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WITH A positive deluge of craft beer and all sorts of new spirits in the market, isn’t it nice to come back to a classic?

Chef Junjun de Ocampo, whose last posting was corporate chef for a restaurant group, opened Blackwood at McKinley Hill in 2010, but moved to Mandaluyong’s Greenfield a couple of years later due to changing market demand. In moving, he and his partners decided to shift their focus to draft beer (beer from a keg; out of a tap). One of his partners (who already worked for a beer company) tried to discourage him due to the short shelf life of draft beer (three days tops, according to Mr. De Ocampo), but, “If you can do it right, masarap ang draft beer (draft beer is delicious). It’s not stored in a bottle, in a warehouse, for months. This is fresh… as fresh as it can get,” he told BusinessWorld at a tasting on Aug. 28.

During the tasting, we were served San Miguel Pale Pilsen, San Mig Light, Cerveza Negra, and San Miguel Blanca (San Miguel’s latest release). The familiarity of the names belies the ambition behind serving them on tap, but Mr. De Ocampo finishes his stash well before the third day. Our expectations were lowered, again, by the familiarity of the names on tap, but dare we say the usually mealy (for us) San Mig Light gained some soft floral femininity, the Cerveza Negra’s chocolate notes were heightened, and personal favorite Pale Pilsen gained toasty, crisp gravitas? The San Miguel Blanca (a wheat beer), meanwhile, was served in a glass especially made for them by San Miguel, “Because of how much attention we give to their draft beer,” Mr. De Ocampo said.

It seemed almost as if he was an endorser for the food conglomerate, but they just really like the place. “If you saw this [place] last Friday,” he said, saying that the who’s who of San Miguel Corp. (SMC) packed the restaurant.

“I was convinced by the chairman (who was his former employer) that it’s time for (me) to venture on (my) own,” Mr. De Ocampo said about opening his restaurant.

“We love to eat; of course, we like to drink. Beer is our go-to beverage,” he said. “Why don’t we highlight what we love?”

DRINKING FOOD
The menu, he said, is composed of “what we like to eat when we’re drinking.” That includes the Streetcart Special, with all sorts of things on skewers.

Our boredom with what we thought was familiar made us, again, lower our expectations, but boy oh boy, you haven’t had nice homemade pork longanisa (local sausage) on a stick, and what we thought were pedestrian squid balls were chewy, very tasty cuttlefish balls. They offered us chicharon (pork crackling) too, but we didn’t think much of the offer until it came to the table, still crackling (pun intended) on the plate. The Freshly Popped Chicharon is made to order, and like their beer, is as fresh as it can get.

“It wasn’t very difficult to come up with the menu for Blackwood. Most of it I would actually credit to our guests,” said Mr. De Ocampo.

And then there was the Goat Sisig. We’ve never had goat like this before: the goat’s face is cooked until it’s tender, then chopped up and grilled just like pork sisig. It has the familiar sticky collagen-covered texture of sisig we all love, but it has a complexity from lean bits of gamey goat meat. If just for this dish, we’d vouch for this place, and tell everybody to come.

The dish (and all of their other goat entrees; refried adobo, caldereta, and the like) was inspired by a customer. “We had a guest here, who came from the province. He’s a farmer visiting a relative,” said Mr. De Ocampo. The country lad asked for some goat, but was told they didn’t serve it there.

Mr. De Ocampo learned his lesson. “Ang bar, dapat may kambing. Ang manginginom, hindi tatanggi sa kambing (a bar should always serve goat meat. A drinker will never refuse goat meat),” he said. The next day, he was at the market buying goat meat. “And guess what? Ang lakas ng kambing (the goat is selling very well).”

LESSONS
Blackwood has a sister restaurant, Vintage, right next door. Blackwood itself has lasted more than 10 years, in a tight, restaurant-packed city where they can close as quickly as six months. Not to mention the COVID-19 lockdowns of 2020, which culled many restaurants in the metro: “We were three seconds away from throwing in the towel,” he recalled. “The only thing that kept us going — I don’t want to sound melodramatic here — but it’s the people. They’ve been with us 10 years already. They’re family to us.”

