Wine & Food
Out of Bacolod has emerged the nectar that is the celebrated Don Papa
“Don’t talk to me about naval tradition! It’s nothing but rum, (bleep), and the lash”
–Winston Churchill
SIR WINSTON CHURCHILL, well-known for his “bottomless capacity” for Red Label whisky, Pol Polger champagne and a bibulous penchant for meals, despised rum. His quote, which vilified the Royal Navy, takes its cue from pirates of yore. The Caribbean (campy as it may seen, but one can visualize Johnny Depps’ John Sparrow), is where the majority of the world’s rum came from. The islands had sugar, rum’s main ingredient, (rhum with an H was a French quirk) and as such the British and French colonies exported it raw to their new masters at a premium. But barreled and distilled, the fortified spirit was much easier to ship. Popular as it was, it was the favorite of the pirates of those sea-lanes, woven into literature and children’s tales, and thus the legend began.
So how do rum and sugar come to bear in this quick history lesson? Spain and Portugal divided the world, and with the quest for spices, Chinese goods, and precious metals. But what their colonies had were far more interesting—they too had sugar, and the rapacious appetite of the Spaniards for distilled spirits were soon to be filled with… este ron—or to us, indios, rum! With that begins the rich, be-medaled, multi-awarded rum history of the Philippines.
Five hundred years later, our nation is said to be one of the highest per capita consumers of rum, gin, and brandy, over India and the United States. Times have changed indeed, as a local conglomerate purchased one of the oldest brandy houses of our former Spanish colonial masters.
That said, Philippine rum is making its way to stores globally. And there is an Anglo Irishman to thank for that: Steven James Robert Knapfisher Carroll, who decided to take leap of faith by leaving a two-decade long “spirited” career to create a new rum brand, in his adopted country.
Taking a sabbatical from his work with Remy Cointreau, he came to the Philippines 12 years ago to visit with friends in Negros. In Bacolod, he enjoyed the “hacienda” life with local royalty Adjie Lizares, Gigi Gascon, and Gina Garcia. The island, he candidly recounts “…. had everything, the plantation living, sugar as far as the eye could see, and well, people you knew how to enjoy a good drink!” The veteran in the industry was brought to a small-batch distillery, and was astounded at the quality of
the rum he drank. He decided to waste no time on his sabbatical; he found his liquid gold. Don Papa, the legend of Negrense Papa Islao, a hero of the 1890 Philippine Revolution, found his place in this new tale for a new revolution.
Working with AJ (Andrew John Garcia y Garcia) and his wife Monica (LlamasGarcia)—together they were a heady mix of art, advertising, and spirits know-how—he crafted a grand plan to entice a new market to “sippable” rum. The new cultivated palate was looking for small-batch liquor—in the same breath that Japanese whisky, artisan gin, and ultra-luxe brandy were making themselves known world-wide. Don Papa distills a rich island’s sugar history, with a rebellious story and a re-blending of acquired aged rum in Bacolod. They made Bacolod their treasure island. The re-blending came with help of Dr. Jim Swann, a traveling Scotsman who put method to the hit-and-miss world of rum blending. He introduced the trio to the purchase of aged barrels from Kentucky (bourbon) and Spain (rioja and sherry), the need to high-toast barrels to provide the distinct nose and to keep the Negros molasses to the highest standard.
Steven, Monica, and Aj remain driven to create a luxury brand, globally respected and with that came the packaging treated as art. Working with boutique spirits designer Stranger and Stranger out of London, they created the now iconic labels of their widening selection of rums. Don Papa remains in every label, homage to an island’s drive to reinvent itself. Their canisters remain one of the key visual points on an extremely wellthought French-made bottle as art.
Since 2012, when they debuted to a small group of 50 in Bacolod where 48 bottles were poured in abandon, they continue to introduce new aged blends to the market place. France, in particular, is the fastest-growing rum market, and Don Papa is taking on the tipples with it. Their Cask Strength is almost whisky-like, bloomed with drops of cold water like a single malt.
The challenge for any luxe product is widening the demographic. Shots in club, a staple for the tequila crowd, made way for “MassKara,” a limited-edition infused rum that, as its moniker notes, celebrates the energetic, holiday mood of one of the most colorful and frenzied festivals. It is best served chilled or frozen. A pot stilled maceration of 18,000 calamansi, with a touch of honey and kick of siling labuyo make this rum infusion/blend as their take on bringing rum to noses. The Sevillana, rum aged in orange wine barrels of vino de naranja and oloroso casks with a hint of orange bursts at the finish, is another offering for the holidays.
The creators sat in their offices, while Typhoon Tisoy’s rains pelted the window panes, keeping Makati still. They spoke with a sense of pride—of place, of country, and their own dreams. Admitting there are much older rum distillers in the country, they know they have found their place. Their story is an intoxicating melee of hits and misses, their barrels toasted figuratively, and they have perhaps the best advice one can get: “Treat every day like you started yesterday!” Papa Islao would be happy to keep the fire in the belly and believe in the best of the Filipino—better done with a quick shot of a cask-strength, almost whisky-like Don Papa rum.