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. ==Brands==