Indonesia is a land that’s never short of cultural legacy of any sort. For one, take our repertoires of traditional tipples: from Bali’s own arak to Borneo’s tuak, the celebrated local wines are centuries-deep, sourced and produced in villages and savoured by local communities. But as years lapsed, today’s flourishing trend and soaring interest in locally-crafted fermented drinks take shape in varieties of design-conscious presentation, lifting the state of our local libations to a new height.
We no longer see liquors in plastic cups or bamboo shots, instead, they are poured into sexy glass bottles and flaunted in retail stores or Instagram pages. With fruit wine in the limelight and refined artisanship as its approach, the drinks have become not only enjoyable but also desirable. This sets the scene for Khas, one of the torchbearers of today’s local fruit wine producers.
Founded in 2018, the Jakarta-based maker experimented with a slew of local and imported fruits to make wine until they introduced their first creation: banana wine. Fancied for its rarity, Khas’ pioneering (and still most-coveted) creation is made from pisang ambon served in a rustic glass bottle that deserves the spot in your wine rack. Though the flavour hints to a lighter and sweeter taste, the kick is not one to downplay: have it for a round of nightcap, and the potion would ease up the mood in no time, just like a good wine should.
Khas’ Banana Wine is a charm for its sense of novelty, but the brand is all about the local pride where their wines embrace treasured tropical fruits and produce, namely snake fruits, mangoes to Toraja coffee beans. While each of the choices piques your interest, their banana wine fits the bill for when the regular wine options out there turn a little, so to speak, tame.
Khas Banana Wine – IDR 150,000 – Khas’ Instagram, Naked Inc., The Bulkstore & Co.
