Words by Adelle Christa Anne Feliz G. Vega
MAKATI, PHILIPPINES – As our schedules come to a close, we all become reflections of the full-bodied Cabernet we sip. We quietly pause, in need of rest within our own little bottles until we can be truly ready to pour ourselves out there all over again. And similar to even the most complex of wines, we get thoroughly pressed and would all just like to take some sweet time off.
Cloaked between the compounds of Chino Roces is a bar where isolation was thoughtfully intended. The Bevvy at Don Revy sets you aside from it all – dimly-lit along an alley as though lifted from an Arthur Conan Doyle book. A gritty building with a bank and laundry shop apparently homes a bespoke European-inspired bar that we have all been too restless to notice. The humble signages are there — like breadcrumbs — leading to a brick wall with a double-panel door and a single window, enough for a tease into the bar table and wine racks. Inside, the disorienting two-way traffic of Chino Roces suddenly goes on mute and transitions to ambient music and the generous pouring of wine. You simply find your place in the bar, alongside patrons who have already found theirs. In this part of the central business district, quality time is as pure as the alcohol being served.
The drinks are just as unconventional as the hunt for the hidden bar. They have the world’s original golden beer, Pilsner Urquell and a surprisingly light dark beer, Kozel Dark from the Czech Republic as well as Crabbie’s Alcoholic Ginger Beer from Scotland, and the stylish Peroni Nastro Azzuro from Italy — certainly not the generic beers we expect. The wines hail from Australia, Chile, France, Italy, Spain, New Zealand, and South Africa with ‘Pebble Lane’ (from New Zealand) and ‘Elderton’ (from Australia) being the patron favorites. The spirits oppose the common line-ups in the metro too. We never imagined we’d encounter a rum called Dead Man’s Fingers (in Coconut, Coffee, and Spiced flavors) and the up-and-coming Peaky Blinder spirits collection. Being surrounded by bottles with unfamiliar decals adds to the thrill of the setting, like being in on a secret you were never supposed to know. As it turns out, being stranded in Chino Roces is not so bad when the flood is intoxicating.
It makes perfect sense for The Bevvy to have this much liquid ammunition because the space was initially meant to be a stockroom for their beverage distribution house brand Don Revy. Since 2012, Don Revy has been committed to bringing together what’s new and what’s next in the world of beverages — endlessly exciting us with every toss, whether from a longneck beer bottle or a Pinot Noir wine glass. Knowing that we are drinking straight from the source makes the seclusion even more provocative.
And just like wines, we mature — along with our alcohol tolerance, the crowds we vibe with, and our drinking spaces of choice. The Bevvy by Don Revy is the secret club you’ve been wanting to be a part of ever since the first bottle of wine you successfully opened with a corkscrew. After all, “Bevvy” literally means a session of drinking. The best part: you don’t even have to bring your own bottle.
