Get Tipsy on: Purple Gin

Although Thailand is known for wild parties with lots of alcohol and drugs, it's mostly tourists who do the drinking. When we asked the locals about some native drinks we were told that the locals prefer drinking rum or beer and the youngsters are the ones starting to take an interest in cocktails culture.

We were trying to find a cocktail that is not too sweet, refreshing and is unique to Thailand. We didn’t want to drink anything that came in a coconut or with unnecessary umbrella decorations. We visited Sarojin resort in Khao Lak and asked them for their recommendation. Per their recommendation, we agreed on a Purple Gin, also known as Disco Sour or Blue Magic.

Purple Gin is purple/bluish in color, hence the name and it’s color is 100% natural which comes from the butterfly pea flower that it is infused with. The Butterfly pea flower is widely used in Asian cuisine and now bartenders are also making trendy blue or purple drinks with it. Apparently this drink became quite popular recently on social media after the actress Margot Robbie drank something similar on her honeymoon.

The main ingredient of this cocktail is gin infused with butterfly pea flower, combined with sprite and a splash of lime that gives it a fresh, fizzy taste. The acid from the lime also helps to turn the blue tint from the flowers into a vibrant purple. Purple Gin is a light and refreshing drink that's perfect to sip on a hot afternoon.

We shared the ingredients of the cocktails here, so you could try to replicate it and taste a bit of Thailand at your home.

Try it at home Manual: You can use a powder or tea leaves of the butterfly pea flowers to make this drink. If you are using the tea leafs just add about 6-8 flowers directly to the gin and let it infuse in the bottle for couple of days.

Ingredients

Gin

(infused with butterfly pea flowers)

Sprite

Triple Sec

Sweet and Sour

Fresh kaffir leaves for decoration

1 Lime/lemon ( the acid of this will turn the color from blue to purple)

Ice

"Coconut Juice" aka "Slow Poison"

It was a beautiful evening in the coastal town Malvan, and we were sitting at Chivala beach watching the sunset. Early on we had befriended a local fisherman named Bhi and we would see him working every day when we went to the beach. He barely spoke any english and we didn't speak any of his local language but that didn't stop us from having a good time. 

As we watched the sunset and sipped our freshly opened ice cold King Fishers, we heard a motorcycle pull up. It was our friend! He wanted to take us on an adventure but we had just opened our beers so we almost said no. But finally after some convincing, we agreed to go. 

We finished our beers and the two of us hopped on the back of his motorcycle. This might sound crazy outside of India but we've easily seen 4-5 people on one bike so this was actually quite comfortable. 

First he took us to an amazing view point where we finished watching the sunset. A place we never would have found on our own so thanks for that Bhi! But after that he took us somewhere even better. 

His bike pulled over on the side of the road and we had no idea where we were. The only thing we saw was a tiny makeshift shack. We went inside and there was a group of men sitting on the floor clearly having a good time. "Coconut juice!" they said enthusiastically. We decided to take a sip and it was absolutely delicious. It clearly tasted fermented so we asked if there was alcohol in it. "NO!" the men said in unison. But after hearing them later call it "slow poison", and doing a little research we later learned it was definitely alcoholic. They must have meant there was no ADDED alcohol.

The drink is formally called Madi, which you can read more about here, but we definitely prefer "coconut juice" :)

Get Tipsy on: Madi

Madi, also known around the rest of the world as Palm Wine, is a delicious and often times healthy alcoholic beverage made from the sap of palm trees. In Madi's case, the coconut tree. 

We discovered this wonderful drink through a fantastic experience you can read about here.

After cutting the palm stem, a container is placed below the tap and the sweet palm nectar is collected. Although non alcoholic at first, it only takes a few hours for the sap to naturally ferment and reach an alcohol content of about 4%. If left longer, the brew gets stronger and becomes a "wine" and the taste will be more acidic.

We absolutely LOVED this drink but please be careful when seeking it out. Make sure you find a reliable source because as with any moonshine, it may be mixed or "diluted" with another substance that could be dangerous or even fatal. 

After sampling it at a roadside stand we arranged for our host to take us to a local producer and had the freshest Madi possible. For 100 rupees (about $1.50) we got a liter and kept us tipsy all day.

Cheers!

Get Tipsy on: Mahia

Morocco is a Muslim country and Muslim's don't drink. You probably have heard that line many times. Well, it ain't true. In fact, Morocco has really good alcohol, but you have to know where and what to look for. Moroccans are also discreet about their drinking. You don't ever see drunk and loud Moroccans laying on the street harassing people. If you saw anybody in Morocco like that, it was probably us.

The Tipsy Gypsies would like to introduce you to the strongest and the most potent drink in Morocco called Mahia. Mahia is basically a moonshine made from figs or dates. Since Mahia is a moonshine, the best version (or possibly the worst) is the home made stuff. Yeah!! 

The taste of Mahia can vary greatly. Since it's homemade, there are no "quality" checks. The Tipsy Gypsies drank some Mahia that was smooth and almost liquorish in taste but we also drank some nasty shit that tasted like rocket fuel. So it all depends on who you get it from. The only guarantee is that you will get very drunk and hopefully you wont die.

Where to find Mahia?

The most common scam in Morocco is when people on the street pretend to help you find whatever you are looking for. In Marrakesh these guys are yelling to the tourist : "Hey, the Big Square is this way". They are referring to Jemaa el Fna, which is the biggest and most touristy square in Marrakesh, surrounded by the souks. Btw, these guys are always lying and trying to confuse you and of course get money. Don't ever ask these people for help. 

We wish there was a legit service that would point out where to find Mahia. We would pay for that service because finding Mahia is like looking for Waldo. But don't get discouraged!! You know that you want to get shit faced, and you just have to work for it. Plus, finding Mahia can be a fun and a crazy adventure (story coming soon in our blog ).

The tips below on how to find Mahia, are completely free of charge. We know how it is to be a desperate drunk in Morocco:

1. If you are visiting big cities like Marrakesh or Fez, you will most likely be staying in a riad. A riad is basically a small hotel or B&B. They are very cool, and you should not miss out on this experience. Anyway, we recommend that you become friendly with your riad manager/host or the hotel concierge. After a day or two of playing buddies it should be safe to ask them if they can help you to get some Mahia. In our experience, the host will be more than happy to make the proper arrangements and before you know it, there will be somebody knocking on the door with with a bottle of home brewed Mahia. The first and the best we found was from basically a Marakkaesh drug dealer. Since Mahia is a street or homemade alcohol, which always involves some risk, you want to make sure the source you are getting it from is good. We felt confident that the contact from our riad was solid.

2. Another option is to buy Mahia from the store. We know you guys are probably thinking that we are idiots for buying alcohol from street dealers. Yes we are, but the reality is that finding a liquor store in the city is harder that finding Mahia. Plus, the store brand that we got was very sweet and wasn't the best Mahia we've had. Look for the big supermarket "Carefur". They sell every liquor that you can imagine. 

3. Cost. 

As always, in Morocco you gotta haggle for everything. We got our first 1/2 of a liter for 70 dirham (about $7-8). The guys wanted to sell it first for 200 dirham.

In the mountains, the price was 130 dirham ($13) for 1.5 liter after lots of negotiating. So that was even a better price but tasted terrible! Regardless, it got the job done and many parties were had.