By Saanika Madhwani.
Australia’s dynamic cocktail culture is welcoming a fresh contender - modern Filipino-inspired drinks. Local bartenders are confidently harnessing vibrant, nostalgic ingredients such as calamansi, pandan and ube to craft sophisticated beverages with global appeal.
Their creativity is pushing the boundaries of cocktail-making, while remaining distinctly authentic, inspiring a new wave of experimentation.
Tropical, Tart and Textured
Filipino ingredients naturally lend themselves to compelling cocktails due to their distinct and multifaceted profiles. Calamansi, the Filipino citrus powerhouse, adds sharp, vibrant acidity to twists on classic sours and spritzes.
Meanwhile, rich tropical staples like pandan, ube, coconut and mango add luxurious textures and nuanced aromatic layers to cocktails. Adventurous ingredients, such as the umami-rich bagoong (fermented shrimp paste) and tangy tamarind, offer intriguing depth in inventive, boundary-pushing drinks.
Filipino dessert traditions, characterised by playful textures and striking visuals, lend themselves perfectly to innovative cocktail experiences. These textural signatures include nata de coco, jelly cubes, sago pearls and layers of shaved ice.
Inspired by halo-halo and buko pandan, modern cocktails adopt these elements to create sensory contrasts that are chewy, icy, slippery and satisfyingly interactive, intriguing the senses of the adventurous cocktail enthusiast.
Contenders in the Glass
One standout is the Pandan Sour, which blends pandan-infused gin or whisky with calamansi juice, egg white and simple syrup. Bright yet creamy, pandan’s grassy vanilla notes temper the sharpness of calamansi, resulting in a cocktail that’s visually captivating and refreshing.
For something more robust, the Calamansi Negroni cleverly substitutes the traditional orange peel or Campari bitterness with calamansi’s distinctive tropical citrus character. This aromatic twist maintains the Negroni’s classic bite, enhanced by brighter, more dynamic flavours.
The vividly purple Ube Colada, mixing ube purée, coconut cream and white rum, draws inspiration from halo-halo. Rich, creamy and visually captivating, it’s ideal served frozen or over crushed ice, offering a decadent blend of sweetness and exotic depth.
A playful choice is the Sago at Gulaman Highball, reimagining the traditional Filipino beverage into a spirited, texturally engaging cocktail. Featuring spiced rum, brown sugar syrup, soda and chewy pearls or jelly cubes, it’s an enjoyable drink that captures the character of a Filipino street-side cooler in a sharper, spirited form.
The Buko Pandan Martini elegantly rounds out the menu, combining vodka or gin, coconut water, pandan syrup and cream, shaken until smooth and silky. Served cold with shaved ice or pandan jelly cubes, it’s a dessert-cocktail lover’s dream.
Where the Movement’s Being Poured
In Melbourne, Serai shines with meticulously crafted cocktails such as the Ube Wan Kenube, a spiced rum and brandy concoction layered with ube and chocolate, or the intriguing Sus Maryo Spritz, blending housemade calamansi-cello, Shiraz Gin, Prosecco and cardamom. The Mangarita adds a punch with mango, Vietnamese mint and a daring dash of bagoong shrimp paste.
Sydney’s Takam elevates traditional techniques with cocktails like the nuanced Pandan & Dusted, a clarified wattleseed daiquiri crowned with a rich buko pandan foam, and the signature Martini Nagyelo, a crisply chilled house Martini featuring dry gin, blended vermouth, atchara brine and aromatic bay leaf oil.
Inuman, another Melbourne hotspot, brings flair with its Jeepney Ride, a vibrant fusion of Angostura white rum, lambanog, honeydew, lime, makrut and curry leaf, showcasing complexity through precise execution.
Brisbane’s Rex Cuisine serves up an authentic Sago at Gulaman, a delightful non-alcoholic Winter melon drink elevated with tapioca pearls and grass jelly, bridging traditional flavours with contemporary tastes.
From the Bar to Your Bench
For enthusiasts looking to bring these flavours into their own kitchens, ingredients like ube powder, pandan essence and calamansi concentrate are increasingly accessible online and in Asian grocers.
This accessibility empowers you to experiment and create your own unique cocktails, infusing base spirits - especially with pandan leaves - adds an aromatic dimension that rewards patience and experimentation, laying a solid foundation for layered, nuanced drinks.
Presentation is equally integral to the experience. Halo-halo-style glassware, banana-leaf stirrers, or skewered dried mango add personality without pretence. A small bowl of salted calamansi wedges encourages guests to adjust flavours on their own terms, while shaved ice or jelly cubes nod to the dessert traditions that inspired many of these drinks.
More than a trend, modern Filipino cocktails represent a shift in sensibility: one that prioritises flavour memory, texture and cultural specificity over conventional constructs. It’s a conversation between tradition and technique - one that continues to deepen Australia’s drinking vocabulary, glass by glass.
