Quick answer
Milk wine is most closely associated with Sri Lanka's Burghers, a Christian community descended from Portuguese, Dutch and other European settlers who married into local families. Burgher households were among the first to adopt the English method of clarified milk punch, made it with local arrack and spices, and turned it into a Christmas drink. It sits beside other Burgher festive dishes, including breudher, love cake and lamprais, and has spread to many other Christian families.
Key takeaways
- The Burghers are a Sri Lankan Christian community descended from Portuguese, Dutch and other European settlers.
- Milk wine became part of Burgher Christmas, made with local arrack and spices.
- Burgher kitchens also gave Sri Lanka breudher, love cake, lamprais and other festive dishes.
- The tradition spread from Burgher homes to many other Christian families.
- Burgher emigrants have carried milk wine to Australia, Britain, Canada and elsewhere.
Who the Burghers are
The Burghers are a Sri Lankan community descended from European settlers, chiefly Portuguese and Dutch, who arrived from the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries and married into local families. The name comes from the Dutch word for a town citizen. Most Burghers are Christian, and English became the home language of many families.
Burgher culture blends European and Sri Lankan elements. Family names such as de Kretser, Van Langenberg and Ondaatje hint at different strands of heritage, and Burgher cooking mixes Dutch and Portuguese baking with island spices and ingredients.
The community was once large and influential in Colombo, Galle, Kandy and other towns. Many families emigrated in the decades after independence, especially to Australia, so the community at home is smaller today, but its influence on Sri Lankan food remains strong.
- →Origins: Portuguese and Dutch settlers.
- →Religion: mostly Christian.
- →Strongholds: Colombo, Galle, Kandy, coastal towns.
The Burgher Christmas kitchen
Christmas is the high point of the Burgher food year. Preparations start weeks ahead: fruit is chopped and soaked for Christmas cake, semolina and cashews are bought for love cake, and yeast doughs are started for breudher. Milk wine is made in the same weeks.
The festive table brings these together. Christmas cake, dark and dense with preserves and cashews, is wrapped in coloured paper and offered to every visitor. Love cake, breudher, cutlets and sweets such as milk toffee appear too, along with lamprais, the parcel of rice and curries baked in a banana leaf.
Milk wine is the drink that ties the spread together. It is poured in small glasses when guests arrive, and it pairs naturally with the cakes, which share many of its spices.
- →Christmas cake: dark, rich, wrapped in paper.
- →Love cake: semolina, cashew, spice.
- →Breudher: a Dutch yeast cake, eaten with cheese.
- →Lamprais: rice and curries baked in a banana leaf.
Why milk wine suited Burgher homes
Burgher households lived in a world shaped by European habits, where punches, cordials and fortified wines were familiar. When clarified milk punch arrived through British-era households, it fitted easily into their Christmas customs.
Practical reasons helped too. Milk wine can be made weeks ahead and keeps without refrigeration, which matters in a tropical December. It uses arrack, which was always good and affordable, and spices that were cheap and close at hand.
Above all, milk wine suits hospitality. Burgher Christmas involves constant visiting between families, and a bottle of milk wine on the sideboard meant every caller could be offered something special without fuss.
From Burgher homes to the wider island
Milk wine did not stay within one community. Catholic and Protestant families of Sinhala and Tamil background, especially along the west coast and in Colombo, adopted it as part of their own Christmas. Neighbours, schools and churches carried recipes between communities.
Today many of the people who make milk wine are not Burghers at all, and recipes have shifted to suit different families. The Burgher connection is still acknowledged with pride, and older Burgher cooks are often regarded as the keepers of the best versions.
The same pattern holds for other Burgher dishes. Breudher and love cake are now eaten across Christian Sri Lanka and sold by bakeries, while lamprais has become a lunchtime favourite for people of every background.
- →Adopted by: Catholic and Protestant families.
- →Strongest along: the west coast and Colombo.
- →Similar story: breudher, love cake, lamprais.
Milk wine in the Burgher diaspora
Large numbers of Burghers emigrated from the 1950s onwards, especially to Australia, as well as to Britain, Canada and New Zealand. They took their recipe notebooks with them, and milk wine is now made at Christmas in Melbourne, Perth, London and Toronto.
Abroad, families adapt. Arrack can be hard to find, so brandy or rum is often used, and supermarket milk and lemons replace island limes. The method stays the same, and so does the custom of offering a small glass with Christmas cake.
Visitors from these countries sometimes come to Sri Lanka already knowing milk wine from a Burgher friend or relative, and are curious to taste it where it began.
- →Main destinations: Australia, Britain, Canada, New Zealand.
- →Common swap: brandy or rum for arrack.
- →Unchanged: the method and the custom.
Meeting the tradition on a visit
The best place to meet the Burgher food tradition is Colombo in December, where church fairs, Christmas bazaars and home bakers sell Christmas cake, love cake, breudher and milk wine. Galle, with its Dutch-era fort and Burgher history, is a fitting place to think about where it all began.
Lankan Stays & Trails can build a December trip around Colombo, Negombo and Galle, with time for Christmas markets and a lamprais lunch, so guests can taste the Burgher table at its festive best.
Frequently asked questions
Is milk wine a Burgher drink?
Milk wine is most closely associated with Sri Lanka's Burghers, who made it a Christmas tradition with local arrack and spices. It has since spread to many other Christian families, so today it is made across Christian Sri Lanka, not only in Burgher homes.
Who are the Burghers of Sri Lanka?
The Burghers are a mostly Christian community descended from Portuguese, Dutch and other European settlers who married into local families from the sixteenth century onwards. Many families speak English at home, and their cooking blends European baking with Sri Lankan spices.
What do Burghers eat at Christmas?
A Burgher Christmas table usually includes Christmas cake, love cake, breudher, sweets such as milk toffee, and often lamprais, rice and curries baked in a banana leaf. Milk wine is poured in small glasses for visitors, alongside the cakes.
What is breudher?
Breudher is a Dutch-origin yeast cake baked in a fluted mould, rich with butter, eggs and raisins. Burgher families eat it at Christmas and New Year, often sliced and served with butter and Dutch-style cheese. It pairs well with milk wine.
Do Burghers still make milk wine?
Yes. Many Burgher families in Sri Lanka and abroad still make milk wine for Christmas, though fewer than in earlier generations. Older cooks are often regarded as keepers of the best recipes, which are passed down in family notebooks.
Where can I taste Burgher food in Sri Lanka?
Colombo is the best place, especially in December, when church fairs, bazaars and home bakers sell Christmas cake, love cake, breudher and milk wine. Lamprais is available all year at Colombo bakeries and lunch spots.