There’s a new drink in town – Orijin and I’m a fan. Orijin…a diminutive of Orijinal, a riff on the word Original. The first time I tried it, there was a steaming bowl of catfish peppersoup set before me at an open-air bush bar type o’ place. We sat on wooden chairs, the moon high...
I love making (more than drinking) liqueurs 🙂 for the tons of flavour they bring to cocktails – sweet cocktails for a sweet tooth. Since I first made vanilla extract, the idea of going further, not only with seeds has taken root. There are a few principles to this: Read before you make – the internet is full of knowledge. If...
…because we have more than Chapman, awesome as it is. We have Zobo, and Tsamiya, Kunnu and more. Isn’t it interesting that most of the drinks I’ve discovered are from the north of Nigeria. That kind of thrills me – most of them are recent discoveries and I’m now thinking of all sorts of combinations. Anyhoo,...
You can do a number of things with both the skin and the flesh, and seeds of the African Star Apple. At the start of my exploration, I didn’t realise how much of the flavour was in and could be extracted from the flesh. The notes below chart my progress with this fruit that can...
As in seriously, trouble not yourself. For if you seek rich and cream, you’ll end up with yuck, the texture of grit and curd. When tamarind syrup meets cream at first, nothing much happens but gravity. I marvel at the gorgeous whirls stirred up just by pouring one drink into another. I get the umbrellas...
or Tamarind Soda, in the manner of Jarritos’s Tamarindo. All that is required is tamarind syrup, topped up with soda water, tonic water or ginger ale. The plain tamarind syrup is nice, but I love the tamarind-ginger version as the flavours are very gingerale’sque. You’ll need ice, a stirrer and an umbrella. Just because. You’ll pour the...
I opted for cold-brewing dried tamarind. I rinsed the pods in water and put them in a jar. Then I topped up with sugar and water and refrigerated overnight. I gave it a few shakes in the course of its rest, to encourage the sugar dissolve and extract some of the earthy flavour of the...
My picky second daughter, R insists this should be the name, and so it is. Agbalu’lade. I had Agbalumo’ade pencilled but…*shrugs*. As this is her new favourite drink, I have no complaints. Believe me, this is like Lemonade but not exactly. If you macerate Agbalumo – add sugar and leave to stand for a few hours, you’ll...
Simple syrups – fundamental sweetness to cocktails and mocktails. And easy to make. What is a simple syrup? The foundation for everything from lemonade to iced tea, your standard simple syrup is a combination of 1 part sugar to 1 part water. For example – 1 cup sugar to 1 cup water, cooked till the...