Thailand launches national cocktail to lure tourists

[buksida]

When tourism has taken a self-inflicted battering, the temptation might be to have a drink to drown your sorrows.

Thailand is going a step further: it has invented a new national cocktail, which it hopes will help visitors forget the hangover from the disastrous airport shutdowns late last year.

Intended as an answer to Singapore's slings, Cuba's mojitos and the many manhattans downed in New York, the Siam sunray is intended to give tourists an instant taste of Thailand's charms.

At the very least the drink's ingredients are far from bland: a shot of vodka, coconut liqueur, a dash of chilli pepper and sugar, lime juice, a few slivers of lemongrass and ginger, with the whole mixture shaken then strained into a glass with ice and soda water.

Thailand's tourism authority formally rolled out the drink yesterday, grandly styling the concoction "Thailand in a glass: the new punch in Thai tourism."

Perhaps it is a long shot. But with the country's export-led economy taking a beating in the global slowdown and the vital tourism sector that once drew 14 million visitors to jungles and pristine beaches still suffering, anything is worth a try.

The hope is that the heady brew will ease the pain caused by 300,000 stranded foreign travellers at the start of the peak season when Bangkok's main international airport was closed by anti-government protesters for eight days. Thailand's tourist resorts and hotels - major contributors to the economy - are still feeling the effects.

But perhaps the Siam sunray - coined to evoke Thailand's ancient name - may leave a better taste and instil a collective amnesia among the travelling public.

"Thailand's new signature drink is based on very Thai ingredients," said the tourism authority. "Successful signature drinks are one way to fast-track holiday destinations on to the world tourism map."

Source: The Guardian

Thought: What a fantastic plan, invent a drink using herbs and spices that farmers can no longer grow then ban alcohol sales in tourist destinations - this'll get em flocking back. Another gem from the ministry of great ideas.

[PeteC]

Yes, once again it appears we have to swallow the bitter with the sweet. Pete

[lomuamart]

The problem's gonna be that no-one will remember how to ask for the drink to be mixed, let alone find their way back to Thailand (it's that little country in South America, isn't it?).

[Sabai Jai]

Astounding...the ingenuity of TAT! or is TIT?

Yes I always thought Vodka was a traditional Thai ingredient. Maybe they could use Lao Khao instead or Ching Chong.

Wasn't the Mai Thai suposed to be the cocktail of choice?

SJ

[John HH]

Thought: What a fantastic plan, invent a drink using herbs and spices that farmers can no longer grow then ban alcohol sales in tourist destinations - this'll get em flocking back. Another gem from the ministry of great ideas.

That's classic

they giveth with one hand and taketh away with the other

Smacks of closing the gate after the horse has bolted.

John HH

[bluezephyr]

If Thailand is to make this the national drink, Make it regulations to any bars/clubs selling it to have proper mixers/spirits so its all the same around the country.

Too many times i have ordered a coctail only to take a sip and not drink anymore, Having got pi$$ed on Lao Khao and never drinking another drop the slightest taste makes any drink quite foul

I thought the Mai Thai was the countries coctail too.

[migrant]

I thought the Mai Thai was the countries coctail too.

I thought the Lady Drink was the national drink.

[poosmate]

I think you may mean Mai Tai - nothing Thai about it.

[bluezephyr]

I think you may mean Mai Tai - nothing Thai about it.

Learn something new everyday.

The Mai tai was invented in 1944 by Victor Bergeron, also known as Trader Vic. He blended Jamaican rum, lime juice, a few dashes of orange curacao syrup, fresh orgeat and rock candy to create this cocktail. It is believed that the drink was served to some friends who remarked "Mai Tai, Roa Ae!" which in Tahitian translates to "Out of this world".

Trader Vic quotes, "I was sitting at the service bar at Trader Vic's in Oakland and the bartender and I decided to come up with a new drink. We talked about creating a drink that would be the finest drink we could make, using the finest ingredients we could find. And the Mai tai is what we came up with".