Inside Ropewalk, Sri Lanka’s First Arrack Speciality Bar

Gleaming wooden floors, high ceilings, and a wall of bottles stacked up to the rafters, accessed by a sliding wooden ladder, set the tone at Ropewalk, a distinctive bar tucked inside the historic Galle Fort Hotel in southern Sri Lanka’s coastal town of Galle. Housed in a beautifully restored 300-year-old Dutch mansion shaded by frangipani trees, the hotel blends colonial charm with timeless appeal—wooden staircases and creaky floorboards. It’s here that I signed up for a tasting at Ropewalk, the country’s first bar dedicated to arrack, and one of the Top 20 bars in Sri Lanka.

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Ropewalk is the brainchild of Amrit Rajaratnam, managing director of Island Life - Sri Lanka, which owns the Galle Fort Hotel. “We are Sri Lankan, we drink arrack, we endure,” reads the bar menu—a tribute to a resilient nation with a deep, complex history. The name ‘Ropewalk’ pays homage to the toddy tappers who walk tightropes made of coir between coconut trees to collect sap. It also nods to Leyn Baan Street nearby—‘Leyn Baan’ means Ropewalk in Dutch.

At the heart of this experience is arrack, a traditional spirit distilled from the sap of coconut flowers, and sometimes kithul and palmyra palms. Though popular in Sri Lanka, South India, Indonesia, and the Philippines, coconut flower arrack remains the most iconic variant. One of the world’s oldest distilled spirits, arrack has recently seen a revival as local mixologists reimagine it in modern cocktails.

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I learned that the sap is harvested by hand after incising the coconut flower, and allowed to naturally ferment to an alcohol content of 5–7%. It's then distilled, often in copper stills, in two stages. The first yields a spirit between 20–40%, and the second creates a final distillate with up to 90% alcohol. Premium versions contain no additives. Today, numerous distilleries in Sri Lanka produce distinct arrack brands, including Ceylon Arrack, which launched in the UK in 2010.

The spirit is aged in wooden casks made from Halmilla—a local hardwood similar to oak—anywhere from three months to fifteen years. The result? A flavour profile that's complex and smooth, with a 40% ABV and notes reminiscent of both whisky and rum, laced with subtle citrus.

Shayan Kannangara, director at Island Life - Sri Lanka, explained that despite its role in Sri Lankan celebrations, arrack was historically overlooked and often associated with the working class. “It’s a part of our cultural identity,” he said, “and it deserves to be celebrated”.

My tasting session, led by Dasun Gunawardhana, the hotel’s resident manager, explored regional varieties of arrack. I sampled Paradise, a white coconut arrack with tropical notes of pineapple; Jaffna Usaar Palmyrah Arrack, from the northern province and made from palmyra sap; and Ceylon Arrack, which offers floral and citrusy layers. Each was paired with delicious local bites: coconut rotis stuffed with caramelised onions, sweet potato chips, young jackfruit frikadelles, and good old buttered toast.

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The bar’s cocktails are equally inventive, incorporating ingredients like tamarind paste, curry leaves, cinnamon, and locally sourced kithul treacle. My first drink, Leyn Baan, blended Halmilla Arrack with ginger, lime, coriander, elderflower, curry leaves, peppercorn, and soda—a tangy, herbaceous delight. Gunpowder, made with Paradise White Arrack, Sri Lankan spice powder, chilli, cucumber, and lemongrass, was fiery and fragrant. The standout? Good Things Come to Those Who Wait, a bold mix of extra-strong Old Arrack and Lion Stout reduction with balsamic shrub, served with toasted bread and butter.

Ropewalk also offers Feasts of Ceylon, a concept dining experience that showcases the culinary traditions of Sri Lanka’s diverse communities. The four degustation menus span Tamil, Burgher, Sinhalese, and Muslim cuisines. Among the highlights is Wati Soru, a fragrant seafood rice dish served in a clay pot—an ode to Galle Fort’s historic Muslim community.

The bar even creates its own arrack infusions, featuring ingredients like orange, cinnamon, and mixed spices. My final indulgence? An arrack-spiked chocolate biscuit pudding. The rich taste of chocolate and buttery biscuits is balanced by the warm taste of arrack and is the perfect end to an evening of boozy delights.