Did someone say "Dry January "???

by Ufo Aka January 14, 2020

We know it is 'dry January' but after all the alcohol we consumed over Christmas, it was only right to do a blog about alcohol!

South Africa is known, loved and celebrated for its array of wines so we thought we would skip the vino this time round and go straight to the hard stuff. Also, outside of South African wine, not much is really documented about African alcoholic beverages. So here is our contribution!

Akpeteshie, koutoukou, sodabi, ogogoro. Whatever you call it, this African beverage has been an important feature in African life for centuries. From weddings to births, funerals to religious ceremonies, this African moonshine, despite several efforts over the centuries by colonial and post-colonial governments, remains very popular by locals.

Traditional and easily accessible ingredients in unhygienic settings can result in potentially lethal outcomes

Sadly, adulterated forms of local brew have over time compromised the integrity of truly authentic African alcoholic beverages. Aside from the varying degrees of sanitation, these illicit traditional breweries are often replacing ingredients with products such as methanol, jet fuel, embalming fuel and battery fluid to supplement the alcohol.

Detecting contamination in these home brews is an expensive and complex task. The relative cheapness (15 pence) in comparison to international brands is especially attractive to people from low income communities - which is often where these breweries and distilleries operate from, often densely populated slums or isolated communities.

As a result, native liquor has proved so problematic in some countries that several of them -namely Uganda, Ivory Coast and Nigeria - have, had to impose bans to curb the number of fatalities.

While some argue that bans on traditionally made alcohol stifle cultural preservation, other individuals have used this as an opportunity to improve the manufacturing process and thus public image of this west African alcoholic beverage - as you will see below.

Several of the drinks we have listed below are local variations of sadabi / koutoukou / ogogoro with a modern twist, either through the distillation process or by the type of ingredients used.

Think of ogogoro/ koutoukou / sodabi as the cute big sister of a sugar cane style gin.

Confused? Good! Go try it yourself.

Here is our rundown:

Pedro's - Nigeria

The name Pedro isn't the first name that springs to mind when thinking of 'Nigerian' names but Pedro's Ogogoro is definitely a name we should get familiar with. Branding itself as "premium ogogoro" is something which was unheard of in the past- similar to the concept of African luxury, but look at us, It's 2020 and we have ourselves a quintessential premium African drink!

Ogogoro is Nigeria's moonshine, a local brew made from the sap of a particular palm tree - the raffia palm. Ogogoro has always been a huge money maker- even during the colonial period when it was banned to favour imported western goods. This was mainly due to its relative cheapness compared to imported drinks. The making of ogogoro is still prohibited largely due to the hygiene concerns around distilling and the monitoring of alcoholic content.

Insert Pedro's Ogogoro, riding on a unicorn to save the day.

Give it a go, tell us what you think!

Caliendi - Togo

Fun fact: Caliendi won the 2019 packaging design award.

Founded by a mom and son duo of Togolese extraction, Caliendi is a type of sodabi made with dates and and secret blend of spices. And its these spices that give Caliendi its distinctive taste.

Beautifully packaged, Caliendi hope's to provide a premium sodabi for a premium sodabi palate.

Aside from its beautiful packaging, the Caliendi team also has a strong socio-economic focus and try to ensure transparency in sourcing ingredients.

King of Soto - Benin Republic

Launched in 2014 by female entrepreneur Manel Adekambi, King of Soto aims to be the African rum and describes itself as a traditional liquor with a twist.

And we can see why given King of Soto comes in various exotic flavours, tapping into the array of fruits available on the continent such as mango, papaya and pineapple.

Matured for 6 months to develop a full flavour and produced in small batches due to the seasonal nature of the fruits used, this rum is becoming increasingly popular in bars across Benin Republic and its neighbours.

We will switch gears a little and explore the non-sodabe/ koutoukou/ogogoro alcoholic beverages we are quite fond of on the Continent.

1000 Hills Distillery - Rwanda

1000 Hills distillery is a Kigali based distillery - no surprise Rwanda is leading the way in enterprise and innovation with their export promotion council being active participants in promoting local produce.

What makes 1000 hills particularly unique is their social impact vision; they work with international development agencies to adequately train farmers, they use the methanol by-product to make affordable mosquito repellent and let's not forget the 1.5 million litres of rainwater they use in manufacturing.

1000 Hills distillery makes whisky, rum and gin in a variety of flavours (currently 7) and are always looking for more liquors to add to their repertoire - the current crazy is the macadamia nut liquor.

Dala / Dala XO - Nigeria

The African star apple, also known as the agbalumo, Abiu, Caimoto, Alasa and udala/ Udara fruit is a very popular west African and south American fruit with a strong sweet/tangy balance- similar to the passion fruit in that respect. So it's no surprise the guys at xyz have created the Dala and big sister, Dala XO.
It's a liquor made from locally sourced and seasonal Udala fruit.

Founded in 2009, the team behind the Dala use a "method of hybrid distillation" to create a truly unique product from a very special fruit.
The African star apple being a very seasonal fruit, we'd say it's pretty handy this fruit is now available all year round in the form of Dala.

Amarula - South Africa

People often say, 'If you like Baileys, you'll love Amarula' and we can understand why.

You'll often see clips on YouTube of elephants, monkeys and giraffes eating a fermented fruit and subsequently rolling around on the ground drunk (see here)- that's the same fruit used to make Amarula.

Made from the Marula fruit, this sweet, creamy liquor has garnered a cult following, with its distinct compl4x and creamy taste and with that sort of description, you can see why it is often called the 'African Baileys'.

If you happen to have an adventurous palate, a few UK retailers now stock the beloved Amarula.

Now, there is a very good explanation for why there is very little on northern African alcoholic beverages. North Africa isn't known for its drinking culture primarily due to the fact that it is a Muslim dominated region.

While it is sold in various countries where tourists play a key role in the economy (think Morocco, Egypt, Tunisia), public displays of alcohol consumption is not permitted. Rules are even stricter during religious holidays.

However, we have been able to find one native liquor from North Africa. Ladies and gentlemen, let me introduce you to...

Mahia - Morocco

Mahia is a locally made Moroccan (and Tunisian) alcoholic beverage made from fermented dates or figs with a touch of aniseed. Mahia is an Arabic word which literally translates to 'Water of life'.

Traditionally, this drink was produced by the thriving Jewish community in these regions who have unfortunately reduced in numbers significantly and migrated over the last 60 years to other countries. However one family who migrated to the United States is reviving this Moroccan drink. Updating an old family recipe, David and Dorit Nahmias come from a line of master distillers from the Taznakht region of Morocco who are hoping to reintroduce Mahia not just to Moroccans but the world at large.

What we have learnt from this drink excursion is that there are several African made alcoholic beverages which we can support and experiment with.... and that borders when it comes to food and drink are redundant - especially in Africa.

Food and drink remains unifying force in Africa - unless of course, we bring up whose jollof rice is better!