A. few . jars

Ruou can is a group-friendly way of enjoying alcohol in the Central Highlands and parts of northern Vietnam.
Generally speaking, Vietnamese do not care for drinking alcohol when alone. Drinking is a social activity and it’s always the more the merrier. Perhaps, only in such a culture could ruou can be invented.
Served in a large jar with multiple bamboo reeds serving as straws, ruou can (literally ‘tube liquor’) is perfect for small groups sharing a drink. Friends and family can huddle around with guests, taking turns sipping from the jar over the course of an evening.
The actual beverage in the jar is a sweet-flavoured rice liquor. Made from nep (glutinous rice) and mixed with various herbs and spices, it’s easy to drink – much more so than some harsh tasting rice liquors drunk out of a bottle. On average it’s about 15 to 20 per cent in alcoholic content. So, even people who aren’t fond of the hard stuff can sip from the jar without wincing too much – as you might know, some homemade ‘moonshine’ style liquors in Vietnam can be extremely strong.
Ruou can is drunk throughout the year and is a fixture at festivals or ceremonies in the Central Highlands (Tay Nguyen). The jar will be placed in the middle of the house or the yard, so that everyone can step forward for a drop.
Central Highlands’ culture
Along with communal longhouses, gongs and the soaring Neu tree, ruou can is dear to any Central Highlanders heart. No one is sure of the origins of ruou can but the village elders of Lam Dong province like to tell a legend that explains how it came into existence. Once, there was a man who was visited by the Porcupine God.
The god received a milky-white drink that made the man feel as if he were walking on air. Then the God taught the man how to make it, and just as importantly, how to drink it. The drink was ruou can. As it is the product of divine inspiration, the hill tribes of Tay Nguyen still offer ruou can up to Heaven and the Porcupine God before drinking.
Secret recipes
Ruou can is made out of natural ingredients such as herbs, cassava root, rice and yeast, which are washed and dried out over a stove for 20 days or so. The ingredients are wrapped with large banana leaves and left for a couple of days before the process of fermentation begins. For good ruou can this should take at least six months. Each locale will have its own taste as the hill tribes gather whatever herbs are found around their villages.
“Making a delicious jar of liquor depends on finding good wood and the alcohol yeast must be taken from deep in the forest where you can see the footprints of stags!” says Pang Til Mut, a 45-year-old ruou can producer from Dalat.
According to Dang Trong Ho, an expert on the Central Highlands’ culture, each ethnic group has their own way of offering ruou can, but perhaps one of the most unique belongs to the E De tribe. For special occasions they drink liquor by a method called map-po-to-rai (water-fall). A jar of ruou can is tied against the ritual pillar of the house.
Seven charming girls in ceremonial dresses, standing up or kneeling down, form a gradually descending line toward the jar, each with a bowl of water in their hands. This is often used to welcome distinguished guests. According to one tradition in the Central Highlands, when people drink for the purposes of reconcilement, a chicken will serve as a witness! The offender has to drink first then offer a leg of chicken to the village patriarch who will consider if the offender is genuinely remorseful or not.
Ruou can in the city
Ruou can is now known throughout Vietnam and you don’t have to sojourn into the Central Highlands to find it. Ruou can is available in large towns and cities all along the coast. In Dalat and Buon Ma Thuat there are a lot of famous distributors such as Tay Nguyen E Den, K”long, Hoa Binh, Cao Nguyen, Y Nguyen.
This has led to some experimentation and diversifying of ruou can. Something the purists do not abide by. According to Duong Dau Ha, president of the Dalat Farmer’s Association, “The most important thing is the typical flavour of the liquor. Many people used herbs such as cinnamon or cloves to create different flavours but these are not so delicious.”
She adds that liquor producers take the reputation of ‘ruou can’ but leave the spirit in the mountains and forest. The alcohol yeast does not have “the footprints of stags from deep in the forest.” Moreover, instead of using “nuoc suoi ban mai” (spring water) as the liquid base, people use mineral water, coconut milk, beer or wine.
It won’t stop the commercialisation of ruou can, but the people of the forest, who sip from the jar by a flickering flame, listening to the sound of a gong echoing in the highlands, will always drink traditional liquor in a traditional way.