity of the bottles of Sombai is that they are hand-painted making it attractive to tourists visiting Cambodia who want to bring back home gifts or souvenirs.[11][12][13]

Cocktails

Even if usually consumed neat or on the rocks, the Sombai liqueurs enter in the composition of several cocktails, including Khmer cocktails[14]:

Asana Sling (by Asana): 4cl Bombay Sapphire, 2cl Cointreau, 2cl Sombai Galangal & Tamarind, 2cl Cherry brandy, 4cl pineapple juice, 2cl lime mix (sugar and lime juice), 2cl grenadine syrup, 1 dash of Angostura bitters

Lemon Lemongrass Tini (by Le Méridien Angkor): 4.5cl Sombai Lemon & Lemongrass, 1.5cl Dry Martini

Sombai Blue (by Le Méridien Angkor): 4.5cl Sombai Coconut & Pineapple, 1.5cl Curaçao, 3cl lime juice, 4cl pineapple juice, 1.5cl cane sugar syrup

Sombai Fizz (by Asana): 2cl Sombai Coconut & Pineapple, 2cl Sombai Banana & Cinnamon, 2cl Triple Sec, 2cl lime juice, 2cl cane sugar syrup, soda water

Siem Reap Monsoon (by Asana): 2cl Sombai Mango & Green Chili, 6cl Sombai Lemon & Lemongrass, 2cl lime juice, 6cl cane juice, 1 kefir lime leaf, 2 paddy herbs

Sombai Sour (by Le Méridien Angkor): 4.5cl Sombai Ginger & Red Chilli, 3cl lime juice, 3cl cane sugar syrup

Production Workshop

The workshop and its tasting parlour[15] installed in a traditional Khmer wooden house, has become a tourist attraction in town.[16][17] It also proposes products from the sister brand Joe's Cuisine (speciality foods, like spices or alcoholic jams) and Joe's Kampot Pepper Liqueur.[18]

In Backup Man, a science fiction novel written by Paul Di Filippo, cocktails made of Sombai appear in a trendy bar of Washington DC: Particulate-filtering airfish drifting gently through the biolit dimness; imene tuki and Karelian rune singing on the sound system; sombai cocktails at twenty NUbucks a pop.[19]

References

  1. ↑ Nicky Sullivan "Fruit-flavoured infused rice wines make a splash". The Phnom Penh Post, 7 September 2012,
  2. ↑ Cassiau, Julie (2012-08-24). "DECOUVERTE - Sombaï, une nouvelle boisson locale à Siem Reap". Le Petit Journal (in French). Retrieved 2017-07-28.
  3. ↑ Dunston, Lara (2013). "Taste Siem Reap's own brand of infused rice spirit". Afar (magazine). Retrieved 2017-07-28.
  4. ↑ Duston, Lara (2014-10-31). "A Taste of Siem Reap — Sipping Sombai Infused Rice Spirit". Grantourismo Travels. Retrieved 2017-07-28.
  5. ↑ Rice, Jessica (22 August 2013). "59 national drinks from 59 awesome countries". Matador Network. Retrieved 2017-07-28.
  6. ↑ "Associated Press: Rice wine spirit is rebranded as a tourist tipple". Retrieved 2015-08-03.
  7. ↑ Lara Dunston "Cambodian rice wine revival". Australian Gourmet Traveller, 11 July 2014
  8. ↑ Mathew, Elisabeth. "Move over Angkor Wat". The Hindu. Retrieved 2017-07-28.
  9. ↑ Osborne, Lawrence (14 December 2015). "The New Tastes of Old Siem Reap". Saveur. Retrieved 2017-07-28.
  10. ↑ "Cambodian rice wine". AsiaLIFE Cambodia. 31 January 2014. Retrieved 2017-07-28.
  11. ↑ Lara Dunston "Taste Siem Reap’s Own Brand of Infused Rice Spirit". Afar (magazine)
  12. ↑ Nick Ray "Sombai". Lonely Planet Online
  13. ↑ Dunston, Lara (2014-10-31). "A Taste of Siem Reap — Sipping Sombai Infused Rice Spirit". Grantourismo Travels. Retrieved 2017-07-20.
  14. ↑ "Khmer cocktail class at Asana". Travelfish. Retrieved 2017-07-28.
  15. ↑ Miranda Glasser "Taste Sombai rice wine purveyors open new showroom". The Phnom Penh Post, 1 August 2014
  16. ↑ Robyn Eckhardt "36 Hours in Siem Reap". The New York Times, 22 July 2015
  17. ↑ Dana Ter"Searching for serenity in Siem Reap"., Taipei Times, 19 August 2015
  18. ↑ Peter Olszewski "Cambodian Fusion". Management Insider
  19. ↑ Di Fillippo, Paul. "Backup Man". Motherboard. Retrieved 2017-08-10.
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