This is not your ordinary kind of wine. So if you’re visiting the Seychelles islands, having a taste of their traditional drink if a must! Palm wine is made and drunk in various countries across the world. It is an alcoholic drink made from the sap of different palm trees. In Seychelles it is known locally as ‘calou‘, ‘kalou‘, or ‘toddy‘.
Look up into the palm trees here and you might see a bottle hanging down. It’s almost certainly not there by mistake, most likely its being used for palm wine.
The bottles used are generally not at all fancy, just a plastic bottle of any kind is what you’ll usually see.
In Seychelles, two parts of the tree are used to make calou – either the top of the tree in what is known as the spathe, or in the roots which supposedly makes a stronger wine.
Drinking straight from the tree as was traditional, the wine is warm and sometimes quite hot. This definitely adds to the alcohol buzz. If you chill it in the fridge for a little while its a lot more drinkable and it’s best to drink it within a day or two.
Where to drink palm wine
Palm wine is not something you’re going to find in any restaurants, but you can go to the Praslin Museum where they do demonstrations on how to tap palm wine. You’ll get a glass of it too if you are feeling brave enough to try it. You can also sometimes find it being sold in markets or food stalls.
