In the Philippines, as in all of Indonesia, sugar cane has been cultivated since the third millennium B.C., but the production of Rum is a recent activity, which began just over a century ago. The Philippines is the world's third largest market for Rum, although almost only local products, made by sweetening and flavouring, are consumed there. With the founding of Tanduay Distillers by a Spanish family in the 19th century, things slowly began to change.
Today, some of the world's most popular Rums are produced in the Philippines, such as Don Papa, a brand launched in 2011. In actual fact this is a major marketing phenomenon, brought about by a British entrepreneur. Don Papa rums are produced through continuous distillation in column stills, in a large industrial plant on the island of Negros, where all kinds of spirits are produced, often on behalf of third parties.