Tanduay

Tanduay is a brand of rum produced in the Philippines by Tanduay Distillers, Inc., a diversified beverage company owned by LT Group, Inc. (PSE: LTG).

History

Tanduay traces its origins to a distillery in Hagonoy, Bulacan originally owned by Elías Menchatorre. In 1856, the distillery was acquired by Valentin Teus y Yrisarry and brought into Ynchausti y Compañia, a partnership owned by José Joaquin de Ynchausti, Joaquín Marcelino Elizalde y Yrisarry, and Juan Bautista y Yrisarry. Although the Hagonoy distillery was already in operation at the time of the acquisition, Ynchausti y Compañia decided to use its own foundation date (1854) as the distillery’s foundation date. Six years later, a rectifying plant was constructed in Isla de Tanduay, bordering the Quiapo and San Miguel districts of Manila, becoming the original Tanduay distillery.

There are no records of the product names produced by these two distilleries and it can assumed that all alcoholic products of the period were sold without brand names or distinctive labels and were referred to by their generic names: "aguardiente" (Spanish for firewater), "tuba" (palm wine) and "ron" (Spanish for rum). However, earliest records of the distillery list its rum simply as "ron de destillería de Hagonoy y Tanduay" (literally, “rum from the distillery of Hagonoy and Tanduay”).

By the 1900s, production would shift to the Manila distillery. By the 1930s, the rum it produced became branded as Tanduay Rhum and its packaging was changed from the 10 gallon dama juana container to the smaller (375 ml, 750 ml) glass bottles.^[1][2]

Tanduay Distillery, Inc.

In 1934/1935, Elizalde & Company, Inc. - a new company established by the grandchildren of Joaquín Marcelino Elizalde y Yrisarry (one of the original minority partners of Ynchausti y Compañia) - acquired the major business assets of Ynchausti & Company, including the Tanduay distillery. Under the ownership of the Elizalde group, the distillery operated under the corporate name Tanduay Distillery, Inc. and became a successful enterprise, producing quality rum and other distilled spirits for both domestic and international markets.

Tanduay Distillers, Inc.

On May 18, 1988, Twin Ace Holdings Corporation, a company owned by Lucio Tan, acquired the Tanduay brand and related assets of Tanduay Distillery, Inc. from Elizalde & Company, Inc. The new management launched a plant modernization and expansion program that increased the distillery's production capacity by almost 50 times. On July 30, 1999 Twin Ace Holdings changed its corporate name to Tanduay Distillers, Inc. Aside from rum, Tanduay Distillers, Inc. also produces gin, vodka, brandy, and whiskey.^[3]

Subsidiaries:^[4]

• Asian Alcohol Corporation
• Absolut Distillers, Inc. (formerly, Absolut Chemicals, Inc.)

LT Group, Inc.

On July 8, 1999, Asian Pacific Equity Corporation (PSE: APEC), a company also owned and controlled by Lucio Tan, acquired 100% ownership of Twin Ace Holdings Corporation via a share swap with Twin Ace's existing shareholders. On November 10, 1999, APEC changed its corporate name to Tanduay Holdings, Inc. (PSE: TDY) and increased authorized capital from 1 billion pesos to 5 billion pesos at a par value of 1.00 peso per share. On October 2012, Tanduay Holdings, Inc. was renamed LT Group, Inc. (PSE: LTG).^[5]

Origin of the Tanduay name

The original Tanduay distillery adopted its name from its location, a triangular region encircled by the estuaries of San Miguel and San Sebastian in Manila, which Spanish mapmakers referred to as Isla de Tanduay. The word "Tanduay" originated from the word "tangway", an old Tagalog term for "peninsula". The word also meant "low-lying land" because the entire area, including Quiapo, was frequently flooded during the rainy season. In Cebuano,"tanguay" meant a place where tuba (palm wine) is bought and sold.

The Tanduay coat of arms

The Tanduay coat of arms has appeared in the label of Tanduay branded products since the time of Tanduay Distillery, Inc. (predecessor of Tanduay Distillers, Inc.). It features two escutcheons (shields). The left shield is based on the escutcheon of the Ynchausti family crest, the original owners of the Tanduay distillery.

Products

The original Tanduay distillery

The original Tanduay distillery located at Calle Tanduay (now, J. Nepomuceno Street) in Quiapo, Manila has been Tanduay’s prime production facility until it was decommissioned on April 2013. Tanduay Distillers, Inc. announced that production will be relocated to a larger facility located in Cabuyao, Laguna, capable of producing 100,000 cases a day. The original distillery’s production capacity was at 30,000 cases a day. Portions of the original distillery will be converted into a museum to showcase the history and heritage of Tanduay. The distillery may be reopened in the future, if needed, to serve as backup production facility.^[6]

See also

• Ynchausti y Compañia
• Tanduay Rhum Masters (PBA team)
• Tanduay Light Rhum Masters (PBA D-League team)
• Cossack Blue Spirits (PBL team)

References

Further reading

• De Borja, Marciano R. (2005). Basques in the Philippines (The Basque Series). 
• Tanduay at wartime

External links

• Tanduay Distillers, Inc.
• Tanduay Holdings, Inc. (now known as LT Group, Inc.) website (until 2012)
• LT Group, Inc.