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  How Sri Lanka’s arrack coconut spirit went upmarket  Source: BBC News Sri Lanka’s arrack producers are trying to take the spirit upmarket Distilled from the sap of the coconut flower, Sri Lankan arrack has been a local favourite for centuries. But now its makers are trying to take the spirit global, writes the BBC’s Ayeshea Perera in Colombo. It’s served in some of London’s most fashionable restaurants, like Dishoom and Hoppers. And the late food and travel writer Anthony Bourdain described it as tasting like “a marriage of bourbon and rum, but with a stronger, burning kick and a mysterious bouquet”. Yet the makers of Sri Lankan arrack – best described as a dark coconut rum – believe it is still punching far below its weight when it comes to international recognition and appreciation. For years, arrack was considered too “low class” to be taken seriously as a premium ...