🥃 Sri Lankan arrack

Sri Lankan arrack is a distillate of coconut toddy, the fermented sap collected from the unopened flower clusters of the coconut palm. The country's excise legislation distinguishes several kinds of arrack: coconut, palmyra (from the palmyra palm), molasses and processed arrack, so not every Sri Lankan arrack is made from coconut.

According to a bulletin of the Coconut Research Institute, fresh sap contains 14–18% sugars, mostly sucrose, and in open pots wild microorganisms ferment it to about 7% ABV. The tapper binds the unopened flower cluster with fiber, taps it with a wooden mallet, and from the third day slices off the tip twice a day until sap flows, collecting it in a clay pot.

Taxes and licenses for collecting toddy, according to a 1980s review, were introduced as early as Ceylon's Excise Ordinance of 1834, and the Excise Department was created in 1912. In 1949 a state distillery for coconut toddy opened at Seeduwa, and since 1974 it has been the State Distilleries Corporation. Licensed tapping for arrack is concentrated on the west coast, roughly 75 km north and 50 km south of Colombo; tax is charged per tree.

The toddy is distilled in pot and column stills, and the first distillate is distilled a second time, separating the heads and tails. Arrack matures in vats of local halmilla wood (Berrya) and teak. In 2012 Excise Notification No. 948 set a single rate for coconut, palmyra, molasses and processed arrack, and exempted exports from excise.

Why this matters to you. The word arrack on a bottle does not yet mean coconut: the law also knows molasses and processed arrack, and in 1982 statistics blended arrack outweighed coconut. Look on the label for «coconut arrack» and the ingredients. Do not confuse it with Levantine arak, an aniseed drink made from grapes. WHO reminds us: there is no safe dose of alcohol.