17 Popular Filipino Drinks: Best Beverages To Try

popular filipino drinks

Interested in trying out the lambanog, gulaman, halo-halo, and Barako coffee? Find out more about this in our exclusive list of popular Filipino drinks in today’s post. You see, part of the reason why our team decided to work on this topic is that most of us are looking to entertain ourselves at home and are willing to try out different recipes from across the globe. One of the Asian countries with distinct refreshing beverages is the Philippines.

Before we get our mouths salivating with the idea of Filipino food and drinks, let us walk you through the top beverages you might encounter at the international grocery section of your place or once you visit the Philippines. This article is divided into two: one will discuss the list of local drinks, and the other will be about the other popular beverages the locals usually downing.

Ready for that? Off we go!

What Are The Local Filipino Drinks

drinks in the philippines

1. Buko Juice

Filipinos are very particular about preserving their heritage, so this means that some of the concoctions have been influenced by specific details about the country. For instance, if you place to bar hop in Manila, you will probably hear alcoholic beverages named Mojito De Mayon (based on the Mayon Volcano), Panutsa (drink served with palm sugar), and Gin Pom Pi (calamansi-based drink).

2. Halo-halo

It is a sweet Filipino dessert featuring layers of sweet treats like candied beands, fruits, shave ice, ube, jackfruit, leche flan, nata de coco, and so much more!

3. Mais Con Hielo

A version of halo-halo that makes use of crushed ice, corn kernels, milk, sugar, and syrup.

4. Sago’t Gulaman

Perfect as a summer treat or regular drink, this drink combines classic gelatine, brown sugar, and palm stems in the form of pearls.

5. Buko Pandan

A cold Filipino dessert made of green jellies, young coconuts, buko pandan clafvoring, milk, and sweetened cream.

6. Buko Juice

A cold drink served with some sugar and coconut milk. It is a perfect on-the-go beverage as it is known for its magnesium and calcium content.

coconut drink in the philippines buko juice

7. Mango Milk

Since the Philippines is the home of sweet mangoes, you can see lots of mango juice variations being sold on the sidewalk. 

8. Kapeng Barako

A locally grown coffee known for its distinct strong taste. The word barako refers to a strong person. Did you know that Filipinos love drinking coffee? If you’re wooing a special someone, treat them to coffee and learn some Tagalog words for coffee, too.

9. Basi

A locally fermented alcoholic beverage made of sugarcane.

10. Tapuy/Tapuey

Fermented rice wine with an alcohol content of around 14%.

11. Calamansi Juice

Filipino drink that packs a sweet and sour taste from traditional Philippine grown limes.

12. Lambanog

A local drink made of coconut sap known for nearly 80% alcohol volume per bottle.

13. Tuba

Similar to Lambanog it also adds a bark of mangrove trees which turns it into a reddish color.

14. Salabat

Ginger tea is commonly squeezed with lime. It is popular for its health benefits including curing cough, cold, and flu. 

15. Iskrambol

The milk-based drink is made with shaved ice, milk powder, marshmallows, and chocolate syrup.

16. Strawberry Wine

A special wine only available in Baguio City, Philippines, and is made of real strawberries.

17. Bignay Wine

A locally fermented wine known for its deep red hue and sweet taste since it is made of Filipino blackberries.

Of course, the Philippines is also a fanatic of other drinks that are also popular in other countries from across the world. This includes the following (we are also noting the basic Filipino ingredients for the recipes):

1. Taho

A Filipino-style drink is usually sold in the mornings on the street. It is made of fresh silken tofu, tapioca pearls, and arnibal (sweeteners in English). 

2. Milk Tea

Milk tea is really popular, and local brands try to add several Pinoy flavors.

3. Coffee Frappe

Filipinos are fanatics of coffee which is why there is no surprise that they like iced cold coffee with milk.

4. Beers/Birs

The mainstream beers include brands such as San Miguel, Red Horse, Tanduay, and Colt 45.

5. Tea

While Filipinos love regular international tea brands, they also swear by unique Filipino-style tea like the Barako coffee in tea form, ginger tea, and coconut tea.

