I spent a couple of hours today at the Distilleria Limtuaco Museum along San Juan de Letran St. in Intramuros, Manila. This is an old Spanish-era “bahay na bato” that was acquired by Julius Limpe in 1979 to house the private memorabilia and ephemera of the distillery that was founded by his great-grandfather Lim Tua Co (later Christianized to Don Bonifacio Limtuaco) in 1852.
Apart from a detailed and elaborate reproduction of the process for making wines and spirits, a display of actual vintage plant equipment, and a curated exhibit of documents, photographs and personal effects of several generations of the family, what amazed me was the stunning showcase of old bottles used for medicinal tonics (Siok Tong), whiskies, rums, brandies, gins and other craft spirits, as well as the flavors, extracts and essential oils used for enhancing their liquors and liqueurs.
At an entrance fee of Ps 100 (Ps 50 for seniors), the museum, opened to the public only last February 6, is a veritable paradise for bottle collectors and gurus of glass. I’ll post a few photos, but would recommend that you visit (9am-6pm except Mondays), and travel back a century or so to experience how a Chinese immigrant from Amoy used a secret formula for medicinal wine to become a world-class maker of spirits and alcoholic beverages.
This Spanish-era wood and stone structure in between Lyceum and Letran houses the historical artifacts of the 166-year old distillery.Vintage bottles on display include various plant oils, extracts and essences for flavoring alcoholic beverages.This aged bottle of anethol, an organic compound that provides the flavor of anise and fennel in liqueurs, was imported from New York firm Polak & Schwarz. Several of these can be viewed from Jun Manalo’s antique shop in Mandaluyong.This rack has dark green bottles that were used as in-plant containers of various wines and spirits before they were bottled for commercial sale.Curiously, the base of one of the green bottles is shaped like a Realeaux triangle, similar to the vintage glass container of Ny-Quil, guitar picks and Wankel engines.An extraordinary array of the entire product line covers alcoholic beverages made as early as 1852, then the American occupation, the Commonwealth period, the post-war years, and modern times.A circa-1975 RC Allen manual typewriter forms part of a display of bygone office equipment that includes a Burroughs cash register (1940s), a Lipsia check writer (1950s), and a Monroe computer (1980s).White Castle girl Carmi Martin……and her red bikini are on display.…and her red bikini are on display.A liqueur tasting to sample their newest craft spirits – Manille Liqueur de Dalandan, Paradise Mango Rum, San Juan Lambanog, Amedeo Coffee Liqueur – highlights the museum tour.Distilleria Limtuaco’s recently developed high-end corn-based whisky, named after the son-and-father duo, has yet to reach distributors’ shelves.A stainless steel flask is convenient for carrying a handy shot of V.S.O.P. brandy.This is one of hundreds of the labels with intricate artwork that showcase the metamorphosis of the company’s varied logos over the decades.
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