Laksoy (also spelled lacsoy), is a traditional

Filipino Filipino may refer to: * Something from or related to the Philippines ** Filipino language, standardized variety of 'Tagalog', the national language and one of the official languages of the Philippines. ** Filipinos, people who are citizens of th ...

distilled Distillation, or classical distillation, is the process of separating the components or substances from a liquid mixture by using selective boiling and condensation, usually inside an apparatus known as a still. Dry distillation is the heating ...

nipa

palm Palm most commonly refers to: * Palm of the hand, the central region of the front of the hand * Palm plants, of family Arecaceae **List of Arecaceae genera * Several other plants known as "palm" Palm or Palms may also refer to: Music * Palm (ba ...

liquor Liquor (or a spirit) is an alcoholic drink produced by distillation of grains, fruits, vegetables, or sugar, that have already gone through alcoholic fermentation. Other terms for liquor include: spirit drink, distilled beverage or hard ...

. It is derived from

tubâ Tubâ () is a Filipino alcoholic beverage created from the sap of various species of palm trees. During the Spanish colonial period, tubâ was introduced to Guam, the Marianas, and Mexico via the Manila Galleons. They remain popular in Mexico, ...

(palm toddy) made from

nipa palm ''Nypa fruticans'', commonly known as the nipa palm (or simply nipa, from ms, nipah) or mangrove palm, is a species of palm native to the coastlines and estuarine habitats of the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the only palm considered adapte ...

sap that has been aged for at least 48 hours. It originates from Eastern

Mindanao Mindanao ( ) ( Jawi: مينداناو) is the second-largest island in the Philippines, after Luzon, and seventh-most populous island in the world. Located in the southern region of the archipelago, the island is part of an island group of ...

, the

Visayas Islands The Visayas ( ), or the Visayan Islands ( Visayan: ''Kabisay-an'', ; tl, Kabisayaan ), are one of the three principal geographical divisions of the Philippines, along with Luzon and Mindanao. Located in the central part of the archipelago, i ...

(where it is known as dalisay or dalisay de nipa), and the

Bicol Region Bicol, known formally as the Bicol Region or colloquially as Bicolandia ( bcl, Rehiyon kan Bikol; Rinconada Bikol: ''Rehiyon ka Bikol''; Waray Sorsogon, Masbateño: ''Rehiyon san Bikol''; tl, Rehiyon ng Bikol), is an administrative region of ...

(where it is known as barik). During the Spanish colonial period, it was also known as ''vino de nipa'' in

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

. Like the

lambanog Lambanóg is a traditional Filipino distilled coconut palm liquor. It is derived from tubâ made from coconut sap that has been aged for at least 48 hours. It originates from Luzon and the Visayas Islands (where it is known as ''dalisay de co ...

(made from coconut sap), it is particularly potent, having a typical alcohol content of 70 to 100 proof (40 to 45%

abv Alcohol by volume (abbreviated as ABV, abv, or alc/vol) is a standard measure of how much alcohol (ethanol) is contained in a given volume of an alcoholic beverage (expressed as a volume percent). It is defined as the number of millilitres (mL) o ...

) after a single distillation.

History

Tubâ Tubâ () is a Filipino alcoholic beverage created from the sap of various species of palm trees. During the Spanish colonial period, tubâ was introduced to Guam, the Marianas, and Mexico via the Manila Galleons. They remain popular in Mexico, ...

, a kind of

palm wine Palm wine, known by several #Names, local names, is an alcoholic beverage created from the sap of various species of palm tree such as the Borassus, palmyra, date palms, and coconut palms. It is known by various names in different regions and i ...

, existed in the Philippines before colonisation. They were widely consumed for recreation and played an important role in various religious rituals. Heavy consumption of alcohol in the Philippine islands was described in several Spanish accounts.

Social drinking Drinking culture is the set of traditions and social behaviors that surround the consumption of alcoholic beverages as a recreational drug and social lubricant. Although alcoholic beverages and social attitudes toward drinking vary around the ...

(''tagayan'' or ''inuman'' in Tagalog and

Visayan languages The Bisayan languages or Visayan languages are a subgroup of the Austronesian languages spoken in the languages of the Philippines, Philippines. They are most closely related to Tagalog language, Tagalog and the Bikol languages, all of which ar ...

) was and continues to be an important aspect of Filipino social interactions. Laksoy is pre-colonial in origin. Despite being distilled, laksoy and lambanog were inaccurately called ''vino de nipa'' and ''vino de coco'', respectively, in

. In ''Historia de Las Islas E Indios de Bisayas'' (1668), the Spanish missionary

Francisco Ignacio Alcina Francisco Ignacio (de) Alcina SJ (also Alzina, Alçina) (February 2, 1610 – July 30, 1674) was a Spanish historian and a Jesuit missionary in the Philippines. He served as parish priest in the Visayan islands for 37 years. Most of those years ...

described "dalisay" as ''vino de la nipa, el primero que se extrae y más fuerte'' ("nipa wine, the first to be extracted and the strongest"). In the ''Vocabulario de la lengua Tagala, primera, y segunda parte'' (1794) by Domingo de los Santos, he defines ''dalisay'' as a type of '' alac'' that is ''muy fuerte y bueno'' ("very stong and good"). In ''Historia general sacro-profana, política y natural de las islas del poniente, llamadas Filipinas'' (1697-1755) by Juan José Delgado, native liquor is described as being distinguished into three types: ''vino ordinario'' (from the first distillate), ''dalisay'' (from the second distillate), and ''mistela'' (from the third distillate). In contrast to Alcina and other authors, Delgado applies the terms to both nipa and coconut liquor, distinguishing them as ''dalisay de nipa'' and ''dalisay de coco''.

Description

has two main variants. The most common being the one made from

coconut The coconut tree (''Cocos nucifera'') is a member of the palm tree family ( Arecaceae) and the only living species of the genus ''Cocos''. The term "coconut" (or the archaic "cocoanut") can refer to the whole coconut palm, the seed, or the ...

sap. This is distilled into

. The second most common type of tubâ is made from

sap, which is where laksoy is derived from. Like the

(made from coconut sap), it is particularly potent, having a typical alcohol content of 70 to 100 proof (40 to 45%

) after a single distillation.

Production

Laksoy is more difficult to produce than lambanog because it requires the nipa palm to be covered in mud for six weeks to several months in advance. The mud is scraped off and the inflorescence is cut off. The sap that flows out of the cut branch is then collected in attached bamboo containers (''salhod'' or ''salod''). The bamboo containers are collected every day and the inflorescence is sliced again by a few millimeters to renew the flow of the sap. The sweet sap is fermented in ''

banga Banga may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Banga'' (album), a 2012 album by Patti Smith * A song by Ali Shaheed Muhammad from the 2004 album '' Shaheedullah and Stereotypes'' * The name of Pontius Pilate's dog in Mikhail Bulgakov's novel ' ...

'' (earthen jars) to make

, which is then distilled into laksoy.

References

{{Filipino cuisine Filipino distilled drinks Philippine alcoholic drinks Philippine cuisine

History

Description

Production

See also

References