This part isn't quite about cooking, but it's related. In Thailand, and I'm sure for expats in many countries, the selection of alcohol is not great. There's your generic local beer or two, in Thailand's case three (Singha, Leo, and Chang - the latter not being much of an option as its known for giving terrible hangovers, even when drank in small doses). The available liquor is either very expensive (especially relatively) or not good.
At bars I almost exclusively drink beer. Cocktails are expensive (relatively, still not more so than in the States, but the price of a good meal or two... or three) and not reliable - they may be poorly (or incorrectly) made, or use super cheap liquor that tastes horrible. Wine is, when there is any wine, usually fairly terrible as well. So, beer it is. Leo or, if I'm feeling fancy, Singha. There are no other options, except occasionally Tiger or Heineken.
But when I stop by the 7-11 to pick up a drink or two for one of the house parties that are a frequent occurrence in this town due to the lack of variety in bars, my instinct is to grab a beer, but I don't really want another beer. But I also don't want to bring the good liquor we have at home, which we use sparingly for cocktails. So, I have been experimenting with how to make the cheap stuff a bit more palatable. Sometimes it turns up tasting a bit like your college days, but its usually drinkable and a welcome respite from local beer.
Last night was one of those nights. It happened that Jon and I went out for dinner, ran into a friend who was meeting other friends, and ended up having dinner with them (great way to meet new people) and then heading to our friend's co-worker's house party.
My friend had already bought a bottle of cheap vodka (less than $10, still a good amount for here) and agreed to share with us if we got some mixers at the 7-11 on the way. We were a bit worried about the quality of the vodka, as it was some brand we'd never heard of and was so cheap compared to other liquor here, so figured we should get something that would mask the taste.
There weren't many options in the 7-11 we stopped at, but we arrived at the following cocktail. Pomegranate juice was our only realistic option for juice -there were other little juiceboxes, but this and orange juice were the only ones in a bigger carton, and I wasn't feeling Screwdrivers.
In the end, it turned out okay - the first glass did bring us back to our college years, but once w got better at proportions (less crappy vodka, more juice) it turned out to be quite drinkable.
7-11 Pomegranate Fizz
one part cheap, crappy vodka (300 baht/bottle)
one part Chang soda water in the cute glass bottles (7 baht/bottle, you need about 3-4 bottles)
two parts fairly weak and artificial-tasting pomegranate juice (20 baht/carton, you need 2)
Mix. Drink. Try not to feel like you're in college again. Be glad you're not drinking beer this time. (Or Thai whiskey, which I've neglected to mention is usually the cheap alternative to beer, usually put in Coke, but I can't drink whiskey at all so cheap Thai whiskey is definitely off the table).
At bars I almost exclusively drink beer. Cocktails are expensive (relatively, still not more so than in the States, but the price of a good meal or two... or three) and not reliable - they may be poorly (or incorrectly) made, or use super cheap liquor that tastes horrible. Wine is, when there is any wine, usually fairly terrible as well. So, beer it is. Leo or, if I'm feeling fancy, Singha. There are no other options, except occasionally Tiger or Heineken.
But when I stop by the 7-11 to pick up a drink or two for one of the house parties that are a frequent occurrence in this town due to the lack of variety in bars, my instinct is to grab a beer, but I don't really want another beer. But I also don't want to bring the good liquor we have at home, which we use sparingly for cocktails. So, I have been experimenting with how to make the cheap stuff a bit more palatable. Sometimes it turns up tasting a bit like your college days, but its usually drinkable and a welcome respite from local beer.
Last night was one of those nights. It happened that Jon and I went out for dinner, ran into a friend who was meeting other friends, and ended up having dinner with them (great way to meet new people) and then heading to our friend's co-worker's house party.
My friend had already bought a bottle of cheap vodka (less than $10, still a good amount for here) and agreed to share with us if we got some mixers at the 7-11 on the way. We were a bit worried about the quality of the vodka, as it was some brand we'd never heard of and was so cheap compared to other liquor here, so figured we should get something that would mask the taste.
There weren't many options in the 7-11 we stopped at, but we arrived at the following cocktail. Pomegranate juice was our only realistic option for juice -there were other little juiceboxes, but this and orange juice were the only ones in a bigger carton, and I wasn't feeling Screwdrivers.
In the end, it turned out okay - the first glass did bring us back to our college years, but once w got better at proportions (less crappy vodka, more juice) it turned out to be quite drinkable.
7-11 Pomegranate Fizz
one part cheap, crappy vodka (300 baht/bottle)
one part Chang soda water in the cute glass bottles (7 baht/bottle, you need about 3-4 bottles)
two parts fairly weak and artificial-tasting pomegranate juice (20 baht/carton, you need 2)
Mix. Drink. Try not to feel like you're in college again. Be glad you're not drinking beer this time. (Or Thai whiskey, which I've neglected to mention is usually the cheap alternative to beer, usually put in Coke, but I can't drink whiskey at all so cheap Thai whiskey is definitely off the table).
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