Sombai

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

Painted bottles of Sombai Liqueur with pictures of Angkor temples

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][6]

Indeed, this beverage takes inspiration from the Sraa Tram (or soaked wine) that Cambodians drink traditionally.[7][8][9] Some leading establishments in Siem Reap use this liqueur to cook, prepare cocktails or accompany a whole meal in order to give a local touch,[10] such as Chef Pola Siv at Mie Café[11] or the Park Hyatt.[12] There are 8 different flavours which are always a combination 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.[13][14][15]

Cocktails

Even if usually consumed neat or on the rocks, the Sombai liqueurs enter in the composition of several Khmer cocktails including[16][17] Asana Sling, Lemon Lemongrass Tini, Sombai Blue, Sombai Fizz, Siem Reap Monsoon, and Sombai Sour.[18]

Production workshop
Artist LEANG Seckon house in Siem Reap where Sombai Cambodian Liqueur is produced

The workshop and its tasting parlour[19] installed in the artist LEANG Seckon's house, has become a tourist attraction in town.[20][21] It also proposes products from the sister brand Joe's Cuisine (speciality foods, like spices or alcoholic jams) and Joe's Kampot Pepper Liqueur.[22]

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.[23]

Sombai is considered as one of the top local brands in Cambodia.[24]

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). Archived from the original on 2017-08-01. Retrieved 2017-07-28.
  3. Dunston, Lara (2013). "Taste Siem Reap's own brand of infused rice spirit". Afar. 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. Grant, Lara (2016-08-29). "6 Local Liquors Around the World You Haven't Heard Of". Oyster.com. Retrieved 2017-07-20.
  7. "Associated Press: Rice wine spirit is rebranded as a tourist tipple". Retrieved 2015-08-03.
  8. Lara Dunston "Cambodian rice wine revival". Australian Gourmet Traveller, 11 July 2014
  9. Tom Starkey "Distilling a new direction for Cambodian rice wine". Khmerish Times, 24 June 2020
  10. Mathew, Elisabeth. "Move over Angkor Wat". The Hindu. Retrieved 2017-07-28.
  11. Osborne, Lawrence (14 December 2015). "The New Tastes of Old Siem Reap". Saveur. Retrieved 2017-07-28.
  12. "Cambodian rice wine". AsiaLIFE Cambodia. 31 January 2014. Retrieved 2017-07-28.
  13. Lara Dunston "Taste Siem Reap's Own Brand of Infused Rice Spirit". Afar (magazine)
  14. Nick Ray "Sombai". Lonely Planet Online
  15. Dunston, Lara (2014-10-31). "A Taste of Siem Reap — Sipping Sombai Infused Rice Spirit". Grantourismo Travels. Retrieved 2017-07-20.
  16. "Khmer cocktail class at Asana". Travelfish. Retrieved 2017-07-28.
  17. Céline Baussay "Le top 5 des endroits à ne pas manquer autour d'Angkor". Le Point (in French). Retrieved 2018-11-22.
  18. "Khmer Cocktail Ideas". Sombai.
  19. Miranda Glasser "Taste Sombai rice wine purveyors open new showroom". The Phnom Penh Post, 1 August 2014
  20. Robyn Eckhardt "36 Hours in Siem Reap". The New York Times, 22 July 2015
  21. Dana Ter"Searching for serenity in Siem Reap"., Taipei Times, 19 August 2015
  22. Peter Olszewski "Cambodian Fusion". Archived from the original on 2016-01-09. Management Insider
  23. Di Fillippo, Paul. "Backup Man". Motherboard. Retrieved 2017-08-10.
  24. "11 Local Brands All Cambodians Love". Culture Trip. 2018-01-31.
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