Introduction

This Blog is an introduction to Lambanog sa Tayabas . I hope that the resources I have researched and assembled may serve
as a guide for students, teachers, and all other interested people to learn more.

Kamlah Myrib C. Catangui

http://www.tayabas.ph

STI COLLEGE-LUCENA

Tayabas City

A land-locked town within the Province of Quezon, Tayabas is situated at the south-eastern foothills of one of the famous volcanoes in the country: Mt. Banahaw. It is encircled by several municipalities of Quezon Province: Lucban, Mauban and Sampaloc to the north; Atimonan and Pagbilao to the south-east; Lucena City to the south; and Sariaya to the west. It likewise shares its boundary with the Province of Laguna in its north-eastern extremity. It lies some 150 Km. southeast of Manila and only about 10 km. from the provincial capital, Lucena City.

Tayabas has a total land area of 23,095 hectares divided among its 66 barangays, 19 of which are within the Poblacion; 47 classified as rural with respective areas ranging from a mere 10 hectares to an enormous 3,002.41 hectares. The compact urban core measures only 82.15 hectares which is less than one (1) percent of the total land area.

What is Lambanog?

Lambanog is wine made from coconut. Lambanog is famous for its potency that normally carries about 80 to 90 proof variations. It is mostly produced in the Tayabas,Quezon Philippines. It has been passed down throughout generations of coconut plantation farmers. The process involves collecting the sap from the coconut flower, similar to rubber tree tapping. The sap is then cooked and fermented to become tuba, a popular coconut toddy. The tuba is then distilled to make lambanog.

Mr. Joselito Mallari pointing at one of his bottles of lambanog.

Mallari is the oldest distillery in Tayabas and is located in Barangay Lalo just outside the town of Tayabas.

In 1928, the parents of Doña Josefita Alandy pioneered the establishment of a lambanog distillery as a family enterprise. This entrepreneurial initiative was handed down to the next generation. Lambanog then became commonly known in Tayabas as "Alak Fita" of the Alandy family. Today, Joselito Mallari, the grandson of Doña Josefita manages the distillery known as Mallari Distillery.

He also realized that to be able to compete in the international market he needed to make more attractive bottles. The VuQo bottle is his latest design and will be introduced in Europe and the US in the near future.

How to make Lambanog?

Lambanog can be produce using the process of distillation similar to the fractioning in oil refinery. In the distillation factory, where the people of Infanta, Quezon called them “putuhan”, around 30 gallons of “tuba” is pour in a big container where it is heated to a certain degree such that the alcohol content of “tuba” will boil and evaporate. The evaporated alcohol will then be condensed using flowing water at the top of the distillation chamber to liquefy the alcohol in gaseous phase. This liquefied alcohol is already the wine that is extracted from “tuba”. The distillation process usually takes one to two hours to collect 5 gallons of wine and it depends on the amount of heat applied. “Putuhan” is usually made of clay and commonly situated in areas near to river and some bodies of water where there is a sufficient amount of water to be use in distillation process.
A 5 gallons of lambanog usually cost 200 to 500 pesos depending on the amount of supply and demand. lambanog is 100% natural and does not contain harmful chemicals just like other commercially produced wine and alcohol.