Witty, Souvenir Canvas Bag from CLASSIFIED, Sheung Wan, HK
(The reason why) I started this blog is I wanted to chronicle my exploration of the Philippine alcohol scene and cover everything from beer to wine to spirits, to restaurants and shops, and to food pairings. Being fond of education, my goal is to help myself (and my readers) understand what’s out there; combine what I theoretically know with what I will experience. I want this blog to be accessible and not intimidating, especially when it comes to wine discussion. The Philippine wine scene is in its infancy, which makes it an exciting arena.
So what can readers expect from my blog?
1) The booze, of course! There will be photos, trivia, and tasting notes on alcohol and spirits. People are invited to express their opinions, but what one should always remember (and this is a reminder to myself as well) is that taste is SUBJECTIVE. There will never be a right or wrong observation on the booze, but everyone is welcome to share how they find the drink (if they’ve tried it, just to promote the spirit of fairness). BUT NO ARGUING. At the risk of poking fun, nobody’s ever won an argument against a drunk person. By BOOZE, I mean everything alcoholic and drinkable. I will never answer to a challenge of drinking ethyl alcohol for giggles.
2) Restaurants and bars serving the booze. This will probably play second fiddle to the booze itself, but if there’s anything profound that’s worth capitalizing on, then one would most likely read me raving about it. Food will also play a bit of a role as well.
3) What I’ve bought off the shelf or from the cellar. The thing about booze is its mobility. I sometimes see awesome finds (unique, cheap, or even extravagant) in different liquor shops. As was mentioned in the goal of this blog, I would like to shine a light on available beverages in the Philippines.
4) Cheap Sheets! One of my greatest advocacies is to get rid of the notion that if it’s wine, it must be pricey and “susyal”. Given my pseudo-day job, I’ve developed a knack of finding good, affordable wines. This, of course, will be talked about in relatively equal balance with some greats that I will be trying.
5) A whole lot of humour and friends. While I’ve learned to appreciate the art of watching a good classic flick with a bottle/glass of Chardonnay and a bowl of popcorn (influenced by a friend), drinking is still best enjoyed with people. If not for anything else, there will be someone honest enough to tell you how much of a fool you’ve made out of yourself the night before. Or take you home in one piece.
6) The morning after. I am a personal advocate of maintaining one’s health. Besides, life isn’t just about boozing it up, one must remember to balance out boozing with non-alcoholic drinks. Besides, there are so many fabulous juices, coffee, tea, etc, out there. Of course, these entries will probably appear with less frequency as opposed to the booze.
I will probably not be blogging regularly… I’d rather talk about worthwhile things as opposed to churning out droll stories. Besides, inspiration breeds passion, and one without any writing background such as myself can only write when fuelled with passion.
The pictures you will see are all from me and friends to avoid any copyright issues.
I would also like to thank my friends, Mark Uichico (photographer and editor at large who you would probably read about in my coffee entries) for the blog title, and Gerry de los Reyes, who agreed to create the logo for a Caramel Beer and a promise of more beer adventures.
With that over and done with, do look forward to the first booze trip! Cheers!
