Out of the Blue: Batavia Arrack Comes Back
If last Sunday’s New York Times T magazine is to be believed, Batavia arrack is one of the "New Staples"—one of the top ingredients of the season. If that’s the case, then never has one spirit gone so far so fast, from a century-plus of obscurity to must-have status in the liquor cabinet.
Produced since at least the early 17th-century on the island of Java, Batavia arrack is rum’s funky ancestor. Made from sugarcane and fermented red rice (one quibble with the Times story: while Sri Lankan arrack made from palm sap has a similar name, it’s a totally different creature), this smoky, aromatic spirit was a mariner’s favorite for years, and was an essential ingredient in punch until well into the 19th-century. Eventually supplanted by rum, Batavia arrack faded from the back bar and the liquor store; in recent years it was primarily found close to its Asian roots, as well as in parts of Northern Europe, where it appeared in chocolates, desserts and sweetened, flavored punches.
