The Dewi Sri company is a professional producer of
local Balinese rice wines and rice spirits. Founded in 1968, the
Dewi Sri company produces the traditional Arak and Brem Bali wines,
made from fermented rice. Found at religious ceremonies and on
local tables, the rice wines and spirits of Dewi Sri are a symbol
of quality and skilled winemaking in the traditional way. Ideal for
mixing cocktails and famous for being the base of the Arak Attack
cocktail, these wines are the true taste of traditional Bali.
In 1968, I.B. Gotama a native of Sanur and descendant
of a prominent family, decided to embark on the professional making
of the traditional drinks Brem and Arak. Too many home distilleries
producing dangerous products put lives at risk and I.B. Gotama sets
up the first professional and legal distillery in Bali. For over 40
years now, the Dewi Sri company makes fermented rice wines and
spirits in its factory located in the heart of Sanur, where the
family still lives.
The name of the company is in honour of the goddess of rice,
fertility, successful harvest, and family prosperity and harmony,
celebrated in Bali Hinduism as the amalgamation of Lakshmi, Devi
and Shri.
Mr. I.B. Gotama’s sons have since taken over the traditional wine
factory and have also the Hatten Wines winery, which today is
served all around Bali and Indonesia.
Distilling Spirits inBali
The process of
making rice wine and alcohol
At Dewi Sri, we have a long commitment to quality and
already 45 years of experience distilling spirits. Starting with
locally grown white and red rice, we gently cook the mixtures to a
perfect temperature before fermenting them in order to release the
sugars and create the alcohol. Distilling in our Spanish copper
still allows Dewi Sri to benefit from the properties of copper:
this metal reduces the undesirable sulfur compounds produced
naturally during distillation, to allow us to have a much smoother
and silky spirit.
Distillation is a method of separating
mixtures based on differences in volatility of components in a
boiling liquid mixture. Distillation is a unit operation, or a
physical separation process, and not a chemical reaction. (Ref.:
Wikipedia)