FOUR AFRICAN-INSPIRED COCKTAILS TO WARM COCKLES OF YOUR HEART

South Africa: The Walker Smash       

Our journey starts at the most southerly tip continent. The Cape of Good Hope. It is here that Sabrina Traubner has crafted a truly South African whisky cocktail, she calls “The Walker Smash”. No prizes for guessing that it contains Johnnie Walker, but what is the unique South African ingredient, you ask? Well, that would be the infusion of Mrs Balls Chutney, something of a national treasure for her people. For those who are not familiar with chutney, it’s a condiment blend of minced dried fruit and onion which delivers the perfect blend of savoury and sweet flavours to your food. In the case of this cocktail, it adds those contrasting flavours, giving the drink a sense of depth, while also complementing the smoky caramel flavours of Johnnie Walker Black.

RECIPE

•     50ml Johnnie Walker Black

•     30ml Mrs Balls Fruit Chutney Syrup

•     25ml Fresh Lemon Juice

•     3 dashes Angostura Bitters

•               Handful of Mint

Alcohol content : 15.80g

PREPARATION

Glass:      Rocks/Tumbler

Method: Shake & Fine                                                                                                              Strain

Garnish: Dried Lemon Wheel & a mint sprig

Uganda: The Forbidden Fruit

Famous for its Mountains of The Moon, Uganda’s natural beauty is sure to captivate every visitor. But even if you can’t board a plane to savour a taste of Uganda, relax, because we’ve found the perfect drink from Kampala that does exactly that. Exotically named: The Forbidden Fruit!

Bright Pimundu from the famous Alchemist Kitchen & Bar is the creator of this gin cocktail, and what particularly excites him about this recipe is the infusion of Guanabana cordial.

In his own words: “Guanabana is a fruit that’s locally available but largely ignored by bartenders in cocktail creation. Using this fruit shows our innovative approach to mixology and giving our consumers a unique flavour experience with every cocktail we serve.”

RECIPE

•     50ml Tanqueray London Dry Gin

•     50ml Clarified Guanabana

•     25ml Lemon Juice

•     25ml Simple Syrup

•     25ml Aquafaba

Alcohol content : 16.99g

PREPARATION

Glass:      Tumbler/Short Glass

Method: Muddle & Shake

•        Add alligator pepper seeds into a cocktail shaker and muddle to pulverize

•        Measure and pour the rest of the ingredients, add ice and shake

•        Double strain into a glass filled with ice

• Garnish with a lime wheel and alligator pepper seeds

Kenya: The Avobado

Wildlife, the Rift Valley, the noble Masai warriors. When most people dream of Africa, Kenya is sure to spring to mind. Now you can bring a little piece of Kenya to your customers with this little cocktail classic called the Avobabo! As you’ve probably surmised, Avocado is the featured local ingredient. One thing you probably don’t know is that the popular and plucky green fruit is Kenya’s biggest agri-export; its skin has been used by the local women for centuries to smoothen skin and encourage hair growth. As for its role in this vodka mix, we’ll let creator, Francis Ndung’u explain: “The Avocado cordial adds an earthy, grassy and nutty fresh flavour to the cocktail.”

RECIPE

•     Avocado Cordial* 50ml

•     Ketel One vodka 50ml

•     Lime Juice 20ml

•     Soda Water 50ml

*The avocado cordial is made from 500g castor sugar, 500ml water, citric acid 20g, avocado 200g. Method: in a large pan put 500ml of water bring it to a boil thenintroduce the 500g castor sugar and citric acid at once, stir until it dissolves then introduce the avocado, cook in slow heat while muddling the avocado. Remove from heat and let it cool. After cooling, filter the cordial through a

cheese cloth then store the cordial in the refrigerator. Alcohol content : 15.80g

PREPARATION

Glass: Highball glass

•     Fill the highball glass ¾ with ice cubes

•     Pour the Avocado cordial, Ketel One vodka and lime juice

•     Top up with soda water

•     Garnish with a deep-fried avocado strip on top

Nigeria: The Sharms

Our drinkspiration journey through Africa is almost complete. For our last instalment, we look to Nigeria. In the midst of the bustling, bubbling streets of Lagos, one mixologist has created a recipe that uses a local pepper to bring a bit of heat and spice to the smokiness of Johnnie Walker Red Label. Gbenle Olawale Shalom from South Eatery & Social house on Victoria Island was inspired by his manager (of Mexican origin) to experiment with more spicy ingredients in his cocktails. Using the seeds from the alligator pepper, which grows indigenously in Nigeria, Shalom muddles and muddles them in with lime and ginger juices, together with some syrup and bitters, and finally some Johnnie Red to top it all off.

RECIPE

•     50ml Johnnie Walker Red Label

•     12.5ml Lime Juice

•     12.5ml Ginger Juice

•     30ml Simple Syrup

•     1 Dash Angostura Bitter

•               1 Bar Spoon Alligator Pepper Seeds

Alcohol content : 15.80g

PREPARATION

Glass:      Tumbler/Short Glass

Method: Muddle & Shake

•        Add alligator pepper seeds into a cocktail shaker and muddle to pulverize

•        Measure and pour the rest of the ingredients, add ice and shake

•        Double strain into a glass filled with ice

•                       Garnish with a lime wheel and alligator pepper seeds