Sombai


Sombai Cambodian Liqueur is a local beverage produced in Siem Reap.

Liqueur

This liqueur was created by a Mauritian lady installed in Cambodia in 2012. It has become the iconic beverage of Siem Reap, and for some also of Cambodia.
Indeed, this beverage takes inspiration from the Sraa Tram that Cambodians drink traditionally. Some leading establishments in Siem Reap use this liqueur to cook, prepare cocktails or accompany a whole meal in order to give a local touch, such as Chef Pola Siv at Mie Café or the Park Hyatt. There are 8 different flavours which are always a combination of 2 fruits or spices.
The particularity of the bottles of Sombai is that they are hand-painted making it attractive to tourists visiting Cambodia who want to bring back home gifts or souvenirs.

Cocktails

Even if usually consumed neat or on the rocks, the Sombai liqueurs enter in the composition of several Khmer cocktails including Asana Sling, Lemon Lemongrass Tini, Sombai Blue, Sombai Fizz, Siem Reap Monsoon, and Sombai Sour.

Production workshop

The workshop and its tasting parlour installed in the artist LEANG Seckon's house, has become a tourist attraction in town. It also proposes products from the sister brand Joe's Cuisine and Joe's Kampot Pepper Liqueur.

In popular culture

In Backup Man, a science fiction novel written by Paul Di Filippo, cocktails made of Sombai appear in a trendy bar of Washington DC:
Particulate-filtering airfish drifting gently through the biolit dimness; imene tuki and Karelian rune singing on the sound system; sombai cocktails at twenty NUbucks a pop.
Sombai is considered as one of the top local brands in Cambodia.