Rượu đế is a distilled liquor from Vietnam, made of either glutinous or non-glutinous rice. It was formerly made illegally and is thus similar to moonshine. It is most typical of the Mekong Delta region of southwestern Vietnam (its equivalent in northern Vietnam is called rượu quốc lủi). Its strength varies, but is typically 40 percent alcohol by volume. It is usually clear, and a bit cloudy in appearance.

In some parts of Vietnam it is commercially available in bottles. It is produced by many unregistered household distilleries.

Etymology

The term rượu đế literally means "đế (Kans grass) liquor." This name is explained by the fact that, in Cochinchina (southern Vietnam) during the early period of French colonization, the imperialist government had a monopoly on alcohol production, and the only distilled alcoholic beverage the general population could legally purchase was rượu Công Ty (literally "Company alcohol"; also known as rượu Ty). Those who paid a special fee were given a sign emblazoned with the letters "RA" (an abbreviation for "Régie d'Acool") to hang in front of their store, which gave them the privilege to be able to sell alcohol from the Société Française des Distilleries de l'Indochine, which was a diluted distilled alcoholic beverage made from rice and corn. In order to obtain liquor with a higher proof, many people resorted to distilling their own liquor in secret by hiding it in tall grass called cỏ tranh (Imperata cylindrica), or in another kind of grass called đế (Kans grass, which grows up to three meters tall), far away from their homes. Whenever such individuals saw the tax collector, they would bring their alcohol and hide it in a field overgrown with đế plants.

Ru, ru, or RU may refer to:

Russia

China

Other uses

Educational institutions

RU may stand for the following universities:

The planet Uranus has a system of rings intermediate in complexity between the more extensive set around Saturn and the simpler systems around Jupiter and Neptune. The rings of Uranus were discovered on March 10, 1977, by James L. Elliot, Edward W. Dunham, and Jessica Mink. More than 200 years ago, in 1789, William Herschel also reported observing rings; some modern astronomers are skeptical that he could have actually seen them, as they are very dark and faint – others are not.

By 1978, nine distinct rings were identified. Two additional rings were discovered in 1986 in images taken by the Voyager 2 spacecraft, and two outer rings were found in 2003–2005 in Hubble Space Telescope photos. In the order of increasing distance from the planet the 13 known rings are designated 1986U2R/ζ, 6, 5, 4, α, β, η, γ, δ, λ, ε, ν and μ. Their radii range from about 38,000 km for the 1986U2R/ζ ring to about 98,000 km for the μ ring. Additional faint dust bands and incomplete arcs may exist between the main rings. The rings are extremely dark—the Bond albedo of the rings' particles does not exceed 2%. They are probably composed of water ice with the addition of some dark radiation-processed organics.