Written by READE A. HUDDLESTON, MSC.
LAMBANOG C
oconut is a relatively common addition to many alcoholic drinks. The immense popularity of cocktails like the piña colada has ensured that almost every bar worth its salt has a can of coconut cream behind the bar, and the recent coconut water fad has helped propel coconut into more health-conscious circles. However few consumers realize just how coconutty alcohol can be. This is not a problem for Filipinos though, who, for hundreds of years, have been producing and consuming the unique coconut beverage known as lambanog. So, what is lambanog, and how did it come to be? In order to understand what lambanog is, we first need to learn a little about its history. The Philippines has a long history of alcohol production and consumption. When the Spanish first began to colonize the country in the middle 16th century, it was noted that drinking alcoholic beverages was one of the most popular pastimes of the native islanders and that alcohol was often used in rituals and religious ceremonies.1 Originally, most of the beverages consumed by native people were spontaneously fermented and low in alcohol. However, that began to change once the Spanish introduced the art of distillation to the islands. The native Filipinos were quick to adopt distillation and distilled spirits of all manner began to be produced and consumed throughout the island country. Distillation was especially quickly adopted by coconut farmers in the coconut-rich regions of Quezon, Laguna, and Batangas.1,2 Farmers had long known how to harvest and ferment sap from coconut trees, but the products had always been unstable and difficult to transport. With the introduction of distillation, Filipino coconut farmers were given a way to preserve products long enough to transport them to market. Distilled coconut sap, lambanog, or vina ee coco as the Spanish called it, quickly became a major industry with many established producers and products being exported all over the world. Indeed, there is some evidence that Filipino migrants introduced and popularized the art of distilling in Mexico — giving rise to the modern-day mezcal and tequila industries.3 Unfortunately, the early success of lambanog was not to last. The Spanish were strict rulers of their overseas colonies and were loath to share success with anyone. Under the guise of protecting native peoples from drunkenness, the Spanish imposed new rules on alcohol production and introduced a system of state-controlled monopolies. The majority of lambanog production was driven underground, though it was still regularly produced and consumed illegally, especially in rural areas.1,4 When the United States took over the control of the Philippines in 1898, little initially changed for the lambanog industry. Eventually, in the early 1900s, the Food and Drug Board of the Philippines commissioned a study of alcohol production in the Philippines. Among other things, this study helped to create standards for the production of lambanog and other local 34
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