For a long time, the cheapest vodkas in Russia might have been contenders in this category, but recent rules regarding minimum prices there (at least for the legal stuff) have made those at least five times more expensive than what you can still get in Laos today.

In Vientiane, the capital city of Laos, you can find this stuff in small shops all over the tourist district for under US$1 for a full-size bottle, with an alcohol percentage of 40 or 45. In a retail setting it’s usually clear, but there are other varieties that have an amber color to them.

Lao-Lao, nearly as ubiquitous a drink as the ever-popular Beer Lao, can be found all over Laos. It’s hard to say which drink is more popular, the official national beer, or the home-brewed sticky rice moonshine that’s brewed in every village and town from high up in the Laotian mountains to the lowland river valleys.

Lao-Lao has been brewed for hundreds of years. Made from fermented and distilled sticky rice, this clear rice “whisky”, Lao-Lao is sometimes added to Beer Lao to strengthen it, and is almost always served to guests at a traditional Laotian meal.

Lao-Lao is super cheap, just a few thousand kip per bottle (a few dollars). The taste and alcohol content ranges wildly, but is often slightly yeasty and sweet, like Japanese sake. The taste is actually quite mild, and reminds me a little of vanilla, although it’s also a very neutral taste so it mixes well with any of the fresh fruit juices that are also cheaply available all over Laos. 

Tourists don’t usually drink much Lao-Lao, although the brands sold at the supermarkets and convenience stores in the country are safe to drink. A bottle of Lao-Lao with a preserved scorpion or snake is a popular tourist souvenir, and for many villages, it’s a big source of tourist income.

According to Seasia