Cap Tikus (pronounced Chap Tee'KOOS)

Martin prefers to call Cap Tikus (“Rat’s Brand”) by the more appropriate name, “Racun Tikus” (or Rat Poison). This is the Minahasan version of Moonshine!

Cap Tikus is the local Palm brandy, mostly made in small distilleries in the jungle. It is a VERY strong distilled version (usually 40 - 50%, but sometimes up to 90%) of a liquid they get from a common tree in these parts, the sugar palm. 'Palm wine' is actually a less-fermented version of Cap Tikus, obtained during the beginning stages of the process of making Cap Tikus. Palm wine is a slightly more appealing, although still nauseating, drink!

The labour-intensive distillation process is actually quite simple and basically employs metal ovens and bamboo tubes.

The people around Manado have told me that cap tikus actually has medicinal qualities; they hold firmly to the belief that cap tikus is a health-preserving as well as a health-restoring liquid. It is used when people feel a cold coming on, or to cure digestive disorders... I suppose anything with an alcohol content that high would kill any germ on contact!?

Don't drink this alcohol to excess, though... some locals have gone blind or died because of the high level of methanol in Cap Tikus! Anything in moderation, I suppose. There is nothing pleasurable about the cap tikus experience, so as far as I'm concerned, it's not worth the risk!

Our first encounter with the stuff was rather innocent, but was enough to turn me off the stuff for good. We were simply having a quiet night, hanging out with a few friends on the island and having a couple drinks. When the few beers we had brought ran out, they pulled out the plastic bottle of moonshine. No matter how little CapTikus you had nor how much Cola you mixed it with, it was NOXIOUS! The problem was the cola ran out even faster than the beers... I was smart and decided not to push it, but Martin kept up with the boys and drank a couple glasses of it almost* straight. He was sick for the next TWO WEEKS!  Needless to say, he didn't ever try it again either!

The picture below is actually not from Minahasa, but from Sorong... this is the infamous local hangout called the 'tembok' (seawall)... you can tell if someone is indulging in the captikus depending whether or not he is facing out to sea (getting plastered), or back toward the road (safely tottling tea).  Hahaha.