Bali is a tourist destination visited by millions of tourists every year. Most of them certainly want to find a local product that can be enjoyed or be brought home as a souvenir. Tourists from four-season country particularly, often want to enjoy local drinks, like Arak Bali, for example.

For agrarian communities like Bali, Arak Bali is a healthy drink. They usually drink one shot of arak before and after going to the rice field, because it can warm their body. Recently, the Governor of Bali legalized some fermented beverages, such as wine, brem, and arak, based on Bali Governor Regulation No. 1 of 2020.

Besides warming our body, Arak Bali also has other benefits. It can be used as a remedy for rheumatism, diabetes, and so on. To treat some diseases, Arak Bali is usually mixed in their food. Some people also mix Balinese Arak with traditional spices, such as cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon, and lime.

Bali Arak itself is made from natural ingredients. Unlike the other fermentation drinks. Even so, Arak Bali can only be consumed by a certain age. That’s why the governor also regulates its sales market.

Coconut palm tree tuak is the main ingredient in making Arak Bali. The palm tree tuak, or also called ngirisin, is sliced carefully. The person who will do the job is equipped with a knife placed in a belt while climbing a 15-meter-coconut tree. Every day, he will take the tuak water before it’s processed into a fermented beverage.

Coconut palm tuak is then stored in a large plastic container for four to five days. After that, the tuak will taste sour. In the refining process, there are three large jars. Each jar will produce different levels of alcohol. Each jar can contain as many as four to five buckets. Generally, the distilling process is carried out by women, while men are going to extract tuak from the coconut tree,

You can find Arak Bali easily at some souvenir shops. You can even see the manufacturing process by visiting the Tri Eka Bhuana Village, Sidemen District, Karangasem Regency.