Museum Guide: Destileria Limtuaco Liquor Museum in Manila

Did you know that there’s a hidden museum in Intramuros where you can go liquor tasting? You can sample local craft spirits like the Ilocano basi (sugarcane wine), mango rum, premium lambanog, coffee liqueur, and Siok Tong (a Chinese herbal wine that’s been around for more than 150 years) while visiting this museum.

Destileria Limtuaco, the oldest and largest distillery in the Philippines founded in 1852, opened their liquor-themed museum in Intramuros to the public in 2018.

This liquor brand is behind some of the most popular distilled beverages and spirits in the country including Toska Vodka, El Hombre Tequila, Maria Clara Sangria, Orchid Lime Juice Cordial, White Castle Whiskey and the famous Siok Tong Chinese Herbal Wine, to name a few.

If you grew up in the Philippines, you probably have fond (and not so fond) memories and encounters with one or more of these beverages from drinking sessions through the decades.

In recent years, the liquor company has come up with their own line of Philippine Craft Spirits like sugarcane wine, mango rum, premium lambanog or coconut vodka, and coffee liqueur highlighting local flavors and ingredients.

If you like drinking and are looking for something unique to do while going around the Intramuros area, visiting the Destileria Limtuaco Museum is a fun addition to the regular museum circuit. It’s a relatively small but well-curated museum that you can finish touring in less than an hour. Allot more time if you’re going to do liquor tasting.

Location

The museum is located along San Juan de Letran Street, a narrow alley near Lyceum of the Philippines University in Intramuros, Manila. It’s a bit hidden, but is walking distance from other top tourist spots in the area including Casa Manila, San Agustin Church, the Intramuros Wall and Bayleaf Hotel. Since it’s relatively new and not that well-known yet, it does not get as crowded as other museums in the area.

Destileria Limtuaco Museum

Carved from an old “bahay na bato” (stone house) where the family of Limtuacos used to reside, the museum houses artifacts of the brand that go decades to more than a century back. Interestingly, the museum has actually been standing there since 1982 as a private family museum before the family decided to open it to the public last February 2018.

The first floor is where guests can learn the process of making a bottle of alcohol and learn about the brand’s roots. They have a mini-distillery where you can learn about the process of making rum and whiskey and see how different types of liquor bottles.

Travel back through time and see liquor bottles from as far back as the Spanish colonization to more modern versions that the historic distillery has produced over the years.

You can check out the old machinery, bottling equipment and different types of bottles and what types of liquor they were traditionally used for.

The second floor displays items of great value to different generations of the Limtuaco family starting from Chinese immigrant born of a merchant family Lim Tua Co who sailed to the Philippines in 1850 to fifth generation leader and current president Olivia Limpe-Aw, the first female head in the predominantly male-led business.

The museum showcase vintage family photos, clothes, office equipment, family heirlooms, and personal effects of the family. There’s a shelf display of all their bottles and products, videos and other materials showing how label designs have evolved over the years.

You can also see one of the red bikinis sported by a White Castle Whiskey “calendar girl”. Since 1974, White Whiskey Castle calendars have traditional featured sexy female models wearing a red bikini while posing or riding a white horse. Former White Castle Whiskey calendar girls include Lorna Tolentino, Carmi Martin, Cristina Gonzalez, Glydel Mercado and most recently, Meg Imperial.

Liquor Tasting

After learning about the history of the oldest distillery companies in the Philippines, the highlight for me was getting to sample their local spirits. You can try out their liquors for only P100 per person! I’m more of a beer drinker myself, but if you like whiskey, brandy, gin, rum, vodka, tequila, cocktails or herbal and sweet wines, then you’ll probably have a hard time choosing which to try.

In case you’re thinking you can get wasted here, think again. You’re only given 6 shots, including two flavored cocktails and four kinds of liquor of your choice. The sample sizes are pretty small, just giving visitors a little bit of a taste of each. Some are pretty strong though, so even just a tiny sip is enough to make your nostrils flare or ask the bartenders for a chaser. Given the museum’s operating hours, the portions are just right for morning or afternoon visits. I suggest you bring peanuts and drinking water to cleanse your palate in between shots.

But if you’re a heavy drinker and feel bitin by the sample shots, you can always buy bottles for take-out and drink them elsewhere (you can’t drink them inside the museum) or head to other bars in the area. It is a museum after all and not a bar.

There are a lot of varieties to choose from, but we decided to try the most distinctive ones inspired by local and regional flavors from the Philippines. I list them below by alcohol volume, but you can try them in whatever order you like.

Gaz Strawberry Margarita & Green Appletini (7% ABV)

At first glance, this looks like a fruit juice from your childhood, but Gaz is actually a mixed cocktail! This creative drink that comes in Strawberry Margarita and Green Appletini flavors is the first ready-to-drink cocktail in a doypack or stand-up pouch in the Philippines.

I don’t really like the disposable packaging, but I have to say it’s creative and different. With an alcohol content of 7% and affordable price (P25 per pack), this will appeal to college kids and road-trippers. They’re fun drinks to bring to picnics, parties and outdoor excursions since they’re affordable, lightweight, durable and convenient to carry. You can walk around and drink this in public without feeling judged. Just don’t make the mistake of giving it to kids.

