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

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.

Get Tipsy on: Vinho Verde

If you think that Vinho Verde means green wine, like us, you probably used Google Translate. Unfortunately, that is not correct and it's time for some "edumacation".

Vinho Verde actually means "young wine" because the wine is not fully matured when it is released, which gives its unique, fresh and almost spritzer like taste. You can find many varieties of V.V: red, white and rosé. They all taste different, so make sure to try them all!

Vinho Verde is best when chilled, so it's perfect for hot summer days. V.V. is low in alcohol, about 4.5% so you can drink plenty of it! It's basically like drinking water, so don't feel bad if have 1-2 bottles all to yourself. Our medical recommendation is to drink more the hotter it is.

There are many brands of Vinho Verde, and it can be hard to pick the right one. There is nothing worse than a bad wine, but don't worry. We went through hell trying to find the tastiest and cheapest Vinho Verde for you. After many "agonizing" hours of tasting, followed by painful recovery mornings, we finally came across Casal Garcia. 

We highly recommend this wine if:

A) Your last name is Garcia or you know a Garcia. It's mandatory you drink it!

B) Anybody who doesn't like wine but there's no beer available. 

C) You want a bottle of wine to yourself on your lunch break, but still have to finish a deadline.

D) You're a light weight who wants to impress more seasoned drinkers. Just don't let them see the label!

Salud!