Adam
I've just had a report from my better half, whose holidaying in Bali at the moment, that up 50 people have died in Bali from poisoned Arak, can anybody substantiate this??Apparently a couple of bule's are among the casualties too and not surprising considering the amount of drink substitution that goes on in the tourist areas. Arak should come with a warning label anyway for it's hangover inducing abilities but I think this is going one step too far....Be warned and be careful.......Just another reason to swim in Bintang..... :lol: :lol: 8)
mimpimanis
You couldn't not know it here... the figure I think is 25 and includes 4 tourists, 2 of which died in Lombok. I am surprised you hadnt heard about it over there I know it has been in the Australian news. For the full story just google and there are hundreds od news stories on it.There has already been a thread on it here on the forum too.
Adam
Hi Mimpi,No, we hadn't heard about it here and Ani was all hyped up about it on the phone last night as though it was something only recent. She was in a state of panic because she likes her 'Jim Beam' which is regularly spiked (no by us, I mean by the bartenders) with Arak 'to make it go further' and no doubt increase profits. I won't burst her bubble just yet, will save her (or more correctly, me) a fortune in bar bills :D :D :D CheersAdz
calitobali
It was a certain factory making the tainted arak, and it has been since shut down. Should be no problem to drink arak now, I got shitty drunk on a bunch last night, it doesn't give me hangovers, I must be hardheaded or something.
Adam
Hi Calitobali,it doesn't give me hangovers[/quote]It probably will, in time 8) , just give yourself a few more years. I miss the days when I could throw whatever I wanted down my throat in the old Sari Club, Double 6 and Paddy's ( :cry: ) and not suffer the next day. Nowdays I can drink a lot more but suffer longer for it too :( . Never liked arak much anyway. Can tolerate Newport (30,000 for a bomba, can't go wrong!!!) but that brings the fuzzies a bit to. Maybe its just time to grow up :shock: :roll: :D .....nah...Adzy
calitobali
my girlfriend was telling me about newport and said it was another cheap alternative to arak but didn't really know much else about it. What is it and where can I get some?
Adam
Hi calitobali,Newport's not quite as strong as arak, maybe around 20ish percent from memory (40ish proof in american speak) and is a whole heap sweeter, more like a liqueur, though the locals loosely brand it a vodka. I dunno how often you have drunk at the bounty or paddy's but it is what constitutes most of the cheap and cheery cocktails such as the bomba's, jam jars, jungle juice etc (and probably most of the dearer ones too, knowing how Kuta bars operate). It's a bit more pricey than arak ('bout 40 ribu in Java) and only comes in a bottle around 600ml-ish. Where to specifically buy it in the Kuta - Legian area I couldn't tell you. I only drink it in Bali niteclubs and when I'm back home in Java because alcohol is very, very difficult to get in our area due to prohibition of everything except Bintang and I usually drink our town out of beer within 2 days so must source contraband local grog. I mix it with coke and it becomes reasonably palatable and does the 'job', but it certainly aint no Jim Beam. Ask around with your local mates, one of them is bound to know where to get there hands on some. In the mean time, I'll ask my wife for you tonight as well.A couple of other cheap grog alternatives are Anggur Merah (made by Orang Tua) which is a little (and I use the term little very loosely) bit like port and similar in price to Newport. Another comapny called Mansion House make a range of different cheap spirits such as whisky and vodka which aren't too bad without stretching to international brand label spirits.Hope that helps a bit (if you didn't already know it) if nothing else it might provide an occasional distraction from arak anyways. I dunno if you plan to be in Bali still in November, but I wouldn't mind shouting you a Bintang or two if ya keen :wink: .Cheers bud,Adz
calitobali
Sure, I'll be here, got no plans to go anywhere. At 40 proof though, and a little more expensive than arak, I think I'll pass on the Newport. The arak I usually buy from the warung is actually quite good arak, which isn't easy to come by. Right now they are scared to sell any because of the deaths, so I have switched over to bottled, namely arak pura, it's actually really good, it's incredibly smooth and when mixed with sprite half and half, you can barely taste it, almost like a vanilla sprite. I haven't been to bounty in forever but whenever there, I just stuck to beer, pretty much everywhere in Legian. There was one night I was out in Engine Room and Paddy's and there was an Indonesian guy who was with us who just kept buying those tall fruity drinks and passing them around. I drank all night and barely got a buzz on, must have been the Newport, cuz the arak would have had me stumbly by that point.
