Does the morning sun make you feel dread, or excitement? Through a dazzling array of Don Papa Rum cocktail flavors in A Sweet Sugarlandia Spring, get a taste of the bright, sunny, happy, and hopeful days to come.
Pop culture’s depictions of mornings may seem frantic in a fast-paced, bustling city life. We lose touch of the essence of the rising sun when it’s characterized by the endless ring of a bedside alarm clock, a sole cup of coffee for breakfast, a haphazardly put together work attire, and car horns blaring on the streets. These transform our perception of mornings as something dreadful. With the rush of the modern era, we forget that once the sun rises, so do the birds take flight from their nests; so do the winds brush through the grass and leaves; and so do the roosters that crow, signalling to rise and shine. Thankfully, this nature-filled morning imagery still feels familiar to us Filipinos.
As depictions of a rural Philippines still prevail in local mainstream media and continue in school curricula, the idea of mornings will remain invigorating, warm (down to the literal sense), and sweet. With a touch of mysticism and nostalgia, the lush imagery of traditional Philippine mornings is our local counterpart to springtime. But even if the true experience of spring may be relatively foreign to us Filipinos, the sunny season serves as a reminder to cherish the light especially in times of darkness. The sun won’t shine forever, so let’s embrace it while we can.
When you imagine the morning sun shining on a provincial field, it seems like a world we all want to escape to. Some people have dreams of living off the grid, or just be closer to nature. However, this dream is something that lives on today through harmonious living and the sweet taste of familiarity. Welcome to Sugarlandia: a lush, fertile land where the sun always shines and nature remains the dominant life force. It’s the spiritual home of Don Papa Rum–a place reimagined through A Sweet Sugarlandia Spring, and a state of mind you fall back to with every sip of their flavor-rich cocktails.
Home, sweet home Sugarlandia
Sugarlandia is a timeless place reminiscent of Negros, home to Don Papa Rum’s long, rich-textured finish and flavours. However, Sugarlandia is not the Negros of today, neither is it a literal evocation of the heyday of Negros sugar industry in the 1920s. Rather, Sugarlandia is a state of mind that resides between our vibrant fantasies and stark realities.
It’s home to exotic creatures that populate the terrain, but also home to Papa Isio, a Negros-born leader during the late 19th century Philippine revolution that aided in liberating his homeland from Spanish rule. Initially a foreman at a sugar plantation, his leadership and courage became an inspiration for Don Papa to capture this sense of magic in every bottle. It’s a prime spot for plantations that span as far as the eyes can see, but it is also a prime source of sugarcane–when refined and distilled bestows rich and euphoric flavours. It’s home to Don Papa Rum, but it can be our home, too.
Tradition meets today’s flavors, and it all starts on the field 
A series of rolling drums extract the juices from the sugarcane that serve as the base for Don Papa Rum
So, cheers and take a sip of your newest favorite Don Papa cocktail as you drift away into Sugarlandia and awaken to an unquestionably dazzling array of sights and senses in A Sweet Sugarlandia Spring.
Taste the brighter days to come with these delightful cocktails
Don Papa Rum’s latest global campaign entitled A Sweet Sugarlandia Spring harkens to its Negros roots and adds a dash of whimsy Los Angeles living. The brand’s spring energy was visualized through a photoshoot by acclaimed US-based Filipino photographer Steve Tirona in the wildly stylish rooms of Dawnridge House, a famed home of designer Tony Duquette in Beverly Hills. This is a place where romantic picnics last from noon to night, where cocktails are sipped on terraces bathed in the golden rays of evening sunshine, and where intimate groups of friends revel in laughing and being together once again. It’s hopeful, energetic, and romantic.
Welcome fresh blooms and more hopeful days spent with friends and family with a sip of four new decadent Don Papa cocktails introduced in the campaign. Taking cues from the brand’s DNA of Philippine heritage and Negrense treasures, these concoctions are as dreamy and luscious as the vision of Sugarlandia itself.
Spring is known to usher in new blossoms and color the fields with a sight that brings a different kind of zen. Don Papa’s succulent, sake-imbued Descanso Bloom that takes cues from Pacific fruits and our Asian neighbors for a drink that’s refreshing in body and spirit. In a cocktail shaker, muddle two melon spheres. Add Don Papa Rum, sake, lime juice, and simple syrup. Fill the shaker with ice, close it, shake, and strain into a cocktail glass with half a cup of ice. Spear and garnish with the remaining melon sphere.
Salute the morning sun with Avalon Awakens, a velvety smooth drink inspired by Don Papa’s origins through sweet Filipino staple ingredients and colors. In a cocktail shaker, add Don Papa Rum, pineapple juice, lime juice, velvet falernum, ube syrup, and fill it with ice. Shake and strain into highball glass over ice. Add a vibrant touch of tropical freshness by garnishing with a pineapple wedge.
Straight from the thick overgrowth of Sugarlandia’s forests with a sprinkle of mysticism, Jungle Nectar is a fiery punch as solid as it is bewitching. In a cocktail shaker, muddle jalapeno discs. Add Don Papa Rum, guava nectar, pandan simple syrup, lime juice, and Peychaud’s bitters. Add ice and shake. Strain this into a rocks glass over ice. Finally, top it with ginger ale and garnish with a lime wheel. These exotic array of flavors will surely excite those who seek new experiences.
Taking inspiration from the fresh spring blooms, raise a glass of Botanica Obscura, a floral elixir to truly celebrate a Sweet Sugarlandia Spring. In a cocktail shaker, add Don Papa Rum, lemon juice, hibiscus syrup, and mole bitters. Add ice and shake. Strain into a cocktail glass, and garnish with an edible flower. Shake one up for yourself or for a friend, and drink, dance, and sing your heart out to a new tomorrow.
The fiery Jungle Nectar that is sure to enliven spirits 
Botanica Obscura, a celebratory floral elixir
For the wholeheartedly independent, spirited, and enduring wanderers, spring to a brighter and sweeter tomorrow with Don Papa Rum and let the spirit of Sugarlandia live on.
