Hold your white horses, Limtuaco ups whiskey game
Olivia Limpe- Aw created Julius James Whiskey, a tribute to her father and grandfather.
Who remembers the ad “White Castle Whisky, White Castle Whisky! White Castle Whisky is for me …”?
If you were based in the Philippines in the late 1970s and early 1980s, for sure you would remember the visual of a sexy young girl in a red bikini atop a white horse—signature White Castle!
Julius Limpe
This visual later on became so iconic that to be riding that white horse meant you were also at the top of your sexy game, achieved by the likes of Carmi Martin and Lorna Tolentino, then Glydel Mercado and Cristina Gonzalez in the 1990s and even Aubrey Miles in the 2000s.
Credit goes to Julius Limpe, a researcher doctor/artist described by his daughter Olivia as unconventional, bold and artistic.
“He was great at marketing. He was responsible for our White Castle Whisky ads on TV in the 1970s,” she shares, noting that those ads were game-changers.
“My father made the company grow.”
Destileria Limtuaco
The company is Destileria Limtuaco, the oldest distillery in the Philippines, established in 1852 (older than the Republic) by Don Bonifacio Limtuaco.
Originally Lim Tua Co, a martial arts master who sailed to the Philippines from Amoy, China in 1850, Don Bonifacio set up a little distillery on Gandara Street in Binondo in 1852 selling herbal wine that came to be known as “sioktong.” He was then 36 years old.
He was not succeeded by his son, Carlos, who died on a visit to Amoy, but by his nephew, Lim Chay Seng, who grew the business to include liquors with an American appeal.
Lim Chay Seng was succeeded by his son James, the grandfather of Olivia, who now heads the company. She describes her grandfather as a certified “Am-boy” since he studied in the US, taught English and, she recalls, usually had a breakfast of donuts and coffee. (Donuts and coffee—how American can you get?)
James was succeeded by his eldest son Julius, Olivia’s father, who also studied in the US. Julius upped the ante as a master blender by also learning the distillery processes for whiskey, gin, vodka and rum.
Olivia, daughter of Julius, is the fifth generation master blender of Destileria Limtuaco.
Through five generations of master distillers, the Destileria has brought us labels such as White Castle Whisky, Old Captain Rum, Napoleon VSOP Brandy and Ginebra Kelly, producing a whole gamut of liquor from brandy and gin, to vodka and whiskey, to tequila and wines—herbal, medicinal, and even cooking wine now with the brand Imeldifique.
Olivia Limpe-Aw
Olivia continues to grow the business, not only by expanding but also elevating their labels. First, to appeal not only to the alcohol lovers but also to the connoisseurs. Secondly, by exploring and incorporating Philippine agricultural produce to create uniquely Filipino yet world-class products.
“Dad said every generation must contribute something,” she recalls.
And she is on a roll.
In 2002, the company, under her tutelage, produced Paradise Mango Rum Liqueur, a natural fruit-based liqueur made from Philippine mangoes and premium aged rum which successfully captures “the delicate aroma and luscious flavor of our sun-ripened Philippine mangoes.”
“The Philippine mango is married to premium-aged rum, a time-honored byproduct of our sugar-producing country. Mangoes, carefully grown and tended, harvested at the peak of ripeness during summertime when it is sweetest and fragrant … is crushed to a thick juice that is expertly blended with [Destileria Limtuaco’s] premium rum … aged to perfection in oak barrels, letting it patiently mellow with time and humidity, giving it a slightly smoky flavor …” the company explains. How can you not want to drink that?
After Philippine mangoes, Olivia went on to promote Philippine calamansi with Manille Liqueur de Calamansi, a special all-natural liqueur made with calamansi rinds through a process similar to the production of Limoncello, with calamansi zest infused into a vodka base. She sources calamansi from Mindoro Mangyan tribes, whom she met through the help of Agriculture Undersecretary Berna Romulo Puyat. (A dalandan version was later introduced.)
And for the Kahlua and coffee lovers, she introduced Amadeo Liqueur, named after the town in Cavite known as the country’s coffee capital. It is a blend of all four coffee beans available in the Philippines: Arabica, Robusta, liberica and Excelsa. By promoting this liqueur, Amadeo also promotes local coffee and helps coffee farmers.
Julius James
At this year’s Madrid Fusion Manila, Olivia introduced her latest creation, this time promoting Philippine corn.
Julius James Whisky is the first wholly and domestically produced whiskey in the Philippines. It is made using Philippine corn.
The corn is sourced from Isabela and then delivered to the company’s facility in Bulacan, where it is milled to a fine grind, cooked until the starches are broken down into sugars (a process called saccharification), fermented for two to three days to allow the sugars to turn into alcohol, then distilled using a unique dual distillation process.
Olivia went so far as to create her own “barrel”—a square 1×1 cubic meter cask made from imported American oak barrels —to age the whiskey because she needed something that would cater to our hot and humid weather. Her design speeds up aging and minimizes evaporation loss or “angel share,” contributing to the unique and fresh yet full-bodied flavor of Julius James.
“In a tropical country, aging is accelerated because of the high humidity and temperature,” she explained at the Madrid Fusion Manila. “So the age quality [that whiskies from countries with cold climates such as Scotland or Japan have], we can achieve in shorter periods of time. If we wait 15 or 20 years here in the Philippines, there will be nothing left in the barrel!”
The result is a whiskey that is no longer “stateside,” as how White Castle Whisky was marketed, but now proudly 100 percent Philippine-made.
The whiskey is named after Olivia’s father, Julius, the company’s fourth generation master blender, who is the man behind White Castle 5 Years Old Whisky; and Olivia’s grandfather, James, the company’s third generation master blender who introduced whiskey to the Philippines with Three Feathers Blended Whisky, and popularized the company’s own Four Feathers Whisky during the liberation time.
These two are certainly beaming with pride from up above, raising their whiskey glasses to their fifth generation master blender—a she!—for producing the Philippines’ first 100 percent domestically produced yet world-class whiskey.
It’s truly a great tribute to her father and grandfather, and for herself and Destileria Limtuaco, another solid legacy.
Here’s to Olivia: Julius James Whisky cheers!
Destileria Limtuaco. E-mail [email protected]. Visit www.limtuaco.com.
*Note to hard core whiskey enthusiasts: The company spells the brand as White Castle Whisky—without the e. You can get off your White Castle high horse now and get over it, thank you very much.
