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Dining | Drinks
By Lauren Golangco
Jul 12, 2021
Cover The Philippines is rich with locally-produced alcohols unique to our culture and heritage. Photo: Dewi Poedjawati \ Unsplash
The Philippines is rife with precious practices of producing alcohol with local ingredients - read on to learn more about tapuey, lambanog, and more.
From world-class rum like Don Papa to distinctly Filipino liqueur, and more recently, flavourful gin boasting local botanicals like Santa Ana, the Philippines is growing to be one-to-watch in the world of alcoholic beverages. However, our sprawling archipelago also has a vibrant history of producing unique and native liquors, spirits, and wine worthy of our pride and drinking enjoyment. These products are a delicious and important reminder of our rich heritage and innovative practices, showcasing local ingredients like coconut, sugarcane,bugnay berries, and rice.
Read More: Tatler Picks - The Best Gins In Asia 2021
1. Tapuey
Tapuey (also spelled tapuy or tapey) is a Filipino rice wine made from yeast and fermented glutinous rice, kept in traditional earthen jars until ready for consumption. It has an alcohol by volume (ABV) of around 14-19 per cent, and has a flavour profile reminiscent of molasses with a bit of tang, great for sipping on its own or mixing into co*cktails. For a sample of the latter, try out Proudly Promdi's bottled Fiesta made with tapuey, cinnamon whiskey, amaretto, vanilla extract, and lemon (plus milk as part of the clarification process).
Read More: Order Drinks & co*cktail Kits From Your Favourite Manila Bars
2. Basi
Aptly dubbed Philippine sugarcane wine, basi is made by crushing sugarcane and allowing the extracted juiced to age and ferment in clay jars, adding ground rice, fruits and/or bark into the mix. It has an ABV of about 10-16 per cent and also has a sweet-sour taste, its flavour profile changing slightly depending on the fruits and bark added. This local alcoholic beverage was the star of the Basi Spritz, a refreshing co*cktail from the beloved (and sadly, now-closed) bar Big Bad Wolf.
Read More: Tatler's Guide To The Best Asian Rums 2021
3. Lambanog
Lambanog is a distilled palm liquor made with coconut or nipa sap, with a high ABV of around 40-45 per cent. Recently, this "coconut vodka" has grown in popularity, with flavoured variants increasingly available - through the original remains in vogue, enjoyed on its own or in co*cktails like Toyo Eatery's GinPom (pictured above).
Read More: 7 Summer co*cktail Recipes From Top Bars In The Philippines - Run Rabbit Run, Tamboks, And More
4. Bahalina
Above Photo: LGU of Palo Official Facebook Page
Like lambanog, bahalina is also derived from tubâ or palm wine. However, unlike lambanog, this coconut red wine is not distilled and uses tannin-rich barok (dried bark extracts) to add bitterness and prevent sourness. With an ABV of 10-13 per cent, it is often mixed with soda to add a sweetness more akin to red wine. Bahalina is often celebrated and judged at the cleverly named Oktubafest festival.
Read More: Get Top Wine At Great Prices At This Dusit Thani Pop-Up
5. Bugnay Wine
Bugnay wine is made from small, red, tropical berries called bugnay orbignay. At around 12 per cent ABV, it has a similar alcohol content to regular grape wine. Though it is easily enjoyed solo, Proudly Promdi uses their sweet and light-bodied bugnay wine in a number of their bottled co*cktails, and suggest using it in sangria as well. Agimat at Ugat foraging bar also uses the local wine in their co*cktail Dasal Ng Babaylan, blending dark rum, tamarind, sugarcane, kagubatan bitters, and lime to make with thebugnaywine for a truly unique concoction.
Read More: Asia’s 50 Best Bars 2021 - The Philippines Best Bar Is Number 38
Topics
Local Filipino Alcohol
