Cover The Philippines is rich with locally-produced alcohols unique to our culture and heritage. Photo: Dewi Poedjawati \ Unsplash
The Philippines is rich with locally-produced alcohols unique to our culture and heritage. Photo: Dewi Poedjawati \ Unsplash
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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.
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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 cocktails. 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).
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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 cocktail from the beloved (and sadly, now-closed) bar Big Bad Wolf.
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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, however the original remains quite popular. While it is often enjoyed on its own we see this spirit creatively used in a variety of cocktails too.
4. Bahalina
Above Photo: LGU of Palo Official Facebook Page
Photo: LGU of Palo Official Facebook Page
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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.
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5. Bugnay Wine
Bugnay wine is made from small, red, tropical berries called bugnay or bignay. 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 cocktails, and suggest using it in sangria as well. Agimat at Ugat foraging bar also uses the local wine in their cocktail Dasal Ng Babaylan, blending dark rum, tamarind, sugarcane, kagubatan bitters, and lime to make with the bugnay wine for a truly unique concoction.
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About
Lauren’s love for food came much later in life than one would expect— an obsession awakened in the streets of Melbourne’s multicultural dining scene. Armed with this newfound passion, she returned to the Philippines determined to discover the best eats in her home country, with a personal advocacy to champion local cuisines and homegrown talent. Nothing is off-limits; if it’s delicious, it’s worth celebrating.
Work
As Tatler Dining associate editor, Lauren covers all things food and drink, from listing the latest openings in our monthly Dining Radar to interviewing chefs and bartenders about the biggest obstacles crippling the industry today. Beyond the digital space, she also organises Tatler Dining’s tentpole events, including Off Menu and Tatler Dining Kitchen, as well as the annual Tatler Best Philippines awards night and guide launch, detailing the best restaurants in the country.
For leads and event invites, contact her via lauren@tatlerphilippines.com or follow her on Instagram at @laurengolangco.
Photo: Ralph Mendo
