The story
Founded by Carlos Palanca in 1834.1
La Tondeña was established in 1902 by Carlos T. Palanca, Sr. in Tondo, Manila and incorporated as La Tondeña, Inc. in 1929. The company name was inspired from its location. The distillery pioneered the production of alcohol derived from molasses, instead of the commonly used nipa palm.
In 1924, it acquired the Ayala Distillery (Destilería Ayala) from Ayala y Compañía (precursor of Ayala Corporation). In 1955, the company acquired Añejo Rhum from Tabacalera (Compañía General de Tabacos de Filipinas). In 1957, it acquired the trademark rights to Kulafu to launch Vino Kulafu Chinese herbal wine.
La Tondeña Distillers, Inc. (LTDI) was incorporated in 1987 by San Miguel Corporation after acquiring the assets of La Tondeña, Inc. from the Palanca family. The company changed its corporate name Ginebra San Miguel, Inc. (GSMI) on March 7, 2003.
On November 6, 2017, San Miguel Corporation announced the consolidation of its beverage businesses into San Miguel Pure Foods Company, Inc. through a share swap deal. San Miguel Pure Foods will acquire 216.97 million shares in GSMI from San Miguel Corporation. As a result, San Miguel Pure Foods will own 76% of GSMI with San Miguel Corporation as the minority owner. After the consolidation, San Miguel Pure Foods will be renamed San Miguel Food and Beverage, Inc.
Ginebra San Miguel brand history
In June 1834, Casa Róxas (the partnership that was the ultimate precursor of now Ayala Corporation) established the Destileria de Ayala y Cía (Ayala & Co's Distillery), the first distillery in the Philippines. It produced a variety of drinks including anis, anisette, cognac, rum, whisky and gin (Ginebra Ayala, Ginebra San Miguel, Ginebra Nacional, Ginebra Extra, Ginebra Doble Extra, among others). The distillery was located in Quiapo, Manila and was a major business of the partnership that was renamed to Ayala y Compañía (legal name before being converted into a corporation) when it was acquired by La Tondeña on June 21, 1924.
Legal issues
In the 2024 trademark infringement case, the Court of Appeals reversed the IPOPHL's decision and ruled that Duke Frasco cannot use “Frasco” as trade name on his company's bottled water and containers since it resulted in patent infringement of the registered trademark Frasco used by GSMI's on its gin label.
Calendar girls
The annual tradition of releasing calendars featuring female celebrities started in 1988 which they named the Ginebra San Miguel Super Angels. This was inspired by the US TV series Charlie’s Angels. These calendars are used as promotional material which are widely displayed in barbershops, sari-sari stores, mini-groceries and other venues frequented by liquor consumers.
From Wikipedia’s article on Ginebra San Miguel, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4