Whisky Village
Whisky Village
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
3.0
343 reviews
Excellent
22
Very good
71
Average
145
Poor
67
Terrible
38
milliesmum2016
Christchurch, New Zealand1,771 contributions
Jan 2020
We called in here as part of the itinerary on a boat trip to Pak Ou. It was quite interesting to see the stills making the whisky but this is not unique and the same process can be seen in other places in SE Asia. I visited a similar operation making rice wine in the Dalat Highlands in Vietnam. It's really a marketing opportunity for the village, which has an extensive market with whisky for sale, of course, but also some of the lovely intricate Lao weaving and embroidery.
I did meet a lady another day who comes from this village and she did give me some whisky to taste; a couple of different ones. It was quite palatable but I'm not a whisky drinker, so not really able to comment analytically about quality and taste. Interesting though.
However, one useful thing to note is that if you make it as far as the village square, there is a mnastery which has public toilets. They're squat one though, but any port in a storm, I say! It would be courteous to leave a small tip.
I did meet a lady another day who comes from this village and she did give me some whisky to taste; a couple of different ones. It was quite palatable but I'm not a whisky drinker, so not really able to comment analytically about quality and taste. Interesting though.
However, one useful thing to note is that if you make it as far as the village square, there is a mnastery which has public toilets. They're squat one though, but any port in a storm, I say! It would be courteous to leave a small tip.
Written March 28, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Cameron S
Castle Rock, CO669 contributions
Dec 2019
You will likely visit Whisky Village only if you are taking a boat ride to the Pak Ou Caves. Tourist trap, not much worth buying here. Sticky rice wine - with snakes in the bottles - was an interesting sight.
Written February 16, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
LolaGo1
Washington DC, DC6,632 contributions
Apr 2024 • Solo
After our Buffet Lunch, our Group took the boat and visited 2 attractions along the Mekong River. This is one of the attractions. Here, they briefly explained how the whisky is produced from fermented rice. It also has a small shop where they weave items for sale.
Small shots of the whisky were distributed to our Group. Others, like me declined the offer, not knowing how my stomach would react to whisky. A couple is our Group brought some to take home.
Interesting: Some Whisky Bottles on display have dead animals inside such as cobra and scorpions. Represented to be good for sex!
Small shots of the whisky were distributed to our Group. Others, like me declined the offer, not knowing how my stomach would react to whisky. A couple is our Group brought some to take home.
Interesting: Some Whisky Bottles on display have dead animals inside such as cobra and scorpions. Represented to be good for sex!
Written April 19, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Joel K
Vancouver, Canada3,738 contributions
Dec 2019
We didn't buy the whiskey. We bought the wine. The wines are made from purple sticky rice. The whiskey is 55% alcohol. We bought a small bottle of the red. We were on a private boat and spent a short time trying the different options.
Written January 31, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
vagabond1902
189 contributions
The killing of snakes, scorpions and other insects should be prohibited in this process. By all means make a local drink but as it is such poor quality the only way to try and sell it is to place a snake etc into the bottle. This may or may not be a traditional way but is now only there to attract the tourist to spend his money. These creatures (the snakes etc) are vital to the eco system and should not be indiscriminately killed. If you wish to support the local community then buy some hand made fabrics etc.
Written July 2, 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
skyisblu
Montreal, Canada2,516 contributions
Jan 2020
The Whisky Village, Ban Xang Hai, famous for distilling their own alcohol, made from the sticky rice we have become so accustomed to eating with our every meal here in Laos. They grind it into a powder which they turn into yeast balls, and these are fermented in large blue drums covered with squares of cotton. January is not the harvest season for rice, so it is also not the time for whisky - what we get to taste is last season's product. There is the first whisky, the strong stuff that is the first pass through the still - very potent, this stuff clocks in at a staggering 55 proof! They boil the rice again to make a second whisky. Cloudy and often purple-coloured, depending on the rice used, this whisky is more akin to a sake in flavour: you taste the rice, the alcohol, the fermentation. It's not bad. For the novelty factor, there are bottle of whisky stuffed with snakes, and scorpions, and centipedes in the bottles, which is clearly done for the photo opportunity and the sale. Supposedly, the men in the village drink THAT stuff to make them "stronger".
