Lao-Lao
Encyclopedia
Lao people
The Lao are an ethnic subgroup of Tai/Dai in Southeast Asia.-Names:The etymology of the word Lao is uncertain, although it may be related to tribes known as the Ai Lao who appear in Han Dynasty records in China and Vietnam as a people of what is now Yunan Province...
rice whisky produced in Laos
Laos
Laos Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south and Thailand to the west...
. Along with Beer Lao, lao-Lao is a staple for the people of Laos. Contrary to what the romanized transcription would make one believe, the name lao-Lao is not the same word repeated twice, but actually two different words pronounced with different tones: The first, ເຫລົ້າ, means "alcohol" and is pronounced with a low-falling tone (in the standard dialect), while the second, ລາວ, means Laotian ("Lao") and is pronounced with a high(-rising) tone.
Although lao-lao is traditionally drunk neat, a cocktail that is rising in popularity is the "Pygmy Slow Lorange", named after the Pygmy Slow Loris
Pygmy Slow Loris
The pygmy slow loris is a rare species of loris found in the tropical dry forests of Vietnam, Laos, southern China, and east of the Mekong River in Cambodia....
, a species endemic to Laos. Various flavoured lao-laos are made by macerating such additives as honey or scorpions. It is women who often distil Lao-laoy and sell it as a source of income locally, often being their second major income.
A less powerful version of lao-lao, called lao-hai, is especially popular with the Khamu
Khmu people
The Khmu is one of the largest ethnic groups based in northern Laos. They can also be found in Burma, southwest China , Thailand, and Vietnam, where they are an officially recognized ethnic group...
ethnic group in Laos, and is drunk from large communal earthenware
Earthenware
Earthenware is a common ceramic material, which is used extensively for pottery tableware and decorative objects.-Types of earthenware:Although body formulations vary between countries and even between individual makers, a generic composition is 25% ball clay, 28% kaolin, 32% quartz, and 15%...
pots (hai) through long bamboo
Bamboo
Bamboo is a group of perennial evergreens in the true grass family Poaceae, subfamily Bambusoideae, tribe Bambuseae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family....
straws.
See also
- Rượu cần, a similar form of wine drunk in Vietnam
- Rice wineRice wineRice wine is an alcoholic beverage made from rice. Unlike wine, which is made by fermentation of naturally sweet grapes and other fruit, rice "wine" results from the fermentation of rice starch converted to sugars...
- Rice baijiuRice baijiuRice baijiu , also known as rice fragrance baijiu , is a variety of distilled beverage popular in China. Unlike other kinds of baijiu, it is distilled mainly from rice rather than from sorghum or other grains...
- Sato (rice wine)Sato (rice wine)Sato is a traditional northeastern Thailand beer style that has been made for centuries from starchy glutinous or sticky rice by growers in that region. Just as other regional varieties made not from grapes but cereal are commonly called wine rather than beer, sato is commonly called Thai rice...
Isan version