Lambanog Voted World's Second Best Spirit
23 March 2024
It’s the stuff of kanto or roadside drinking sessions, best paired with videoke or tales of heartbreak retold.
The Philippines’ humble Lambanog, also known as coconut wine or Philippine vodka, has been voted the second-best spirit in the world on a list by TasteAtlas, a global catalogue of food and drinks.
The liquor, mostly produced in coconut-rich Quezon province, south of Metro Manila, came next only to Scotland’s Speyside Scotch, named after its place of origin, Speyside, home of the world’s most famous scotch distilleries.
On TasteAtlas’ list of "Top 79 Spirits in the World," Lambanog bested other well-known drinks, including Mexico’s Tequila and Mezcal, Korea’s Soju, and the London Dry Gin.
"Lambanog is traditionally enjoyed neat, usually as a shot, but it also blends well in cocktails and mixed drinks. In the past, it was frequently produced by farmers, similar to a local version of moonshine, but recently it has mostly shifted to factory production, and its quality has significantly improved," TasteAtlas said.
Lambanog is made with naturally fermented coconut sap and has a high alcohol content at a mininum 30%, according to the Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA). It used to be known as the "poor man’s drink," owing to its relative affordability with prices ranging from P37 to P120 per liter, the PCA said.
The colorless yet potent drink is produced predominantly in Southern Luzon, which has an abundance of coconut, but there are also registered producers in the SOCCSKSARGEN and CARAGA regions in Mindanao. It had earlier gained notoriety for being unsafe supposedly due to a high methanol content, but Lambanog has turned around its reputation and is now being exported to overseas markets, the coconut agency said in a post in misconceptions about the local drink.
The liquor has won awards in China, Europe, and the United States, proving that "genuine lambanog is a great drink and not poisonous," the PCA said. Other than its pure form, the drink comes in various flavors, among them mango, pineapple, cherry, and even bubblegum.
Lambanog’s TasteAtlas feat has stoked Filipino pride, with Pinoys leaving emojis of the Philippine flag, medals and trophies on the TasteAtlas post on Facebook. Commenters from other parts of the world begged to disagree, naming their own best bets.
"Bourbon at #44 could be thought of as farcical," said one commenter. This drew an agreement from another commenter who said: "This whole thing is farcical. I think this was written by an 11-year-old."
TasteAtlas said its food rankings are based on audience votes, "with a series of mechanisms that recognize real users and that ignore bot, nationalist or local patriotic ratings, and give additional value to the ratings of users that the system recognizes as knowledgeable."
It recorded 6,125 ratings for the Top 79 Spirits of the World list, among them 4,266 "were recognized by the system as legitimate."
It said its rankings "should not be seen as the final global conclusion about food" and instead are meant to "promote excellent local foods, instill pride in traditional dishes, and arouse curiosity about dishes you haven’t tried."
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