6. Fruit Shakes

Since the country is tropical, it includes fruity shakes with different flavors served with sinkers, nata de coco, and sago.

How Do You Say Drinks In Tagalog?

In Tagalog, the word for drinks is inumin.

If you want to sound more modern, the Tagalog slang for drinks that are alcoholic are shats (shots), toma, or you can just say inom. On the other hand, you can just ask for the brand of the drink you want from your Filipino friends when ordering them at a local Filipino restaurant.

Memorize These Words And Phrases When You Order A Filipino Drink

EnglishTagalogSound
Alcoholic drinkAlak
JuiceDyus (Juice)
WaterTubig
The act of pouring liquor or any drink on a cupTagay
Sir, one order of buko juice.Kuya, isa nga pong buko juice.
I will order another one.Bibili ako ng isa pang order.
How much are all the drinks?Magkano lahat ng mga nainom ko?

Please note that Kuya, in this context, is a common title used for guys that you don’t know, but you want to show respect to when calling them. The equivalent word for girls, “Ate” also holds the same meaning. Kuya and ate might be commonly used for Filipino Family vocabulary but it is also used as a formal word.

What Is The Philippines’ National Drink?

Filipinos love San Miguel Pale Pilsen beer and consider it their national drink. Beer or serbesa in Tagalog is often a complimentary drink for oily but savory meat dishes like sisig, lechon, and manok (chicken). These meals are called pulutan for Filipino alcoholic drinkers who want to party all night or sing Filipino songs in Karaoke. But, apart from the standard San Miguel Pale Pilsen, Filipinos also love drinking Red Horse, Emperador Brandy, Tanduay Rhum, and other local Filipino liquor.

What Is The Famous Filipino Vodka?

Are you a fan of fruit-flavored alcoholic drinks? Lambanog is the famous Filipino coconut vodka or a distilled palm coconut drink. The drink is more often compared to sake for Japanese or makgeolli for Korean.

How Do I Order A Drink In Tagalog?

Do you want to practice more Tagalog phrases and sentences? Here are other ways to order a drink in Tagalog:

EnglishTagalogSound
Can I buy one case of beer?Pabili po ng isang case ng beer.
What are the most fancy wine restaurants that you know?Ano ang pinakasosyal na wine restaurants na alam mo?
Where do we drink today?San tayo iinom ngayon?
I do not drink alcohol. Please order me some glass of juice instead.Hindi ako umiinom ng alak. Pakibilhan nalang ako ng isang baso ng juice.
I’m already drunk. I don’t want to buy more.Lasing na ako. Ayoko na bumili pa.

What Makes Filipino Drinks Special?

The Philippines is undeniably one of the countries with a lot to offer regarding tourism, its people, and its cuisines, making it an ideal tourist destination for foreigners. It is the home to several islands, and what sets it apart is that almost every place has its own delicious local specialties and amazing Filipino food.

Since it is a tropical country, you can expect that almost everything served to you will feature the taste of fresh fruits such as coconuts, strawberries, mangoes, calamansi, and pineapple. Since Pinoys have sweet tooth, you can also expect that almost all these are served cold with ice or made into shake coolers perfect for the summer weather. To make things extra interesting, some of these drinks also include a syrup of your choice, brown sugar, sago pearls (starch from palm trees similar to tapioca pearls), or condensed milk.

But of course, there is so much more to Filipino-style drinks that are sweet, as there are also alcoholic options usually sold in bottles. If you are after Filipino drinks that are punchy, you’d definitely fall in love with the locally fermented wine such as tapuy, tuba, and basi. Perfect to be partnered with chicharon (deep-fried dried pork similar to the Spanish’s chicharrón)!

Ready To Learn More About The Philippines And Its Tagalog Language?

So, which of these Filipino drinks are you more interested in trying? Traditional buko juice (coconut), gulaman, or Basi’s delicious and unique flavor? No matter what it is, we bet that this is already making you truly excited to taste it all once you are here in the Philippines.

As you reach this part of the post, we hope that we have given you complete information on Philippine drinks and that you do not have to search anymore. If you enjoyed this post, remember to share this on social media, and continue reading about the Tagalog language from our Tagalog language posts only here on the Ling app.

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