Si! to calamansi

Indigenous to the Philippines and widely cultivated, the calamansi fruit (Citrofortunella microcarpa) is best known as an essential ingredient in creating marinades or as a condiment, flavoring food. High in Vitamin C, it’s often taken a back seat to such native fruits as our mango, durian or pomelo. Well, Destileria Limtuaco went all out to change that as it developed a new alcohol-based drink along with Steph Zubiri-Crespi — the newly unveiled Manille Liqueur de Calamansi.

Patterned after the world famous Limoncello of Italian origin that mixes lemon with grain alcohol, the Liqueur de Calamansi uses choice calamansi rinds for a citrus aroma with a vodka base. Recommended as a digestif, or to cleanse the palate between courses, the drink can also be served up as shots or on the rocks.

The unique twist to the story behind the liqueur came when host Issa Litton introduced Undersecretary Berna Romulo-Puyat who had the Department of Agriculture assist Destileria’s Olivia Limpe-Aw, and her son Aaron, in sourcing the calamansi rinds. With Mindoro as one of the known growing areas of the fruit, Destileria tied up with a Mangyan community in Tugdaan, Mindoro, and from the foothills where we find the fruit trees, set about creating a supply agreement for the rinds. These had previously been considered as mere byproduct for the planters. With added income for the planters, an arrangement was also made to assist the community with schooling and livelihood programs.

At 55 proof, the liqueur has no added flavors or preservatives, with only natural plant pigments to enhance the color of the liqueur. It’s smartly packaged in a bottle with a distinct heritage design.

While close friends know I’m allergic to alcohol, that doesn’t stop me from taking the occasional sip to appreciate the taste and flavor of a drink. Smooth, and packing a punch, the Manille Liqueur de Calamansi is a great addition to Destileria Limtuaco’s roster (congratulations Olivia and Aaron!); and my two elder sons happily took home the shot bottles! Before you raise your eyebrows, yes, they’re both of drinking age.

Know thyself

The three novels today deal with self-realization and enlightenment across different arenas. In Shriver’s novel, siblings and family play a dominant theme, Roth’s debut novel revolves around modern love. Lin ruminates on creativity, drug use and relationships among the young.

Big Brother by Lionel Shriver (available at National Book Store) Pandora is married to Fletcher, lives in the Midwest, and runs a thriving customized doll business, while Fletch designs and makes furniture from the house basement. Things go awry for the couple and Fletch’s children when Edison, self-proclaimed renowned jazz pianist blows into town, more than a hundred pounds overweight, and with the same poundage in traumas, idiosyncrasies and eccentricities. At times outright funny, at other times fragile and sad, the novel recounts Pandora coming to terms with the cost of helping Edison and in the process, herself. The dynamics of family, the chicken-egg question of “obese because depressed, or depressed because obese” comes to light.

The Unknowns by Gabriel Roth (available at Amazon.com or Kinokuniya) An edgy modern romance novel that’s set in the world of dot-coms and super successful nerds, this debut novel from Roth charms and beguiles with subtle humor. It enters an interesting darker arena when Eric falls in love with Maya and her dark past emerges. Via selective repressed memories, which come out while in therapy, Maya reveals she was sexually abused by her father after her mom passed away. The fragility of relationships, the blind faith and trust that at times become part of the territory, and how we often push away that which we should treasure and embrace, despite all good intentions, make for a novel that’s perceptive, while entertaining. While the tone shifts in mid-stride, the writing is always impeccable.

Taipei by Tao Lin (available at National Book Store) Set in present day Manhattan, and reminiscent of the territory mapped out by the likes of Brett Easton Ellis, this novel takes on the world of the twenty-something young “creatives” — and dissects said milieu for the drug abuse, failed relationships and friendships, and the vacuous repetition of life that’s trumped as being “part of the scene.” The sudden shot at fame, thanks to a first novel or critically acclaimed book of poems, is wryly offset by the need to “top the first act,” and to get off the pedestal and face reality. The lowdown of book tours and how it’s accompanied by the ever growing search for new drugs to battle ennui and boredom are thrust into the spotlight in this cautionary tale of a novel.