For him, the solution for longevity in the restaurant business comes down to presence. “Being here. Being physically present, being in touch with the business. We’ve always been hands-on. If there are things we need to change, we change immediately.”

We haven’t talked about the name. The name “Blackwood” comes from the Australian Blackwood tree, a species of Acacia. The name sounded cool, but Mr. De Ocampo found out that the tree symbolizes hard work, perseverance, and new hope.

“It’s not just the life we choose, it’s the life we love,” he said, and as he said it, the opening strains of Madonna’s “Like a Prayer” rose from the speakers. “It’s not for everyone, really. But ang sarap eh.”

Blackwood Bar and Grill is located at The Portal, Greenfield District, Mayflower St., Mandaluyong. — Joseph L. Garcia

Don Papa’s plans under new management

SINCE Don Papa Rum’s launch in 2012, they’ve always had Tres Papas, collaborations with different bartenders (three; it’s in the name) served at some of the city’s coolest bars. For the Tres Papas event on Aug. 22 at The Curator in Makati (No. 33 on the Asia’s 50 Best Bars list of 2024, and thus, the best bar in the Philippines this year), they concentrated on the theme “Panghimagas” (dessert).

Don Papa Rum’s Philippine brand ambassador Audrey Gustilo, The Curator’s senior bartender Dan Santos, and Night Hawk Singapore’s Trisha “Taco” Leong took over the bar for a one-night-only shift. Night Hawk is currently ranked #16 in Asia’s 50 Best Bars, and Ms. Leong is the bar’s Operations Manager.

The three bartenders crafted cocktails that reimagined classic Filipino desserts, each bringing their unique spin to the table. Ms. Gustilo drew inspiration from the comforting flavors of rum and her beloved halo-halo (an ice-based dessert) topping, macapuno (coconut sport), along with yema (sweet custard confectionary), a childhood favorite. Mr. Santos, on the other hand, focused on refreshing dessert coolers that evoke memories of summer in the Philippines, such as the iconic mais con yelo (sweet corn with ice) and sago’t gulaman (sago pearls and jelly in brown sugar syrup) Ms. Leong, hailing from Singapore, was eager to highlight Filipino desserts known for their simplicity yet rich flavors, like ube and leche flan.

“Our Tres Papas event is truly an exceptional vehicle to pay homage to the Filipino Culture. For this particular series, it’s all about food focused on dessert favorites. We grew up enjoying them and handing these delectable treats down to our younger generation. It is about time we get to share these to the world as well by working with these extraordinary bartenders from truly world class bars. Don Papa is extremely proud to hold Tres Papas here, our mother market and soon to other parts of Asia-Pacific. I am thrilled to see how Filipinos are very supportive of our brand and how we engage them. Expect to see more from Don Papa as we continue to expand our presence here and across the region,” said JoAnn Ramos, Don Papa Rum Philippines president and Asia-Pacific marketing and commercial head in a statement.

ONGOING CHANGES
In an interview with BusinessWorld at the Don Papa offices (conveniently located behind The Curator), Ms. Ramos discussed ongoing changes at Don Papa owing to their acquisition by global spirits conglomerate Diageo (story here: https://tinyurl.com/4batusn3). “We’re taking it to greater heights: we’re expanding. In the next two to three months, we’re launching in Singapore… and distribution’s going to be a lot more expansive,” she said. In six months, they have plans to formally launch in Thailand and Vietnam, then moving on to Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan.

“Of course, at the end of the day, we’ll make the Philippines a lot better in terms of stability and portfolio. We’re definitely going to launch a lot more new products,” she said. “Because we’ve been partnered now, obviously, with Diageo, there’s definitely a lot more stability in terms of product availability and volume.

“We actually have other facilities now, thanks to them,” she added. “There’s a lot more in the next six months that’s coming out. I just can’t share [information about] it right now.”

The second and third Tres Papas events will be on Sept. 11 at OTO, to be done in collaboration with 28 HongKong Street, one of the most awarded bars in Asia, and on Oct. 2 at the Grasshopper in Makati City, together with Singapore’s Elephant Room, which debuted at the Asia’s 50 Best Bar list in 2023. — Joseph L. Garcia