More recently, Proudly Promdi even launched an online liquor store with a curated selection of other local heritage spirits and artisanal brands worth trying, a one-stop shop for all Filipino spirits. “My passion for local spirits slowly grew with each new discovery of a type of local spirit,” explains Alonso. “It suddenly opened my eyes to the fact that we have so much in the Philippines that has yet to be truly discovered and celebrated.”

Alonso continues, “We regularly ask ourselves: How can we make more people appreciate and choose local liquor over all the spirits we’ve grown to love? That’s why our main goal with Proudly Promdi is to help people re-discover and celebrate these spirits by making them more accessible and sharing information about them.”

Hear more from the “chief Promdi officer” as he divulges his favourite discoveries since starting Proudly Promdi, exciting projects in the works, and how we can better support our local beverage artisans:

See also: Introducing Bb Sunshine, a natural wine by Bombvinos

Did you have much experience in the world of beverages prior to launching Proudly Promdi? 

To be honest, not really. I was your typical beer drinker, but among my friends, I would always be [the one] drawn to the cocktail menu. Over time, as I got more exposed to different spirits, infusions, and ingredients, [I was inspired] to constantly read books, watch videos online, and go to different bars (even just by myself) to try a particular drink. Eventually, I tried making cocktails on my own at home for myself and my friends. It was a lot of trial and error, drunken nights at home, talking to different bartenders, and being a scholar at YouTube university that really helped me build my skillset today.

What was the reception like when you first started Proudly Promdi? How has this changed?

In terms of selling the tapuey and bugnay, it was met with a lot of curiosity and interest. However, some were sceptical about these local wines because of who made them, and because of its [pronounced] sweetness. This challenged me to figure out how I could make more people try, or get people to appreciate something uniquely Filipino.

Through the years, the collective desire to support anything local has developed—I think because the local cocktail industry has grown exponentially, and there are more local distillers, the interest has grown by a mile and some even prefer them over their international counterparts. Today, we have internationally acclaimed craft spirits that we can really be proud of and enjoy for ourselves—not just as a pasalubong to foreign friends.

Read more: What exactly is Filipino fine dining?

What has been your favourite discovery so far?

Experiencing tapuey for myself has truly been my favourite personal discovery. Apart from it being one of the oldest spirits we have here in the Philippines, there are just so many variations of tapuey depending on the rice variety, yeasts used, the way they cook the rice, the province it’s made in, etc. It’s really exciting because there’s so much potential in tapuey and we have not even scratched the surface. 

What is the product/service you are most proud of?

I’m very proud of the travelling Filipino cocktail bar. It’s essentially our mobile bar service that caters to different kinds of events. It started as a way for us to promote and utilise our tapuey and bugnay since the cocktail menu revolved around those two spirits. We started out with a folding table and a small set-up that could fit the back of a small car.

Today, we have new carts in our “fleet” and we’ve included other heritage spirits in our menu, putting them at the forefront of the different cocktails we offer. We try as much as we can to highlight these local liquors and Filipino flavours.

Through the cocktail bar, we’ve been able to go to different places as far as Ilocos Norte, Baguio, and Tagaytay, and spread the word on how to enjoy and use local spirits.

What is the most rewarding part of what you do with Proudly Promdi?

The most rewarding part of what I’m doing today is knowing that I’ve created a platform to discover more about Filipino spirits and local artisanal brands. I hope that through this, we can help celebrate more of what we currently have and proudly share it with the world. 

Related: Bohol’s Asin tibuok: Protecting the culinary heritage of the Philippines through salt

How can we better support local artisans, and celebrate heritage beverages?

I think it starts with being open to trying out more local spirits and brands. You’d be surprised by how good or interesting they can taste, or how much we have yet to discover. If we create a steady demand for local beverages, we can help instil confidence in our artisans to motivate them to keep doing what they’re doing. Perhaps, this can also inspire the younger generations to continue making them, which helps preserve our culture and heritage. 

What are the next steps for Proudly Promdi?

At the moment, we’re looking to expand and distribute our products and services outside of Manila. We are currently working on something in Siargao, perhaps Cebu and other parts of the country. We’re now officially supplying Roots in Siargao, with both our tapuey and bugnay!

We’re also on the lookout for more Filipino brands and spirits. Hopefully, as we get to travel around the Philippines, we can add more of them to our current portfolio.

Any upcoming projects you can tease, or recent projects you’d like to highlight?

We have more pop-ups and collaborations with restaurants and bars coming up. We will also be re-launching our bottled cocktails next week, with five variants which you can order through our website!

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