Lambanog
 Bubblegum-flavored lambanog | |
| Type | Palm liquor |
|---|---|
| Country of origin | Philippines |
| Region of origin | Luzon, Visayas |
| Alcohol by volume | 40–45%[1][2] |
| Ingredients | Palm sap |
| Variants | Coconut sap, Nipa sap, Kaong sap |
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Lambanóg is a traditional Filipino distilled palm liquor. It is commonly derived from tubâ made from coconut sap that has been aged for at least 48 hours. It originates from Luzon and the Visayas Islands (where it is known as dalisay de coco). During the Spanish colonial period, it was also known as vino de coco in Spanish. It is also commonly described as "coconut vodka" due to its clear to milky white color and high alcohol content. It is particularly potent, having a typical alcohol content of 80 to 90 proof (40 to 45% abv) after a single distillation; this may go as high as 166 proof (83% abv) after the second distillation.[1] It has been considered to be the unofficial National drink in the Philippines.[n 1] It is a traditional Filipino alcoholic beverage made from the sap of the coconut flower or the distilled sap of the coconut palm. Lambanog is known for its strong and distinct flavour, often enjoyed as a local specialty.
A similar distilled drink made from nipa palm sap is known as laksoy.
History[edit]
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Tubâ, a kind of palm wine, existed in the Philippines before colonisation. They were widely consumed for recreation and played an important role in various religious rituals. Heavy consumption of alcohol in the Philippine islands was described in several Spanish accounts. Social drinking (tagayan or inuman in Tagalog and Visayan languages) was and continues to be an important aspect of Filipino social interactions.[3][4][5]
Tubâ could be further distilled in distinctive indigenous stills, resulting to the lambanóg, a palm liquor derived from tubâ. There were hundreds of local distilleries for lambanóg production, largely improvised. They varied from portable stills with around 20 L (0.020 m3) capacity, to large stills that can process 750 L (0.75 m3). They usually consisted of two large pans (kawa or karaha), a hollowed out log, and a bamboo tube. One pan was filled with the tubâ and set on the fire. The hollowed out log was placed in between, acting as the walls of the still. The second pan was then placed on top of the wooden cylinder and constantly filled with cold water to induce condensation. A bamboo tube was attached to the wooden cylinder to collect the distillate to containers. Larger stills were barrel-like and made from planks reinforced with rattan hoops. The joints of the still were sealed with clay or rags. The entire upper part of the apparatus was usually connected to a lever that allowed them to be swung aside to refill or clean the lower pan.[3][6]
During the Spanish colonial period of the Philippines, lambanog was inaccurately called vino de coco ("coconut wine"). Around 1569, the conquistador Álvaro de Mendaña introduced the coconut palm to Colima, in New Spain, where he and other Spaniards established coconut plantations.[7] By 1612, there were many imported workers and slaves from the Manila galleons working on the plantations and producing, among other things, vino de coco.[8][9]
It quickly became highly popular in the region. It competed with the sales of imported spirits from Spain, leading Spanish colonial authorities and the Royal Audience in Spain to ban the production of vino de coco and issue an order for the destruction of coconut plantations. By the mid-1700s, vino de coco production in Mexico had ceased (though non-alcoholic variants of tubâ persisted). According to some scholars, the prohibition of vino de coco and the introduced distillation technologies from the Philippines helped lead to the development of mezcal and tequila.[10]
During the American colonial period, the Food and Drugs Board of the Philippine Islands set up regulated distilleries for lambanóg with modern equipment. Home production of lambanóg was made illegal, as unregulated production can result in the retention of toxic levels of methanol due to improper procedures. They also standardized the trade name of lambanóg to "Philippine palm brandy" (also "Philippine coco palm brandy"). This was due to the fact that they were distilled (and thus not wines); as well as concerns about the local prejudice against "native drinks" (which are generally known as vino or bino) which could affect their marketability.[3]
Description[edit]
Lambanóg has a very high alcohol content of 40%-45% abv (80 to 90 proof), in comparison to bahalina (10%-13% abv) and tubâ (2% - 4% abv).[2] Lambanóg is usually served pure, though it can also be traditionally flavored with raisins. Modern lambanóg has recently been marketed in several flavours such as mango, blueberry, pineapple, bubblegum and cinnamon in an effort to appeal to all age groups.[11]
Production[edit]