The whisky-producing area is right off the boat launch, but you can walk further into the village, too. The main corridor leading away from the water is lined with tables where the village women have laid out their scarves and other textiles for sale. It's clear that this village sees a lot of tourist traffic. Some of the women are embroidering cloth by hand, others are weaving on big looms - we learn from our guide that some of these villagers pack up their products in the afternoon and drive into Luang Prabang for the night market, so don't fret if you don;t make your purchases here.
Keep walking through the stalls of scarfs, and you'll emerge out into the village, right in front of their temple. It's a nice visit, beautifully painted and small in comparison to Luang Prabang, but real. It's the only authentic experience in this little village, which has become much too fixated on the tourism industry, welcoming boat-loads of day-trippers doing the Pak Ou Caves every day. My suggestion? Save your money and try the products in Luang Prabang - the visit here was not worth it.
The whisky-producing area is right off the boat launch, but you can walk further into the village, too. The main corridor leading away from the water is lined with tables where the village women have laid out their scarves and other textiles for sale. It's clear that this village sees a lot of tourist traffic. Some of the women are embroidering cloth by hand, others are weaving on big looms - we learn from our guide that some of these villagers pack up their products in the afternoon and drive into Luang Prabang for the night market, so don't fret if you don;t make your purchases here.
Keep walking through the stalls of scarfs, and you'll emerge out into the village, right in front of their temple. It's a nice visit, beautifully painted and small in comparison to Luang Prabang, but real. It's the only authentic experience in this little village, which has become much too fixated on the tourism industry, welcoming boat-loads of day-trippers doing the Pak Ou Caves every day. My suggestion? Save your money and try the products in Luang Prabang - the visit here was not worth it.
Written June 16, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
TheRecketts
Morecambe, UK26 contributions
Nov 2018 • Couples
People are really harsh on here! This was a lovely stop off on our way to the caves. It was great to see how whisky and rice wine were made and an opportunity to see how Laos people live. We bought 4 bottles to take home for $4. If it takes rubbish then at least we gave the locals a smile :)
Written November 4, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
MrNiceGuyIsaac
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia159 contributions
Mar 2018 • Solo
It is our first stop as part of a tour package. Be frank I enjoy more on the boat trip through Mekong River. Anyway, just a small village with some nice temple. And some villagers selling some scarf and love whisky which it is called Lao Lao if not mistaken. Cheap as it was sold 10,000/15,000 kip each of small bottle, if my memory serve me well. Not all that interesting but no harm to take a look and take some photo and learn and see how they make local Whisky. If you are really into alcohol maybe you can give it a try but as I don't drink, hence I just spend like 20 minutes walking around the village, temple and bought some handmade local scarf for 10,000 kip each. Those looks nice and machine made scarf mostly from Thai or China.
Written March 17, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Nick H
St Leonards-on-Sea, UK569 contributions
Feb 2017 • Couples
If you're only in Laos for the seemingly obligatory two or three days then you might as well stop off here on the way to or back from visiting the caves at Tham Ting. In my view it was pretty uninteresting, I thought I was going to see how their whisky was made, but in reality it was a textile and whisky market made purely for tourists to stop at. Not worth the walk around in the heat.
Written February 18, 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Charlie B
Brompton, UK611 contributions
Mar 2016 • Couples
It seems that the normal way to visit the Whisky Village is as part of the boat trip to the caves. There is a wide range of stalls selling mainly scarves and textiles but at very fair prices. My wife enjoyed a small amount of bartering but was sure that both parties were happy with the agreed price. The whisky part of the Whisky Village relates to the local whisky manufactured - there were two wines produced for white rice and brown rice and one local whisky. It is possible to sample these before purchasing. A fascinating little place.
Written March 7, 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
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