Cholai is an illegal alcoholic beverage made in India, equivalent to "hooch" or "bootleg" alcohol.[1] Usually made from rice, it is sometimes mixed with industrial alcohol or methanol, which has resulted in several hundred deaths.[2][3]
Preparation
The Indian encyclopedia, Bharater Adibasi, has a description of cholai as being a distilled alcohol made with two earthen pots joined together; the lower pot filled with yeast and mixed rice/jaggery; the upper pot left empty with an output tube. When the lower pot is heated, the vapour of 80% alcohol goes to the upper pot and comes into contact with cold air, which distills the vapour to become "cholai".[4]
It is locally made, and sold cheaply and illegally. In 2011, consumption of cholai adulterated with industrial alcohol resulted in the death of over 140 people.[5][6]
Cholai is also considered a local name, or a variant, of "desi dāru" (Hindi for "country alcohol"), i.e., cheap distilled liquor.[7][8]
