Every great tiki bar has a secret weapon—a carefully curated selection of rums that form the backbone of their cocktail program. For ARKIPELAGO, my Tiki 2.0 concept that reimagines the traditional tiki experience through a Filipino cultural lens, that foundation is built on Planteray Rum. If you've been following the rum world, you may remember these bottles under their previous name: Plantation Rum. In January 2024, Maison Ferrand—the French cognac house behind the brand—officially rebranded...

There's something about a hot cocktail that a cold one can never replicate. It's not just the warmth, though that matters when it's fifteen degrees outside and the wind is finding every gap in your layers. It's the ritual of it—the slow sipping, the steam rising, the way a hot drink forces you to be present because you literally can't rush it without burning yourself. Hot cocktails have fallen out of fashion, which is a shame. Most bars don't want to deal with the logistics—keeping water hot,...

My bar doesn't look like the ones you see on Instagram. There's no perfectly curated backbar with bottles arranged by color gradient. No minimalist aesthetic with three carefully chosen spirits and a single copper jigger catching the light just right. My space looks like what it is: a working laboratory run by someone whose brain has very specific ideas about what "organized" means. And honestly? It works better than any system I've tried to impose from the outside. ——— The Problem with...