Forget eggnog, Ghanaians sip local drinks at Xmas
ACCRA: Come December and Ghana’s coastal capital, Accra, is abuzz with people celebrating the holidays over a glass of Kokroko, pito or palm wine.
For Ghanaians, it is traditional and locally made drinks that have been resurrected or often given a new twist that are de rigueur during the festive season.
This month is all about “parties, drinking and enjoying”, says artist Tijana Jawarah Ali, sipping a scarlet Kokroko cocktail at a bar in Osu, the beating heart of Accra’s nightlife.
The Kokroko is made with the Ghanaian spirit akpeteshie, a liquor that comes from sugar cane and is common in rural areas but is being repurposed by the glitziest bars and restaurants.
At the Republic Bar, the cocktail is made with crushed ice and sobolo, a drink made from hibiscus leaves.
Co-owner Raja Owusu-Ansah set up the venue in 2012 with the express hope of one day being able to show off local spirits, such as akpeteshie.
When he was growing up, akpeteshie used to be served on special
occasions in Ghana and he said he wanted to bring it into the mainstream.
Artisan akpeteshie distillers now produce the bar’s own brand, relying on local farmers along the coast to supply the sugar cane.
The result is a clear liquid, with a
sweet aroma and flavour, similar to Brazil’s Cachaca, Owusu-Ansah says.
In the nearby harbour city of Tema, Ghanaians battle the heavy festive season traffic to grab a seat at Pito House.
For over three decades at her neighbourhood bar, 67-year-old grandmother Veronica Dakurah has been making her famous pito, a brew from dried sorghum and water.
Pito has substance; it’s not carbonated but has a lingering sour aftertaste.
Dakurah serves her pito in a calabash – a container made out of a hollowed gourd – or serves it in plastic bottles, both in the bar and to take away.
Large iron cauldrons of her brown liquid brew for hours over an open wood and bamboo fire.
Dakurah knows that demand will likely increase as the holidays reach a crescendo and partygoers flock to clubs and beaches to dance under the stars.
John Buabassah, a truck driver working in Tema, regularly comes in for a pito and chats with other people on the simple wooden benches.
He sits with farmer Mamudu Sully and security guard John Acquah who both extoll the virtues of the drink.
“I take pito and I feel strong all the time!” said Acquah, punching the air.