IF YOUR tito drinks Tanduay rum here, he’d just be any other tippler. If your tito drinks Tanduay rum in the States, he might be a man of taste.
On July 16, Tanduay held a masterclass at Poblacion’s Oto (which is included in The World’s 50 Best Restaurants’ Discovery list) where they showed off their export-quality rums, namely: Tanduay Asian Rum Gold and Silver, Tanduay Double Rum, and Especia Spiced Rum.
If you haven’t heard of any of these before, that’s because most of these are for export, and only limited qualities are available here. Janno Gironella, R&D Head for Tanduay Distillers Inc. told BusinessWorld in a mix of English and Filipino in an interview, “For local, our strategy is more of a value rum. For export, the opportunity for premium products is greater.”
“They’re more receptive to premium products, and they are very eager to try rums and spirits coming from Asia,” he said of their export markets.
GRAPEFUIT, CARAMEL, AND COCONUT TASTESSilver is only moderately filtered, which gives it a light straw appearance. It’s aged up to five years in ex-bourbon barrels, with a sharp grapefruitaste and a clean finish.
Gold, meanwhile, is aged up to seven years. To our palate, it tasted a bit sharp, like black pepper, and had a hint of burnt sugar. To our nose, it had a caramel note, but the finish was juicier and fruitier than its younger sibling.
Double Rum is made from a blend of rums aged five and 16 years, which are combined in ex-bourbon barrels for two years. This had a woody scent, akin to cedarwood, and had a warm swallow and more than a hint of fruitcake.
As for our (personal) favorite, Especia, it’s made from heirloom sugarcane and has been infused with spices. It had an interesting scent: we knew someone who was drawn to perfumes that smelled like a loose woman on the beach (her words). That meant sunlight, coconut, and spices, and it smelled exactly like her. That said, the taste was elegant and sweet, with a bit of a cloying warmth.
INCREASE IN LIQUOR SALESBack to your uncle: in a press release from the Tan-controlled LT Group (which includes Tanduay Distillers, Inc., and sister companies Philippine NatBank and Asia Brewery, Inc., among others), it reported an increase in liquor sales by volume in 2022 to 27.49 million cases from 23.69 million cases in 2021. Statista, meanwhile, reports that Bacardi sold 21.1 million cases in the same year. Forget the Olympics, the Philippines is winning in another game.
“It’s primarily driven by Filipino consumers,” said Mr. Gironella. “That’s why we’re very eager to expand our products outside the Philippines.” He told us that they were expanding their ready-to-drink lines and their light-spirit alcohol, as well as introducing a “super-premium” rum in the export market called the Tesoro.
“We really believe in the quality of our rums. You wouldn’t last that long kung di rin talaga masarap iyong rum (if your rum isn’t really delicious).”
For the record, the rum was first made in 1854 (marking this year as their 170th).
“We pride ourselves that truly Filipino-made iyong products namin,” he said. “We pride ourselves in collaborating with our local farmers, local distilleries. As opposed to (other brands), they couldn’t claim fully that they source their materials locally.” — Joseph L. Garcia