Lambanóg production was traditionally centered in the Southern Tagalog region. The current main producing areas are the provinces of Quezon, Laguna, and Batangas, where coconuts are a dominant agricultural crop. Not all lambanóg variants are from coconut. Lambanóg is also used as a generic term mostly in Southern Luzon, specifically in Quezon, for all alcoholic drinks from palm trees—whether they are from kaong, coconut, or nipa. In Mauban, lambanóg sa sasa is called nipanog. Most lambanóg producers are small-scale cottage industries with only around 4 to 25 employees. Quezon is the leading producer of lambanóg, hosting the three largest lambanóg distillers of the country: Mallari Distillery, Buncayo Distillery, and Capistrano Distillery.[12] Lambanóg (as dalisay or dalisay de coco) were also produced in the Visayas Islands in the Spanish colonial period of the Philippines.[13][14][15]
Safety[edit]
Unregistered lambanóg production is illegal in the Philippines under regulations by the Food and Drug Administration and the Department of Agriculture. Consumers are warned to only purchase lambanóg that is properly sealed and made by companies registered with the FDA. Several deaths still occur each year from methanol poisoning after drinking lambanóg moonshine or adulterated lambanóg from retailers.[16][17]
In December 2019, at least 11 people died and in excess of 300 treated after drinking home-brewed lambanog coconut wine in Laguna and Quezon, two provinces south of Manila.[18]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Goco, Nico. "5 Reasons Why We Should Care About Lambanog". Pepper.ph. Archived from the original on December 23, 2019. Retrieved April 21, 2019. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ 2.0 2.1 Sanchez, Priscilla C. (2008). Philippine Fermented Foods: Principles and Technology. UP Press. pp. 151–153. ISBN 9789715425544. Search this book on
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Gibbs, H.D.; Holmes, W.C. (1912). "The Alcohol Industry of the Philippine Islands Part II: Distilled Liquors; their Consumption and Manufacture". The Philippine Journal of Science: Section A. 7: 19–46.
- ↑ Lasco, Gideon. "Tagay: Why there's no Tagalog word for "cheers" and other notes on Filipino drinking culture". Health, Culture, and Society in the Philippines. Retrieved May 6, 2019.
- ↑ Garcia, Lawrence. "Tagay: A Look at Philippine Drinking Culture". Humaling. Retrieved May 6, 2019.
- ↑ Fernandez, Doreen G. (2019). Tikim: Essays on Philippine Food and Culture. BRILL. p. 17. ISBN 9789004414792. Search this book on
- ↑ Clement, C.R., Zizumbo-Villarreal, D., Brown, C.H. et al. Coconuts in the Americas. Bot. Rev. 79, 342–370 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12229-013-9121-z
- ↑ https://www.scielo.org.mx/scielo.php?pid=S2448-83722015000100015&script=sci_arttext#fn2,“The conquest of the Philippines allowed the Spanish to transfer the cultivation of these plants to Colima, where they encouraged their exploitation by bringing aborigines from those islands to use their knowledge of coconut wine production. In 1604 only the mayor of Los Motines had two workers in his house. In the report that the residents of that town wrote in 1612, the presence of many of them working in that business is mentioned.”
- ↑ La esclavitud asiática en el virreinato de la Nueva España, 1565-1673, Déborah Oropeza Keresey, Historia Mexicana, 5-57, 2011
- ↑ Zizumbo-Villarreal, Daniel; Colunga-GarcíaMarín, Patricia (June 2008). "Early coconut distillation and the origins of mezcal and tequila spirits in west-central Mexico". Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution. 55 (4): 493–510. doi:10.1007/s10722-007-9255-0. Unknown parameter
|s2cid=ignored (help) - ↑ Lambanog: a Philippine drink, TED Case Studies #782, 2005
- ↑ Ascan, Tricia C.; Zapata, Normito R. Jr.; Agapay-De Jesús, Hannah Aesa S. (2010). "Status and strategic directions of the lambanog wine processing industry in Liliw, Laguna, Philippines" (PDF). Journal of the International Society for Southeast Asian Agricultural Sciences. 16 (2): 39–52.
- ↑ Delgado, Juan José (1892). Biblioteca Histórica Filipina: Historia general sacro-profana, política y natural de las islas del poniente, llamadas Filipinas. p. 664. Search this book on
- ↑ Alegre, Edilberto N. (1992). Inumang Pinoy. Anvil. p. 23. ISBN 9789712702310. Search this book on
- ↑ Alcina, Francisco Ignacio; Martín-Merás, María Luisa (1975). Historia de las islas e indios visayas del Padre Alcina, 1668. Editorial CSIC - CSIC Press. ISBN 9788450010541. Search this book on
- ↑ Galvez, Daphne (December 11, 2018). "FDA orders seizure of unregistered 'lambanog' products". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved May 6, 2019.
- ↑ Guzman, Jimmyley E. (December 12, 2018). "Public warned to buy only FDA-registered Lambanog". Philippine Information Agency. Retrieved May 6, 2019.
- ↑ "Eleven dead, 300 treated after drinking coconut wine in Philippines". Reuters. December 22, 2019. Retrieved December 23, 2019.
Notes[edit]
- ↑ “The Official National Drink of the Philippines respectively”
