1/ A thread about toddy (not the hot whiskey drink) but the fermented coconut sap, popular in Kerala, Sri Lanka and some parts of Malaysia. Its a drink people would now call, "moonshine"
#alcohol #toddy

2/ The fresh coconut is not alcoholic obviously but the fermentation from the coconut sap turns it alcoholic with a mildly sweet taste

3/ When the Brits brought Indian labours to Malaysia to work in plantations, the labourers started fermenting toddy to drink as a social activity and for supposedly health reasons

4/ The drink became mired in racist and colonial tropes. Indians in Malaysia were pigeonholed as boorish, lower working class drunks who love toddy

5/ Today, there are 1-2 business licences for toddy production in Malaysia and people who produce it, do so discreetly. It will soon disappear, I'm sure, and make a comeback when a hipster bro 'discovers' it

6/ Toddy is an understated and under promoted Malaysian alcoholic beverages. Others include tapai and tuak (rice and palm wine). Maybe because the Muslim majority country is reluctant to promote alcohol drinks? A thread for another day. END

@dmejiacanales we've never met but I wrote this after reading your thread on the Melbourne art heist and hope my version is 1/2 as interesting!

@MelindaJoe wanted to share this with you, since you often write about alcoholic drinks!