Vigan Basi Sugarcane Wine (12% ABV)

Basi or sugarcane wine is a local beverage popular in Ilocos in Northern Luzon, where it has been enjoyed in the country even before the Spanish conquest. This high-end version is infused with local Ilocano herbs like samak leaves and kariskis bark to give it a distinctive sour (almost vinegar-like but not quite) flavor. The vintage-style packaging, brandy-like bottle and cap that looks like a crown looks really classy and elegant.

Paradise Mango Rum (16% ABV)

Paradise Mango Rum is a natural fruit-based liqueur made from real tropical mangoes and premium aged rum. This captures the subtle taste of ripe Philippine mangoes with an appealing aroma. It’s lighter than most of the other drinks, making it a good choice for afternoon drinking or if you need to take a break between the other stronger liquors.

Intramuros Liqueur de Cacao (24% ABV)

Intramuros Liqueur de Cacao is a rich tablea tsokolate (chocolate tablet) liqueur using 100% roasted cacao. This one’s sweet and full-bodied, with a rich cacao flavor similar to a fresh cup of Spanish hot chocolate. It’s alcoholic hot chocolate, what’s not to love? This is exclusive to the Destileria Limtuaco museum and is not available elsewhere, so I highly suggest you try this one.

Amadeo Coffee Liqueur (24% ABV)

Amadeo Coffee Liqueur is an all-natural coffee liqueur that proudly uses four kinds of homegrown coffee beans from the Philippines – Arabica, Robusta, Liberica and Excelsa (also known as “barako” native coffee) in a rum base.

The unique liqueur gets its name from the town of Amadeo in Cavite, one of the largest coffee-producing regions in the country. I found this overwhelmingly sweet on its own at first, but wouldn’t mind spiking my coffee with a bit of this.

Kung Fu Siok Tong (25% ABV)

Siok Tong is a pioneer brand of Chinese medicinal wine produced over a hundred and fifty years ago distilled from over 15 Chinese herbs with cold and hot properties. This medicinal wine was believed to be good for people who want to revitalize their vigor and vitality. I heard back in the ’70s and ’80s, workers used to drink this like an energy drink or Red Bull.

Women also used to take this because it contains blood tonics and blood regulators that were believed to be good for reproductive health. This herbal wine is still manufactured by Destileria Limtuaco for posterity and uses the same secret family recipe passed down from 5 generations.

Manille Liqueur de Calamansi & Liqueur de Dalandan (27.5% ABV)

A local take on Italy’s Limoncello (lemon liqueur), Manille Liqueur offers two variants of the distilled spirit flavored with native citrus fruits: calamansi and dalandan. Manille Liqueur de Calamansi makes use of fruit from the farms of Mindoro mixed with vodka while the dalandan variant uses Philippine Orange rinds in a vodka base. Both are zesty and refreshing but with a pretty potent ABV of 27.5%. They’re pretty strong on their own, but make a good base for refreshing mojito-type cocktails. It’s a “traydor” type of drink that you think is light but can give you a pretty good buzz.

Dragon Fire Dragon Fruit Wine (36% ABV)

Dragon Fire is a fermented wine that makes use of 100% red dragon fruit endemic to Ilocos Norte. This brandy tastes mildly sweet and has a subdued tartness while gives off a vibrant magenta color which is reflected in the bottle’s brightly colored packaging.

Very Old Captain Dark Rum (40% ABV)

The newest in the Old Captain Rum line, V.O.C (Very Old Captain) is high-end Philippine rum batch distilled with the finest Philippine blackstrap molasses. This 80 proof spirit contains no added flavors for an unadulterated pure rum experience. Aged in oak barrels, this product provides a deep amber color and a mellow aroma: a drink perfect for a very old captain. This one was really strong!

Merchandise & Souvenir Shop

These craft spirits that make use of local ingredients are beautifully packaged and well-designed, making them great souvenirs for international tourists, expats, and balikbayans. Aside from the regular sized bottles, they’re also sold in cute miniature bottles of 50 ml. You can buy them per piece (P100 – P110 each) or pre-packaged bestsellers in 3-packs and 5-packs.

The shop also sells souvenir t-shirts with liquor labels like Siok Tong, White Castle Whiskey and Very Old Captain for P500 each, as well as canvas bags, shotglasses and other liquor-related souvenirs.

Some of these Philippine craft spirits (except for Intramuros Liqueur de Cacao) are now available in grocery stores around the country. You can also order them online and have them delivered right to your doorstep through www.liquorexpress.ph

Entrance Fee & Rates

• Adult – Php 100
• Student / Senior – P 50 (bring valid ID)
• Premium with tasting upgrade (adults only) – Php 200

Address & contact info:

Destileria Limtuaco Museum. 482 San Juan de Letran St., Intramuros, Manila. Operating hours: Tuesday to Sunday 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. (Closed on Mondays)
Contact number: (02) 527-2961.

How to get to there

• Take the LRT 1 and alight at Central Terminal Station. From there, the nearest gate to Intramuros is about 10-minutes away.
• If you don’t want to walk, take a pedicab or tricycle and tell the driver to drop you at the Lyceum of the Philippines University.
• Look for San Juan de Letran Street and you should find the adobe-walled Destileria Limtuaco Museum.