Kingdom of Wonder
Cambodia in Southeast Asia neighbours Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, and the Gulf of Thailand. Perhaps seen as off-the-beaten-path for rum lovers, there’s a deliciously authentic new adventure awaiting you. The natural harvest of land has been revived here by artisanal distillers. This hot and humid country is defined by the Mekong River running north to south, and the Tonlé Sap Lake – Southeast Asia’s largest freshwater lake. Cambodia’s sugarcane, harvested from December to March is mostly in the provinces of Kampong Speu, Koh Kong, Oddar Meanchey, and Preah Vihear.
The Central Plains is home to the charming capital, Phnom Penh, a city rich in history and culture. The Northern Plains has the world-famous Angkor Wat temple complex, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and other ancient wonders in Siem Reap and Banteay Meanchey. The Eastern Highlands of Mondulkiri offer stunning natural beauty, including waterfalls, rainforests, and unique cultural traditions. The Southwestern Plains features the coastal province of Kampot, renowned for its pepper production and beautiful beaches, as well as the seaside town of Kep, famous for its seafood.
Cambodia is an incredible adventure for nature and rum lovers. Whether it’s a stopover on the banana pancake trail (popular with backpackers’) or chasing waterfalls on an eco-tour in The Cardamom Mountains (pictured); you’ll want to experience the local rum scene and cultural revival.
Phnom Penh
A former part of French Indochina, Cambodia’s capital, Phnom Penh, is defined by the convergence of the Mekong, Bassac, and Tonle Sap rivers. The city includes a historic French Quarter, a bustling central district, and serene residential areas in the north. Both of the country’s current rum distilleries are based in the bustling capital.
Ampov Distillery
Ampov Distillery near Phnom Penh is the first pure Cambodian cane juice rum. It’s a fusion of Cambodian soil and French know-how. Created by Frenchman Ralph Meyer (pictured) with Guillaume Ferroni a rum distiller in France as an advisor. Ralph from Alsace was a regular visitor to South-East Asia distributing bicycles from France.
As a rum lover, Ralph tasted streetside sugarcane in Cambodia, and back in France, he trained on a Cognac distiller course to turn his dream into reality. In 2021, with help from Guillaume, they fitted out the premises and stills. In 2022 the first production of white rum and new ageing barrels started with an official launch that November.
Ampov Rum is a traditional French rum made from pure cane juice. Ampov is a Khmer word that means “sugarcane garden” and is also the name of a district in Phnom Penh. Planted and harvested near a river, the sugarcane benefits from very fertile soil and the tradition of local growers. Cut by hand (shortly before complete ripening to have the maximum sugar concentration), and transported to the distillery, the cane is pressed the same day at the distillery after individual washing. This rapid process produces pure juice of the highest quality.
After a long fermentation, the distillation is in two stages in two 100% copper pot stills under the watchful and experienced eye of the distiller. The range includes Ampov Premium White Rum in 42° and 55° (bottled after resting directly at the distillery). Ampov Premium Amber Rum aged in Ex Cognac Cask at 40° and 45°. The product range expanded in 2024 with the arrival of the Collection range with a Limited Edition of a 55° Wild White and an Ampov Aged in wood in an Italian Vino Santo barrel as well as the special cocktail Ampov Blended Mixing Rum.
All the rums are tropically aged without any additions (no sugar, no colouring, or others). The ageing cellar is made up of a wide variety of barrels: Cognac, Bourbon, Vino Santo, Porto, Chardonnay, etc. Visitors to the distillery by appointment only. You can find Ampov Rums either in the bars: Sora, Raffles – Elephant Bar, La Petanque Bar, Au Bouchon, Kanika Boat, Plantation Resort, or in The Warehouse stores and Phnom Penh Airport.
Find out more on Ampov Distillery
Samai Distillery
Cambodia enjoys an abundance of top-quality sugarcane and a tropical climate that provides the perfect setting to produce excellent molasses rum. Yet, nobody had explored this possibility until 2014, when two young Venezuelan entrepreneurs, Daniel Pacheco and Antonio Lopez De Haro, created Cambodia’s first premium rum distillery and rum brand from scratch.
They brought the Latin American rum traditions to Asia, and together with Cambodia’s first and only master distiller, Ms. Moang Darachampich, developed a portfolio of award-winning rums. Samai uses Cambodian molasses from the region of Koh Kong. They do long 6-7 days fermentation in their 7 fermentation tanks and distill in two 500-liters handmade 100% copper pot stills and one column still. They have a variety of oak barrels including ex-bourbon, new American oak, French oak, and Sherry casks. “SAMAI” is the Khmer word for “Modern”, ” a new generation”, it’s the birth of a new generation of spirits in Cambodia.
The award-winning range includes Samai White Rum, a blend of copper pot still and column, aged at least 2 years in ex-bourbon barrels. Samai Gold Rum is aged up to 4 years in a variety of casks, including ex-bourbon, ex-sherry, French, and American oak barrels.
Samai Kampot Pepper Rum is a spiced rum infused with the world’s most aromatic organic pepper, the Kampot Pepper from La Plantation Kampot Pepper Farm. It is blended with aged rum and matured to enrich and balance the flavour. Samai PX Rum Liqueur is aged 4 years in Pedro Ximenez American oak barrels with authentic sweet PX wine from Spain. Future releases are planned with multiple single casks and a variety of RTD pre-batched classic cocktails.
Samai Distillery is open to the public as a bar and for tours every Thursday and Saturday night, where visitors can experience the whole production process, and get to taste all the Samai products neat and in a variety of cocktails. They recently relocated the distillery to a new space to accommodate a higher production capacity to meet the increasing worldwide demand. Some recommendations locally are Le Manolis and Sora at Rosewood Hotel in Phnom Penh. You & Me Resort in Koh Rong Island. FCC Angkor in Siem Reap.
Find out more on Samai Distillery
Samai’s co-founder Antonio also leads The Rare Spirits Society (RSS) which has a YouTube docuseries dedicated to rum and travel called Uncharted Territories. The first episode is Cambodia – Kingdom of Wonder which is a rum lover’s journey to Cambodia’s first rum distillery.
Anker Wat is hugely popular and visited by half of Cambodia’s international tourists. From Phnom Penh to Siem Reap is either an internal flight, bus, or private transfer. In addition to the places mentioned, rum lovers can discover the following spots for a rum cocktail locally.
Where to Enjoy Rum in Cambodia
Krong Kampot: Tiki Garden
Phnom Penh: The Pearl, Elephant Bar, Sora Bar (pictured), Sundown Social Club, Voodoo Boulevard Cocktail Bar, Lantern Rooftop Bar Phnom Penh, TicTic, Le Moon Rooftop.
Siem Reap: Asana Old Wooden House Cocktail Bar, The Angkor What? Bar, Long’s Bar.
Cambodian New Year is in mid-April and is a big celebration and cultural event if planning a trip.
For more general travel advice check out Cambodia Tourism
For travel planning explore our Cambodia Rum Map
Thanks to the brands for contributing to this article, and permission to use their images. Other image credits to Canva Pro, and user contributions.
