Meet Bonifacio, the New Local Liquor That Brings Back an OG Method of Making Rum

Bonifacio Rum gets its moniker from Don Bonifacio Limtuaco, the very Mr. Limtuaco who established Destileria Limtuaco & Co. Inc. in 1852. The company’s rum-making quests go back to 2008, as they were able to acquire a reclaimed Cognac pot still through which they made their first couple of rums. (Fast facts: pot still distillation is one of the oldest distillation methods that’s a little more finicky, requiring more expertise to work with, but ultimately produces fuller, more complex-tasting rums.) Rather than release these as standalone products, the distillery used to blend these early rums into their other product lines—particularly Palawan Rum, Old Captain, and Very Old Captain, Destileria Limtuaco’s Aaron James Limpe Aw tells SPOT.ph.

A shift to highlight the unadulterated product came three years ago, when Limpe Aw got to meet a rum expert who encouraged him to try releasing the pure stuff as a white rum. “We weren't very confident [at the time],” Limpe Aw admits. “Because pot still rum is actually quite funky. It has that gasoline quality. Filipinos aren't really used to it.” But the rum expert saw the potential in their product, and suggested they just make tweaks, like bottling at a higher proof than they originally did. After multiple experimentations, they found that an bottling the rum at 55% proof produced the best flavor and the character—and just like that, the flagship White variant of Bonifacio Rum was born. 

In line with the distillery’s ethos of highlighting indigenous Filpino ingredients, Destileria Limtuaco uses high-quality local molasses, which then goes through the process of pot still distillation the traditional way, in small batches that allows them to better control the quality. Along with the slower pace of the process, the use of a Cognac pot allows for higher of esters and congeners—compounds and trace elements that create a range of fruity and floral flavors in the resulting rum.

Under the Bonifacio line are three chaps. There’s the White rum as mentioned—their lead star with the distinct note of cane sugar and banana-like fruitiness, which make for beautifully complex-tasting cocktails. Destileria Limtuaco also created a more easy-to-drink, “forgiving” blend dubbed the Legacy rum, which has a caramel-like thrum and duskiness reminiscent of chocolate and raisins (like sherry!)—great sipped slowly or mixed into libations as well. And then there’s the Aged rum—essentially their White rum that's allowed to mature in ex-bourbon oak for at least two years, resulting in spiced, smooth, warming sips you’ll want to take iced, or just neat.