The journey and tradition of Filipino bartenders and the tiki cocktail genre.
I first met Gelo Honrade in 2018 . I was tasked with helping the robustious legal community theatre director of New York City ’s Osamil and its sister eating house , Cafe Salmagundi , make a menu for Tiki Night . Alongside Honrade ’s infectious smiling and disciplined access to cocktail invention , I dove into the projection with such originative abandon that I fell in sexual love with the tiki human race .
In the classical tiki canon , rum is front and center . While the planning and techniques are toilsome at times , they bring forth unexpected flavor combination . The presentations of such cocktails range from over - the - top to slick and modern , yet the genre has a complicated past .
The history of tiki is fraught . Colonialism ’s shock on the democratic cocktail genrehas overshadowed the people and chronicle behind its asterisk feeling : rum . While it ’s true some of the most popular rum have origins in the Caribbean , the truth is that rum and other cane spirit are get globally in more than 90 countries . And the Philippines is one of the fully grown producer of and securities industry for rum in the world . Yet it does n’t get as much aid as other island producers — until now .
Kasama Rum|Gabby Cantero
brand such asDon PapaandKasamahave emerged in recent year , further expanding the natural selection of Asiatic rums for the world to enjoy . These brand are focused on the custom of sugar cane refinement in the Philippines and play up origination in using sugar cane succus in rummy .
Although sugarcane cultivation come in the Philippines as ahead of time as 3000 BC and was used to make simoleons for cooking as well as an array of cane wines and drinking vinegars ( palek , byais , basi , intus ) , rum production did n’t pop in the Philippines until the mid-19th C .
Enter Tanduay . The quondam rum brand in the Philippines was established in 1854 . It ’s a big name in Philippine drinking finish and make up to 99 % of the rummy market sales on the archipelago . ( It late outstrip Bacardi as the biggest selling rum globally . ) In the Philippines , go to anyihuman , a assemblage where the elementary objective is socialize over potable accent by karaoke and snacks , and you will inevitably find a bottleful of Tanduay alongside beer and potent gin .
Courtesy of Tanduay
It ’s this conviviality that Honrade and I tried to catch in our themed fare . I had only been piss tiki cocktail for a twelvemonth when I contact this veteran of the industry , who commence his gravid break in the tiki aspect at the now - shuttered Filipino restaurant Jeepney . It was through him that I first see about and taste Filipino rum , and I start to become more funny about rums from Asia and the worldoutside of the Caribbean .
Philippine barkeep toy an significant role not only in sustain tiki cocktail culture off the ground , but in preserving and go around its cognition and legacy over the year , which is now getting well - deserved tending and recognition . Manila - born Mariano Licudine consult on cocktail shop for hotels and resorts in the Caribbean and became the face of theMai - Kai .
Meanwhile , Bob Esmino and Ray Barrientos openedKon - Tikioutposts across North America . Other barkeep were poached by the many tiki bars that sprung up around the U.S. , taking recipes from Don the Beachcomber and his rival , Trader Vic , along with them . Ray Buhen and his category founded the notable Tiki - Ti .
Kasama Rum|Gabby Cantero
One might think tiki might still be going strong in the Philippines , but cocktail culture as we know it in the States does n’t exist in quite the same way , says Honrade . One of the reasonableness is hardheaded , he explain , “ Ice is not wide available throughout the archipelago , and the barkeep there have not shown much of an stake in the account of tiki cocktails — they prefer to focus on ramp up their own personal style and legacy in the barroom mankind . ”
The Philippines does have rum , though , and plenty of it . With the new guard of rum producers , there is yet hope that they canreclaim a spiritso deeply associate with tiki — and make upon its own catalog of rummy drinks ruminative of the local tastes and traditions .
Whether it ’s the long - loved Tanduay or newcomer like Kasama , Philippine rums produce elegant expressions that are gratifying full-strength , as is traditional , as well as suitable for a reach of cocktail lotion .
Philippine Rums and How to Use Them
Tanduay White RumTanduay began trading operations in Hagonoy , in the responsibility of Bulacan , but later moved its headquarters to Isla de Tanduay near Manila 15 years after its initiation in 1854 . Its adjudicate - and - dead on target rummy rest ingrained in Philippine drunkenness finish ; this is the everyday imbibing rum of the Philippines . Tanduay take aim cues from the Cuban rum style — tripping , juiceless , and crisp visibility . Aged for a little under two old age and then filtered , its 40 % ABV is ideal for cocktails . It has a faint straw color hue and pleasant vegetal note on the nose , accompanied by reticent floral notes . On the palate , it is burnished , sharp , and orotund . groovy for : A killerCuban - vogue Daiquiri ; an invigoratingMojito .
Don PapaProduced from baronial cane molasses , the original melody cultivated in Southeast Asia and later spell to the Caribbean , Don Papa was created by a former Remy Cointreau executive in 2012 . The rum is aged for up to seven year in American Oak casks which begets a pungent , slightly funky olfactory organ that will attract to any fan of traditional rum . It bursts with citrus note — glaze orange peel , key lime — and has a bright , acidic cultivation . While some purist may find it to be a shade on the sweet side , these candied constituent make it complete for cocktailing , in especial tropical cocktails and punches . habituate it in : Apandan Painkiller .
KasamaOne of the newest entree to the marketplace , Kasama is also distilled from Noble Cane , but in this case prefer to use fresh cane succus rather than molasses . of age for seven years , it will invoke to whisky and cognac imbiber alike . The flavor visibility , again , is a chip of a departure from traditional Philippine rums , and , as such , is a bully embassador for the style and for orbicular rum in cosmopolitan . It has light floral notes and focus Chuck Berry fruits on the palate . Its indulgent , thin mouthfeel makes it loose to sip neat , and its bright , glinting acidity makes it idealistic not only for tartness , but more effete serves . examine this in : A not - too - cloyingPiña Colada .
