Tasting

Ginebra San Miguel tastes rounder than a dry London Dry Gin, with a slight sweetness. On the palate, there's a warm alcohol edge that comes from the molasses base, joined by a clear citrus note traced back to the Calamansi.

Tasting Ginebra San Miguel Premium reveals a gentle, almost soft mouthfeel at 35% ABV. The classic 40% version, by contrast, feels noticeably sharper and more straightforward, standing closer to a plain spirit than to a European-style gin.

As a counterpoint stands ARC Archipelago Botanical Gin from Full Circle Craft Distillers in Calamba City. It's floral through Sampaguita and Ylang-Ylang, with a cool piney note from Benguet pine, plus a fruity sweetness from mango and pomelo. Overall, it comes across as more complex and quieter on the alcohol than the people's drink.

When tasting, it's worth sipping it neat at room temperature, in small sips, never gulped down in one go like Tagay. Between tastings, a sip of still water helps reset the palate. Anyone tasting both styles back to back, the industrial and the small craft gin, will taste the difference immediately. Manila itself understands gin in two ways: once as an everyday drink for everyone, once as an expression of an entire archipelago.

The difference shows most honestly in the finish. Ginebra San Miguel ends short and warm, almost like a plain spirit. The Archipelago Gin from the bars of Poblacion, by contrast, lingers much longer, with floral and resinous notes that stay on the palate for minutes afterward.