Photo by Star Sabroso I Shot on location at Discovery Primea’s 1824 Whisky and Cigar Bar and Edge
Cyrene de la Rosa
Freelance Content Creator | Columnist, Metro.Style Buzz and Bites | Contributor, ANCX
Cyrene de la Rosa is the go-to gal to ask where to eat and drink. She makes the bar and restaurant rounds here and abroad to see what’s good and then tells us about it. She’s also a frequent guest judge for some of the most prestigious bartending competitions in the country. Her online writing career started with Chow Buzz at InterAksyon and has blossomed with her columns and contributions to ABS CBN’s Metro Style and ANCX. She has a solid culinary background, graduating from the Institute of Culinary Education (formerly Peter Kump’s New York Cooking School) and taking up her Master’s in Food Studies and Management at New York University. Cyrene was introduced to alcohol while she was in grad school in New York. “You had access to everything (in New York),” she recalls. “There were good wine stores everywhere and free tastings every week.” She interned for the International Wine Center and completed the WSET shortly after.
She generally enjoys eating and drinking. “The thing I enjoy most second to drinking is pairing (food),” she discloses. “I don’t drink without eating.” Her interest in food and drinks has given her many travel and learning opportunities. “I love traveling. It gives me the chance to explore,” she says. “I can go to any country or neighborhood and try new drinks. It’s like continuing education for me.”
“I don’t encounter any problems covering the drinking scene,” she says. “The people we interact with are really nice and are used to women drinking now compared to before.”
She observes that there is still a lingering negative connotation to females drinking, especially from the older set. “I guess the old-fashioned guys have this mindset when they see girls by themselves in a bar; they probably think they’re picking up men. Also, in Asian culture in general, there’s a mindset of what girls should be doing and what guys should be doing. Like women should not even be drinking, and older people, when they see us drinking, they look at us in a bad way. But I think that’s changing,” she observes.
What can you advise aspiring women who would like to pursue a career in the drink world?
I think they have to study a bit. That could make a big difference. I’ve encountered people in the industry who don’t really know about the product they’re selling. So education is essential. Do the research, and even enroll in courses like WSET or something to get the basics. Go beyond the social aspects of drinking. It’s like when you eat; you want to know what’s in your food, right? I think it’s as important for you to know what you’re drinking.
What do you like to drink?
I started with wine; I really fell in love with it. There was a time when I was into craft beer. It kind of reminds me of wine. Craft beer has different flavor notes compared to regular beer. Lately, I’ve been into spirits, and I’m a whisky-sour girl. I like Penicillin, gin, and soda.
Where do you go for decent drinks in the Philippines or abroad?
I go to Curator, ABV (now Proof), OTO, and Yes Please for whisky sour. Rambla is in BGC, and Gilarmi Lounge is in Discovery Primea for a good gin and tonic. Bar Pintxos makes good G&Ts as well. My favorite drink in The Back Room is Ransom Note. I love Lit; I go there for whisky highballs.
Singapore is one of my favorite places to explore bars. I love Operation Dagger, Atlas, and Manhattan. Ronin in Hong Kong introduced me to highballs. It’s a restaurant with a good bar, too. It’s the first place I got to pair whisky with food. My second Hong Kong favorite is 8 1/2 Otto e Mezzo. I like going to bars that have good food as well.
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