In Reply to: Bad Arak! posted by tred on Sunday, 31. October 2010 at 14:23 Bali Time:
6-7 years back in Singarajah there were a reported 3 deaths from arak.
You may not find it 'laced' but unless you know your supplier-don't take.
I home distil so allow me to explain..... when distilling I must take off the first 25ml which is methanol-poisonous-engines run on this stuff!!! I actually collect 50ml to be safe. I can recycle this into my next batch but again-I take off the first 50ml then collect the 'true' spirit. If I double distill (mix the collected spirit half and half with water and distill again-I can get 80-90% spirit. I believe there may be 'locals' in Bali who may have decided to increase the strength of the basic arak. They may have a dodgy still they've made up to double distill-or do a basic distill and do not collect the methanol but allow it to add to the 'good spirit'.I do purchase arak at times in Bali but only generic brands from supermarkets/shops-they are safe.With the 500% alcohol tax now in I expect some bars will try to cut their losses by buying arak from the cheapest supplier-be very careful