Olivia Limpe-Aw: Our Lady of the Spirits
As a whisky tippler, I was happy to be told that we owe “the oldest distillery in the Philippines” the credit for being the first to produce the “water of life” in our country. But that was just one of the intriguing items I learned during a meet-up with the gracious Olivia Limpe-Aw, president of Destileria Limtuaco & Co., Inc., at their office-cum-factory on EDSA, the third headquarters since the company was established well over a centuryand-a-half ago, in 1852.
It was Olivia’s great-great-granduncle, Lim Tua Co of Amoy, China, who set up the first distillery at 135 Gandara Street in Binondo, two years after he had migrated to Manila at the age of 36. Apart from being a martial artist, he had a secret formula for medicinal wine that had been treasured for five generations. This Vino de Chino that he introduced to Manileños as an energy drink was what became popularly known as “Sioktong.”
Oh, what a span of history. Both the distillery and Vino de China were nine years old when Jose Rizal was born. And Sioktong was already a century old by the time my dad took to it in the 1950s, when he had to scale down from Johnnie Walker Red or Black.
Lim Tua Co eventually adopted a Christian name and became known as Don Bonifacio Limtuaco. Both he and his son passed away early, so that a nephew, Lim Chay Seng, took over the company and steered it through the turbulent turn of the century, until his son James Limpe took over by 1937, when the distillery had already expanded its products from Sioktong, anisados and tintos to other Western-type liquors.
The US-educated James Limpe introduced modern management, and the distillery transferred to Grace Park in Caloocan City. James’ eldest son Julius, also educated in the States, became CEO in 1958. Like his father, he became the master blender for the production of variants of whisky, gin, brandy, rum, vodka and wine.
Olivia recalls that her own initial involvement, as the only holdover from the fifth generation, started with simply helping out in various departments, as secretary, cashier, in accounting work, and helping out in training people. As the fifth of seven daughters, her dad also brought her in soon after college, except for an older sister who had become a doctor. But by the time she got in, three other sisters were already raising families and had decided to stop working for the company.
“There had been a labor problem at the time I was helping out,” Olivia recalls. “Its resolution coincided with the end of my training program, of getting my feet wet, getting my hands dirty. So I felt I had to continue helping my father.
“After the strike, he gave me the top position in Finance, then eventually in Administration, and after a few years, I became executive vice president. As president, he was still running the ship. I wasn’t involved at all in the development of spirits. It was he who had really
expanded the company’s products, with the White Castle flagship, Napoleon VSOP, Old Captain Rum, London’s Dry Gin, Maria Clara Sangria — they were all his products.”
Her father’s innovative drive fueled the company’s expansion. He initiated the process of distilling actual botanicals imported from England. Malt whisky was imported in bulk, then blended with other spirits to turn it into Philippine whisky.
“As is common in Thailand, it became an add-mix,” Olivia says. “It’s not 100 percent whisky, but regulations allow us to call it whisky even if it’s add-mix.”
It was my turn to recall how five-yearold White Castle served as my nightly drink from the ’70s to the ’80s, and not just because of the TV come-on with a lady in a red bikini riding a white horse, with a castle as backdrop.
Expressing surprise over a current variant that is White Castle 69, I ask about the decision to lower the standard 80-proof. The lady who took over as company president in 2004 explains that it’s all a function of affordability.
“It’s basically to lower the price, to make it affordable for the masses. You also lower the specific tax with lower cost of raw materials. In fact, we also have a White Castle edition that is only 55-proof, even lower than the 69-proof.”
White Castle turns out not to have been the only whisky brand introduced locally by Destileria Limtuaco. There were also Four Feathers Blended Whisky, similarly started in the 1940s, and in subsequent decades, Spirit of Fire, Old Stagg Kentucky Straight Bourbon, Schenley, Sandy Fraser Scotch, Scott, Black Castle, Lucky Star Special, Jackson, Matheson, Hunter, and Batch One Rare.
Destileria Limtuaco has marketed over 120 different kinds of alcoholic products in its 164 years of existence, with at least 30 of these still currently in production. With each product, it’s always been hit-or-miss in gaining a steady following. That’s why there’s a constant need to come up with new brand names and variants.
No less than fascinating is a sheaf of folders that Olivia shows me: a collection of all the bottle labels brought to light since 1852, with product listings per decade. The brand names and designs are a multifarious delight.
Till 1869, apart from Vino de Chino, there were Limtuaco Tinto Dulce, Ginebra Manila Carnival, and Horoshiu Red and White Premium Rice Wine. The next two decades introduced Good Luck Ginebra, Original Siok Hoc Tong “Double Braso,” Limtuaco Nipa Wine, Limtuaco Mallorca, Limtuaco Anisado, and “Monkey” Brand Amisette, while 1890 to 1919 brought in Limtuaco Rum 5 Yrs., Ginebra Hagonoy, and Golden Flower Gin 60 Proof.
