Arrack types for whisky drinkers

Whisky is distilled from fermented grain and aged in oak casks. Arrack is distilled from fermented coconut toddy and traditionally rested in large halmilla vats. The base gives arrack fruit, flowers and coconut instead of cereal and malt.

Halmilla vats are large and old, so they change arrack more gently than small oak casks change whisky. Aged arrack is usually softer and less tannic than whisky of the same age.

Expect a lighter, fruitier spirit than most whiskies, but one with genuine depth in its better forms.

Climate makes a difference as well. Sri Lanka's heat speeds up the interaction between spirit and wood, so a five-year arrack can show more maturity than its age suggests to a Scotch drinker, though more spirit is lost to evaporation each year than in a cool Scottish warehouse.

Aged pure coconut arrack with an age statement, from around five years, is the natural starting point. Expect vanilla, toffee, toasted nuts and dried fruit around soft coconut, with a smooth, warm finish.

Speyside and lighter Highland drinkers often take to it quickly. The flavours are gentle and rounded, with no smoke or heavy tannin.

Ten-year and older releases add depth and spice and suit drinkers of older, more complex malts.

Japanese whisky drinkers, used to delicate, fruit-forward spirits with gentle wood, often find aged halmilla arrack especially appealing. The balance of fruit, flowers and soft oakiness is closer to that style than to a heavy sherried malt, and the smooth finish suits slow sipping in the evening heat.

Some premium producers age coconut arrack partly in oak or finish it in casks that previously held wine or other spirits. These bottles feel closest to whisky, with stronger vanilla, caramel and spice.

Bourbon drinkers often enjoy oak-aged arrack's sweetness, and sherried Scotch drinkers may enjoy wine-cask finishes with their dried fruit notes.

These bottles are limited and priced at the premium end, often US$40 to US$60 or more. Try by the glass in a hotel bar first.

Double distilled coconut arrack, often from pot stills, gives a fuller, oilier body and a longer finish. It suits drinkers who enjoy weighty, textured spirits, such as pot still Irish whiskey or full-bodied malts.

Check the label: many double distilled arracks are blends. Look for 100 per cent coconut wording for the most authentic version.

Double distilled arrack costs less than aged bottles and makes an excellent everyday dram over a single ice cube.

Use a tulip-shaped tasting glass and pour around 25 ml. Nose it first, sip it neat, then add a few drops of water and taste again. Water opens arrack just as it opens whisky.

Look for coconut fruit, flowers, nuts, vanilla, toffee and spice, and notice how the finish lingers. Compare two or three types side by side for the clearest picture.

Lankan Stays & Trails can arrange a premium arrack tasting for whisky drinkers, with an aged, an oak-touched and a double distilled arrack side by side.

Keep a few notes as you taste, as you might at a distillery. Write down the aroma, the palate and the finish of each arrack, and how water changes them. A short record of what you enjoyed makes it much easier to choose a bottle in a busy wine store or at duty free before flying home.

Avoid everyday special and extra special arracks if you want a whisky-like experience. Mostly neutral spirit, they taste thin and sweet neat.

Avoid judging arrack by mixed drinks alone. A long drink with cola tells you little about what a good arrack can be.

Do not expect smoke. Sri Lankan arrack has no peated equivalent, so Islay drinkers should look for complexity rather than smoke.