Kalel Demetrio and his team's Ube Cream Liqueur. Jeeves de Veyra
MANILA -- (UPDATED) Rockstar mixologist Kalel Demetrio mixes ube and alcohol in his team's new creation, the Ube Cream Liqueur TM.
“It has always been my dream to representing dessert in a drink,” he said.
He found out that the Philippines has never come out with any cream liqueur. He settled on ube because it reminded him of his childhood, and it was also becoming popular around the world, as he found out when he ran into an ube festival in San Francisco.
Long known for his wizardry with beverages and affection for local ingredients, Destileria Barako came up with the Ube Cream Liqueur that uses a specially prepared ube halaya, full cream, and their own vodka distilled from Negros sugar.
Part of the dream was for the Ube Cream Liqueur to be available around the world and go toe to toe with the best cream liqueurs in the world like Ireland’s Bailey’s, South Africa’s Amarula, and Mexico’s Tequila Rose.
Demetrio and his team at Destileria Barako submitted several entries to the prestigious 2021 SIP (Spirits International Prestige) Awards. The Ube Cream Liqueur was awarded the Double Gold-Tasting and the Innovation Awards, alongside the Agimat Gin (Silver) and Gayuma Liqueur (Gold-Tasting).
Even the packaging is world-class. The Ube Cream Liqueur comes in a striking matte purple Erlenmeyer flask-style bottle with mystical symbols. The bottle is sealed with a bronze wax and comes with a metallic talisman that can be used as a fashion accessory.
Kalel Demetrio and his team's Ube Cream Liqueur. Jeeves de Veyra
Demetrio hinted that the talisman gets you special perks when seen at Agimat at Ugat, his bar/mad scientist’s lab in the heart of Makati's Población.
Drinking it is an experience in itself. The recommended way to drink this is to have it chilled before opening. Take a sniff and you get that unmistakable sweet scent of ube made more aromatic with the accompanying alcohol. On sipping, take some time to swirl around your mouth as the mouthfeel is that of rich molten ube ice cream with just a slight sweet hit from the vodka.
As is, the Ube Cream Liqueur is a perfect way to cap a meal, although this can also be used as a topping to spike a dessert from halo-halo to ube’t queso ice cream, or mixed in cocktails as Demetrio does in Agimat at Ugat.
The Ube Cream Liqueur is available for pick up at Agimat at Ugat Foraging Bar, or for delivery from Boozy.ph or at the Destileria Barako page with an SRP of P1,200 for a 750ml bottle.
“Ube Cream Liqueur” is a trade mark of Destileria Barako Corporation.
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