Manila Gin Festival held its annual 2-day expo at the BGC Amphitheater, Taguig City, last February 21 to 22, 2025. Among the various brands, iterations, and expressions of gin hailing from the Philippines and other countries of the world, Sagada Cellar Door’s was one of the handful of liquor brands that was locally made, and stood alone as the sole representative of the Mountain Province. Our “terroir forward” Dry Gin has garnered much praise for highlighting botanicals local to the Sagada region, resulting in a uniquely fresh, citrus, and tea-forward taste, with a well-rounded and crisp finish on the palate. Our White Rum was also a hit, given that it is made in the Agricole fashion, made from pressed sugarcane juice, rather than molasses, which gives it a unique and more grassy quality.
Sagada Cellar Door (SCD) gin and rum cocktails were a hit amongst attendees as many people flocked to our stall to try our “Let's Go Sago” a spin on the classic Filipino beverage sago’t gulaman mixed with both gin and rum, the “Saguava” a tropical cocktail made with pink guava and gin, “The Elders” a classic gin with tonic with elderflower liquor, and “Strawberry Terraces” made with fresh Sagada strawberries, lemon and white rum. At the end of the two days, Sagada Cellar Door received the 1st Runner-Up prize for “Best Booth” (criteria was based on Presentation, Gin Selection and Tasting Experience, and Ove-all Atmosphere) in the standard category, besting 22 other imported and local Gin brands in the same category. It was truly an achievement for SCD given this was the first ever public appearance of SCD in public.
Check-out a feature article on SCD at Rappler:
Sagada puts gin on the map — and wins big in Manila by Mia Magdalena Fokno
https://www.rappler.com/life-and-style/food-drinks/sagada-puts-gin-on-map-wins-big-manila/
