Every now and again the pricing on a menu makes you do a double-take, but not because it’s ridiculously affordable or too pricey. Check out the below menu and see if you notice anything interesting. Rum costs less than coke in the Philippines!
Where rum costs less than coke
On the little island of Malapascua, in the Philippines, at Malditos bar, you can order a Rum and Coke for 60 php ($1.43 USD). A double rum-and-coke, with twice the amount of rum, actually costs 50 php (10 php less, $1.19 USD). Huh? Want to drink a triple rum+coke? Good news for you, the price goes down another 10 php to 40 php ($0.95). Amazing. The Coca-Cola is actually much much more expensive than the rum. Obviously we ordered doubles and triples!
It looked like an error so I pointed it out to the bartender, but surprisingly it’s correct. The rest of the menu seems logical, for another 30-40% they’ll make your Gin+Tonic a double or Screwdriver a double.
Sidenote – the rum is predictably not high quality. At $0.95 for the triple rum+coke, I think it’s priced just right.
The Philippines are awesome!
Despite the scary warnings I heard about the Philippines I really LOVED it there! They’re also really bad about keeping schedules (and have a term “Filipino time“). Despite that, it’s beautiful and charming! My favorite island was Boracay – it has a reputation for being too touristy but I didn’t find that to be the case. Here’s a roundup of the top Philippine cuisines.
I loved the wildlife too. Go diving with thresher sharks and meet the smallest primate in the world.