THREE HENS are going to try to get your tongue buzzing and your lips moving with a wine brand called, well, Three Hens.

RAYMOND JOSEPH, the youngest of the four Joseph brothers running the country’s pioneering wine and spirits importer and distribution company, Philippine Wine Merchants (PWM), is the only Filipino I know that is a real sake sommelier. Raymond has been frequenting Japan since 2009 to learn more about sake since PWM took on the distribution of Gekkeikan Sake Company Limited -- one of Japan’s oldest (founded in 1637), and perhaps the largest, sake company in the world, from Fushimi district, Kyoto prefecture. Raymond even underwent a rigid two week “Sake Sommelier Apprenticeship” crash course from Gekkeikan over eight years ago, and has been attending sake courses from different prefectures to further hone his knowledge. This is Raymond’s passion now, and with PWM as his vehicle, Raymond is dead set on bringing sake culture to the Philippines.

WHILE THE recent holiday nearly bankrupted us as we splurged on gifts and food and travel abroad, let’s usher in the New Year with new experiences that don’t break the bank — unless you buy a piece of good art (which is an investment!). Here is a list of some of the galleries in the metro that offer good Filipino art — and entrance is free (or very nearly).

LAST YEAR’s theater scene was lively and jampacked. This year is shaping up to be just the same, if not more.

FOR CULTURE vultures, 2019 will hold a dazzling array of museum exhibitions. From London to Los Angeles and Brooklyn to Basel, there are thoughtful, sweeping, and often provocative shows to look forward to.

JOEL LAMANGAN’s Rainbow’s Sunset is a convoluted story of a rich troubled clan, whose main conflict revolves around the family members’ having to deal with grandfather Ramon (played by Eddie Garcia), who comes out as gay and wants to live with his best friend and lover Fredo (Tony Mabesa) who is dying from cancer. But Ramon’s outing himself at the age of 84 (“It’s already 2018!”) should be the least of this family’s — and the audience’s — concerns because Rainbow Sunset doesn’t only feature a conflicted clan, but its storyline is problematic too.

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump set off a Christmas social media storm when he questioned whether a seven-year-old was too long in the tooth to believe in Santa Claus.

“1” is a concept in Filipino romance that’s undefinable in other languages. We could describe it in parts: the giddiness; the rush when you feel a frisson of emotion for your beloved. Could you call “kilig” butterflies in your stomach? In any case, it won’t matter for this review, because I felt no such thing while watching One Great Love, which to me lacks a beating heart.

WHEN THE hosts and one of the directors of the longest-running afternoon variety show on television, and actors from the action TV remake based on a Fernando Poe, Jr. film team up on the big screen, the audience gets a little bit of everything.

HEADLINING the Eastwood Quezon City New Year Countdown to 2019 are December Avenue, Ben and Ben, Moira, Karylle, and Bamboo.

NO sisterhood is ever perfect, but Mary, Marry Me makes it look so fun. I guess that’s how I would describe the rest of Mary, Marry Me: imperfect, but at least a good romp.

Joel Lamangan’s LGBT-themed family drama, Rainbow’s Sunset, swept the top awards at the Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) Gabi ng Parangal held on Dec....