@curiousbartender 🌴🇵🇭→🇲🇽 What do Filipino coconuts have to do with mezcal? Back in the 1600’s, colonial trade routes brought cultures and technology alongside goods and people. From lambanog to vino de coco to mezcal, this is a tale of ingenuity, resilience, and cultural fusion. 🎥 Watch the full episode with Esteban Morales to learn more about the unlikely link between the Philippines and Mexico’s most iconic agave spirit, as well as other theories on the origins of agave spirits. Links in bio – The Curious Bartender Podcast #Mezcal #Lambanog #Tuba #FilipinoHistory #MexicanHistory #Agave #SpiritsHistory #CocktailCulture #MezcalOrigins #CuriousDrinks
Yes, I know the Mexicans came to settle in Central Luzon and there were more Mexicans than Peninsular Spaniards who came to live in the Philippines. But I didn’t know that there were thousands of Filipinos uprooted from their native land to plant and tend to coconut farms in Mexico.
And because Filipinos exported labanog-making or tuba-making to Mexico, the Mexicans learned how to make mezcal via the clay pots which we call palayok in Tagalog. It’s basically the Filipino distillation process that enabled Mexicans to produce mezcal, which is different from tequila.
History is fascinating.