I just returned from a 3 week vacation in Thailand so I thought I would chime in on this subject. I am not a "hard alcohol" drinker but my wife is. She loved the Thai whisky and rum, both rice based. The major brands are Maekhong and Sang Som, both sweeter than vodka. You normally don't drink these straight and most Thai's mix with Soda (coke, sprite). You can get other alcohols from around the globe there, but we figured, while in Rome....

The thai stuff is MUCH cheaper that any other hard alcohols.