African Cocktail and Spirits Culture Gets a Fresh Spotlight

According to Richie Barrow, general manager of food and beverage at Nairobi’s Hero Bar, it’s perhaps because the rest of the world has oversaturated their markets and ideas. 

“When it comes to Africa, there’s still a huge amount of untapped talent, a huge amount of unknowns coming up,” says Barrow. “The market is still quite young. The population is incredibly young. So I think there’s a lot of excitement and innovation that’s going to come from Africa.”

Africa’s unique spirits production

As interest grows in Africa’s cocktail culture, spirits producers have emerged to cater to its relatively untapped luxury spirit market. These brands incorporate African ingredients to not only produce distinctive spirits but also challenge Eurocentric views about alcohol. Africans have been brewing palm wine, maize/sorghum beer, tejj (mead), and banana beer for ages. 

One such enterprise is Spearhead Spirits Company, launched in 2019. Co-founders Chris Frederick and Damola Timeyin noticed the lack of African spirits in bars, so they sought to create one that could appeal beyond its shores. 

Their Bayab Gin quickly became a global success, especially in the U.S. Much of its appeal comes from the use of African botanicals like baobab, marula, and palm pineapple — flavors not normally found in gin. Its uniqueness and focus on African heritage and culture make this gin distinctive in a predominantly white spirits industry.

“If you go to several African countries, there will be spirits, products, and brands that were made on the continent, in the continent, but [they’re] relatively small scale and very rarely rooting outside of the continent,” says Timeyin. “We felt that Africa is obviously a massive place with a lot of interesting and incredible cultures, but hadn’t necessarily received the attention it deserved on the world stage as it pertains to the spirits industry.”

Bayab’s success sparked a portfolio for Spearhead that now includes an array of flavored gins: Burnt Orange, African Rose, and Palm and Pineapple. There’s also Vusa Vodka, made with African sugarcane, Sango made with wild African agave, and Mansas, a newly released African whiskey.

Frederick and Timeyin are excited about other African spirits being introduced to the world. 

“Some fantastic brands are coming out of the continent,” says Timeyin “Pedro’s is a Nigerian product. Ogogoro is what we call it in Nigeria. It’s a palm-based spirit. There are other gins that we love, like Procera Gin. We love the fact that we are fortunate not to be the only ones making a bit of a name for African spirits.”

Pedro’s, founded by Lola Pedro and Chibu Akukwe, has slowly found success outside Africa with its premium Ogogoro. There was some initial resistance to the indigenous African spirit, which has an illicit reputation that stems from colonization. The brand’s mission is to reverse this stigma and celebrate local culture. 

Lola Pedro says that education and awareness are crucial to introduce Ogogoro to a worldwide audience. She aims to focus on its authenticity and cultural pride. Despite challenges in distribution and perceptions, the brand is gaining traction. 

She feels that people have begun to look toward African spirits for several reasons, despite many being unfamiliar with the indigenous spirits or drinks produced in Africa for generations. 

“You have conversations in Europe about niche boozes like aquavit or amaro, yet in this entire continent of 1.4 billion people, no one can mention one indigenous spirit,” says Pedro. “I think the flip of that is some people have a curiosity as a result of what we do. We have this spirit that’s indigenous. It’s not an African gin or an African rum or an African take on [another spirit]. This is an indigenously African spirit. I think that really gets people who are genuinely interested in what is new or what is different, curious about what we’re doing.”

Timeyin is excited about the growing recognition of the continent’s spirits and the prospect of using alcohol to tell Africa’s story. 

“Africa is now being exhibited in a world of spirits, and it’s a magnificent thing,” says Timeyin. “I’ve seen Africa and African culture come through in entertainment, music, fashion, and food. So it feels only right that the world of beverages and spirits has an opportunity to tell its story. 

“We love the fact that many brands from the continent [are] starting to shout louder about who they are, why they exist, and demonstrate the quality of the continent and what we can deliver in a bottle.”