I love to drink (notice the tagline below my Blog name?)! Yes, cheers to everyone who loves to drink here- water, coffee, tea, chocolate, softdrinks, juice, booze, wine, etc.
On my 13th day of backpacking in the Visayas, I was surprised to get a message from IslandJane thru CouchSurfing, it says:
Hey James,
I heard so much about you from backpackers I met who’ve read your blog. I’m really not big with the net and just started to be be more active with CS.
I would love to meet you and hang out. This is more of a selfish request to be honest coz I started backpacking and I would love to hear your stories in person and learn backpacking tips from you. In return, I’ll share with you the beauty of Panglao and a taste of local Bahalina-Pepsi (it’s really good and cheap!)
How could I refuse that offer? I haven’t heard of Bahalina before so I got excited and curious. I wanna taste that cheapo drink when I get to Bohol.
MJ and Niko
Although I wasn’t able to explore the beauty of Bohol (because of a tragic motorcycle crash), I was able to meet MJ aka IslandJane, a master diver, great cook and pioneer in the Alternative Eco-Adventure Tours in Bohol. She and Niko (from Germany) introduced me to BAHALINA on my 22nd day during the Visayas Trails journey.
Bahalina is a coconut wine made from the coconut sap (nectar that comes out when you cut the unopened coconut flower) mixed with barok (a reddish color bark of mangrove trees). Much like the lambanog or tuba of Northern Luzon, the main difference is the color- Bahalina is reddish because of barok and lambanog or tuba is milky white or translucent.
Bahalina-Pepsi
Bahalina when mixed Pepsi, make a good drink. The taste is a bit tangy, bitter and sweet. Its like the after-taste of eating tamarind and Coke. It’s hard to explain the taste but the feeling is smooth and relaxing. I think the sweetness sets its apart from other alcoholic drinks I tasted.
After about 3 glasses I was feeling tipsy, helped me to sleep sound. The good thing about this is that I don’t have to worry about hang-over as I wake up feeling fresh and well-rested. In short, I slept like a baby.
How to prepare a good Bahalina-Pepsi mix?
Its easy as 1-2-3!
Prepare the Bahalina and the chilled Pepsi.
Pour 1/3 bahalina to the tall glass first then the 2/3 of Pepsi.
Mix and drink!
Price:
Bahalina- Php120/1gallon
Pepsi- Php30/1L
If you happen to visit Bohol (and I heard they have better Bahalina in Samar & Leyte), try the Bahalina-Pepsi. I’m sure you’ll drink until you drop sleep.
Btw, I want to thank you again MJ for the good cooking- Thai food, veggies, pancakes, Laksa, etc. Thanks too for letting me crash your cozy house and for the big help when I was recuperating from the accident. See you again! Regards to Niko!
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This post is a part of the Visayas Trails- a 25-day journey around Western and Central Visayas (October 1-25, 2011). My primary purpose is to learn the dialect, meet locals and rediscover the sites worth visiting for my dream escapade next year.
I visited Iloilo, Antique, Boracay, Bacolod, Cebu, Bohol and Dumaguete spending a total of Php11,096 all-in excluding airfare. Thanks to CouchSurfing and friends who I met along the way, this trip would not be memorable and exciting without you.
nice. ayain ko din uminom nito yung boholano friend ko, hope alan nya san pwede humili ng bahalina
oh yeah, i believe he knows it.
saraaaaap!
mukhang nahalina ka sa bahalina!
oo nga sir ding, nakakahalina ang bahalina!
ano kayang epek nyan pag ininum? nacurious ako. hehe
you get high dude! positive high!
lol, bahalina?, it sounds like bahalana means I don’t give a @((#*$()$#)(. lol.
pwede! inom lang ng inom ng bahalina, malasing man or hindi, bahala na! nice one julian!
i’ve actually heard about that drink from my relatives but havent tried it
now, you should! i can’t wait to have another drink on my visit to samar, leyte and bohol.
Just dont drink water during and after you drink this. 🙂 ROFL
seriously? why?