Proudly Pinoy - Planters Development Bank

MILMAR DISTILLERY
INNOVATING ON THE LAMBANOG TRADITION
BY TICHOT SAN PABLO
16
SME.COMmunity.PHilippines
Milmar Distillery’s
Myrone V. Zabat,
“Crown Prince of
Lambanog”
One of the biggest
makers of
lambanog in
the Philippines
is Milmar Distillers, based
in San Pablo, Laguna.
Established by Milagros Zabat
in 1979, Milmar traces its
roots to Sunville, a company
founded in the 1960s by her
parents, Crescencio Santos
and Purita Villanueva. At one
point in its history, Milmar
was distributing its products
all over the country, outselling
gin and rum. After shifting its
concerns to the purified water
business, the company has
now refocused its lambanog
business strategies under
the stewardship of Milagros’
youngest son, Myrone Zabat
and his wife Evelyn.
A real man’s drink
Pure, simple and potent,
lambanog is a real man’s
drink, although admittedly,
some women can outdrink
most men. Vodka comes
from potatoes, wine and
grappa come from grapes,
and most other alcoholic
drinks come from grains.
Harvesters just stoop
to collect potatoes,
grapes and grains. In
comparison, lambanog
comes from
coconut flowers. Men climb up
tall coconut trees, without any
safety nets or lines, moving
from one tree to another,
balancing precariously on
bamboo poles some thirty feet
up in the air.
Few professions are
more dangerous than that
of these macho men, called
‘mangangar it’. T hey ex t ract sap
coming out from cut coconut
flowers in the form of ‘tuba’ or
toddy, which is distilled into
lambanog, a very strong liquor
usually ranging from 80 to 90
proof. More knowledgeable
aficionados even prefer the
stronger 94 proof version.
From about a hundred
coconut trees, approximately
30 to 50 gallons of tuba are
harvested, which gives about
10 to 15 gallons of lambanog.
Milmar buys its lambanog
from different suppliers,
carefully checking its quality.
High quality lambanog
has a peculiar scent, which
according to Myrone, is
similar to ‘plastic balloon.’ The
distillate is clear, and the taste
is distinctive. Myrone says,
“Gumuguhit sa lalamunan at
mainit sa tiyan.”
Traditional spirit
Lambanog is steeped in
tradition. In Laguna, Quezon
and other southern Luzon
provinces, the spirit is imbibed
in fiestas, weddings, birthday
parties, special occasions,
celebrations, and everyday
‘tagay’ bouts where men sit
around in a circle waiting for
their turn to drink. Fishermen
savor a drink after a good
catch. Farmers go for their
lambanog jugs after working in
the fields. Men frequent public
markets to drink from shot
glasses dipped into lambanog
vats. Some prefer lambanog
with raisins, chewing gum or
ginseng.
The distillate has other
uses too: some people use it as a
disinfectant in place of rubbing
alcohol; others put sugar in a
saucer of lambanog and use
this as a dip for fried bananas;
and still others use it as a meat
tenderizer. It is also possible
that somebody has thought of
using it as an alternative fuel,
given that lambanog is much
cheaper than kerosene, diesel
or gasoline.
Innovative flavors
Traditional ‘puro’ lambanog
still accounts for most of
M i l ma r ’s s a le s. My r one, set t i ng
his sights on broader horizons,
has introduced innovations in
t he ma nu fac t u re a nd ma rket i ng
of their products. He has
introduced a new product line
— flavored lambanog, which
is now available in grape, allseason,
strawberry, red apple,
root beer, orange, peppermint
and bubblegum flavors. These
colorful products appeal to
the younger segment of the
market, and demand for it
is constantly increasing.