The (Smiling) Happy Horse of Red Horse Beer!

I thought it was all wild talk when I first heard about it: the smiling/happy horse of the local Red Horse beer. But I encountered David, a tourist from Germany who I met in Manila telling me about that particular happy horse again, which he said he saw in Palawan during his visit there. That encounter was in August 2008.

Then in October (2008), two months after, I visited the Callao cave in Peñablanca, Cagayan for the second time. We stayed at the government-run Callao Resort. We ordered beer, and lo and behold, there it was: the red horse beer bottle with the smiling horse on it! We all quickly took turns inspecting it and found that the red horse bottle with the happy horse image had a red print for its text. And instead of the words "Experience that distinctive full-flavored taste and extra satisfying strength of a world-class premium strong beer," it merely states "FOR THAT DISTINCT FULL-FLAVORED TASTE" written in all capital texts. And where the regular Red Horse image had sharper features, the happy Red Horse image is plumpier, and its mane, a mere series of lines. I was told by my beer buddies that night that there is one such bottle of happy horse for every dozen of such beers. They said the bottle with the smiling red horse image also has the strongest brew, hence it makes you happier, too, at the quickest time. Hmm. I drank it but I did not experience any difference in both taste and effect. Oh well, at least I have photos here as proof of that encounter with the Happy Horse. Yes, it is not a story full of horsesh_t, after all. Hehe :)