Introduced from 1920 to 1939 were White Sand Dry Gin (Yellow and White Labels), Don Carlos Gin 350 ML, Bel Canto Dry Gin, Apollo Ginebra and Medicinal Wine, and Amigo Rum Light, Dark, and 50 Proof. Then, from 1940 to 1949, apart from White Castle 5 Yrs. and Regular and Four Feathers Blended Whisky, there were also Four Feathers Dry Gin (Regular and High Quality) plus Orange Wine, Blue Boy Gin 65 Proof, and Rose Marie Old Special Brandy.
The 1950s to the present have come up with many other brand names for gin, whisky, vodka, brandy and rum: Three Feathers, Old Special, Melrose, Bravo, Pot of Gold, Siesta, Toska, VSQ Coronet, Napoleon, Karate, LTD, Napoleon, Old Captain, Old Gold, Star Special, Texas, Legaspi, Regency, His Majesty De Luxe, Brittania London, Palawan Blanco, et al. Plus Berg Schnapps, El Hombre Tequila, and Orchid for Lime Juice and Liqueurs.
The nomenclature owes itself to a merry mix of Spanish, English, European and American provenance, as well as local place names. Olivia is involved in this continuing process, as much as she is with the in-house decisions on bottle shapes and sizes, label designs, and with certain classy products that require protective tin cans, their designs and accompanying literature, or “narratives.” A Scotsman who helped design Paradise Mango Rum Liqueur had said that “this was important, as some buyers don’t just want to drink a product but also read the story behind it.”
The turn of the millennium saw the advent of popular choices such as coolers, knockers, and ready mixed cocktails (strawberry & appletini) apart from liqueurs. While it took some time for Paradise to acquire a market in the previous decade, the relatively recent Manille Liqueur de Calamansi took off fast, so much so that it’s one of four products (with Very Old Captain’s Dark Rum, Amadeo Coffee Liqueur, and Paradise) that have become the star exports in Asia, with distribution also starting out in California and New York.
In terms of local acceptance, not too far behind the popular gins, brandies and vodka are Maria Clara Sangria, Manille Liqueur de Dalandan, In- tramuros Liqueur de Cacao, San Juan Premium Lambanog, Vigan Basi Sugarcane Wine, and Imeldifique Cooking Wine, a recent addition to all the herbal wines the company is still associated with.
“There are many ways to market now, unlike before,” says Olivia. “Apart from tri-media, we also get into social media, even if it’s short-lived promotion. We sell directly to bars, and help develop cocktails as part of establishing working relationships with our accounts. Most supermarkets have limited space, so we try to find new channels, like SM’s Kultura, which is frequented by balikbayans, apart from Duty Free shops. We’ll also be addressing the suggestion to offer our products online.”
It’s the creative side of running a distillery that still appeals strongly to Olivia. She tells of how happenstance had her sourcing calamansi rinds to Mindoro, and how for the coffee liqueur, four kinds of coffee raised in Amadeo, Cavite, wound up being used.
Then there’s the science behind the production, as with the acceleration of aging instead of relying solely on the traditional process involving barrels.
“We have patents on how to accelerate aging. One is for a mechanical process developed during Dad’s time, while another is for technology for aging in square barrels.”
They used to import barrels from the UK, although the original source (for oak casks) was the US, the world’s supplier since its regulations allow only for one-time use for bourbon. Now it’s mostly metal tanks that are used. But Olivia is quick to take me to the actual distillery where they still use giant vats for blending that are made of guijo planks. She says these have been with the company as far as she can remember.
“Artisans used to specialize in crafting these wooden tanks. Those that were used for patis weren’t of guijo. But for our blending and aging process, guijo was preferred as it’s said to be our local equivalent for oak. The liquor placed inside these wooden vats expands within the circumferential structure.”
True enough, markings on the side of the giant barrels hark back to an earlier time, with the Spanish words “Altura” and “Fondo” still prominent in designating volume proportions.
Olivia’s inherited spirit of innovation has led to the production of Dragon Fire Dragon Fruit Wine as well as experiments with soap products utilizing calamansi and dalandan.
She has me taste a liqueur-in-progress, using a fruit popularly associated with Davao. I guess what it is, adding that my taste buds say that the experiment is already a success. I joke that I just hope it won’t be named after someone who had recently been featured on the cover of the decade-old Asian Dragon magazine, another spirited undertaking of this lady of the spirits.
As for a sixth generation, waiting in the wings are her oldest son Clifford, who’s now the resident mixologist, and younger son Aaron, who takes care of marketing. But for the present, it’s Olivia Limpe-Aw who has broken through a bottle-glass ceiling and is calling the shots for a distillery of golden vintage.
It was Olivia Limpe-Aw’s great-great-granduncle, Lim Tua Co of Amoy, China, who set up the first distillery at 135 Gandara Street in Binondo, two years after he had migrated to Manila at the age of 36. Olivia’s inherited spirit of innovation has led to the production of Dragon Fire Dragon Fruit Wine as well as experiments with soap products utilizing calamansi and dalandan.