Coconut wine, a sweet legacy

Translated by LIM LIY EE
Sin Chew Daily

Simple making process

PENANG: Coconut wine, the authentic Indian wine in Malaysia, is regarded by many as one of the most natural liquors around.

The manufacturing process is indeed very simple as all that we need is tie up the flowers on the coconut tree with a rope, and the liquor will drip spontaneously into the prepared containers.

Nevertheless, it is also said that it is quite difficult to get the coconut wine as coconut trees are very tall.

In some places in Southeast Asia, people traditionally use monkeys to harvest the coconuts. That said, monkeys are not clever enough to conduct more sophisticated jobs such as collecting the liquor from tall coconut trees.

In Sri Lanka, people there even build "drawbridges" among the trees to facilitate the work of liquor collecting.

Pure coconut wine

Even if some people are sceptical that coconut wine could contain ants, spiders and even centipedes if the manufacturing process has not been handled carefully, many people simply do not care. By the way, these insects on trees have even been used by ancient Chinese medical practitioners as tonics.

Coconut wine looks as white as milk after being filtered but it tastes sweeter and mellower than milk.

It is said that genuine coconut wine would not make people drunk unless yeast is added. This kind of coconut wine that has not been fermented could be found at a health drink stall in front of the Penang Botanical Gardens as well as "Tuak Hut" located in Air Itam that boasts a hundred years of history.

Gift for the poor

"Tuak Hut" serves the most authentic coconut wine as it preserves the ancient tastes of coconut wine over a century. "Tuak Hut" is not merely an ordinary shop that sells coconut wine but is also itself a heritage building dating back to the colonial times.

Sweet and cheap coconut wine has always been the gift for the poor including Indian workers during the colonial times. It is said that the colonial government has set up a lot of coconut wine huts in Penang for its workers.

Unfortunately, coconut wine huts have been reduced in number from more than ten to only four today, located at Jalan Air Itam, Lebuh Macallum, Stewart Lane and Pulau Tikus respectively.

All these four huts belong to the same owner, 40-year-old Samurgam who has inherited the business from his father Dunana.

Difficulties to run the business

Samurgam told Sin Chew Daily there were difficulties running the business today. One of the major issues is that the enforcement unit has not been strict in handling the matters related to the issuance of liquor licence and traders without valid licences could therefore be seen everywhere. These illicit traders do not pay the special taxes for selling liquor.

He said he was permitted to sell up to 450 litres of coconut wine a day, but due to the presence of illegal traders he could only sell 150 litres a day. Fortunately, the coconut wine he sells has been collected from his own coconut farm, thus reducing his overhead.

Samurgam also runs eight coconut wine huts in neighbouring Perak, and is grateful that the state customs department has taken serious actions against illegal traders.

He admitted that he had run a loss for his wine joints in Penang in recent years, and fears that he might eventually have to shut down all his shops.