9 local tuak brands to try this Gawai

Endu Borneo brings together the time-honoured practice of tuak making with contemporary brewing techniques. The brand sets itself apart with carbonated tuak, akin to sparkling wine. The local brewery has devised its own technique of preserving the carbonation produced through fermentation and now sells its products online and at restaurants across the country.

As of now, Endu’s sparkling tuak is available in two flavours—classic, a bubbly version of the traditional rice wine and roselle, a slightly sweeter, earthier, and floral iteration. 

The new generation’s passion for preserving the art of tuak-making is evident with brands like Ngirupp. While upholding tradition and heritage, the brand has given itself a personality that younger drinkers can easily relate to. Experimental flavours and artfully crafted packaging are this brand’s specialties. Each bottle denotes the year the spirit was brewed, the person behind the brewing process, and the cultural significance of the drink.

Tuak from Ngirupp is released in batches, and its current offerings include mandarin orange, burnt cinnamon, jasmine tea, and longan varieties. Its online menu is equipped with a collection of cocktail recipes that spotlight the versatility of tuak. While based in Sarawak, Ngirrup ships to both East and West Malaysia. 

See also: Spirits of the Land: A Guide to Lesser-Known Asian Alcohol

Based in Miri, Sarawak, each bottle of Tuak Atelier’s rice wine stands as a celebration of local produce. Its impressive range of flavours includes buah kantan, pisang manis, pandan, and pineapple infuse rice wine. In its Fusion Collection, you’ll find tuak with notes of blackcurrants, chrysanthemum, melon, and caramel.

Demystifying tuak by drawing inspiration from wine lists, its online menu is furnished with helpful descriptions of each bottle’s finish, body, and profile. If you’d like to sample its tuak before committing to full-sized bottles, the brewery offers miniature sizes of its signature flavours. 

An independent tuak brewery, Bad Cat Borneo is the brainchild of former pastry chef, Maynard Keyne Langet. Its tuak is crafted with beras pulut or glutinous rice that lends its original variation subtle notes of vanilla and pandan.

The microbrewery currently houses six flavours, from conventional infusions like pineapple to more inventive creations like black pepper. Sun-dried pepper berries are used to craft the latter, forming a tuak brimming with spice and notes of caramel. Its asap tuak proves its most innovative, with Bad Cat roasting rice before the fermentation process to result in a toasty, smokey, and complex brew. 

Borne out of a desire to easily procure tuak in Peninsular Malaysia, Tuak Alus draws inspiration from the brewing practices of Borneo and aims to promote the traditional brew across the country. Staying true to tradition, its main tuak variations are tuak laki, a bolder and drier rice wine traditionally consumed by men and tuak indu, a version sweetened with gula apong that was traditionally brewed for women. Ingredients used in the brewing process are imported from Sarawak to support local businesses and communities. 

A Kuching-based brewery that operates primarily through pop-ups, Omnibor Brewery aims to take tuak brewing to new heights. The brand only uses locally sourced ingredients to craft its tuak and fuses time-honoured techniques with contemporary practices. Alongside tuak, you’ll be able to find fruit wines, mead, and langkau—a more potent rice spirit.

Bringing an intergenerational tuak recipe from Sarawak to Kuala Lumpur, Dui Tuak platforms a paddy-to-bottle process. Founder Vivienna Alfred founded Dui Tuak to honour her grandmother’s tuak recipe and introduce this aspect of Sarawak’s culinary heritage to a wider audience. You’ll be able to find tuak infused with lemongrass, sugarcane, Sarawak pepper, and roselle. 

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While not technically a tuak brand, Merdekarya had to be mentioned on this list for being one of the Klang Valley’s most accessible sources of tuak. The bar and gig space is a neighbourhood favourite for its twists on local fare and, of course, its selection of tuak, cocktails, and langkau. You can take home bottles of tuak infused with orange, cucumber, cinnamon, and asam boi or order a jug of tuak sangria.

The bar also offers a selection of tuak and langkau-based cocktails, with its most popular being a blend of both spirits, lime, and lychee. Merdekarya has also recently begun serving lihing, a traditional Sabahan rice wine. 

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