Often misinterpreted as a gin knockoff, the West African spirit ògógóró is being reclaimed by a new Nigerian distiller (via punch_drink)
, a Brazilian spirit that was first made by enslaved Africans on Portuguese-owned sugar plantations, the physical and intellectual labor of West Africans built the foundations of the spirit industry.
With the introduction of Pedro’s, the once-illicit spirit is now a backbar staple, cocktail mixer and, importantly, an example of what it means to decolonize spirits.By 1 p.m. on that day back in 2015, Lola had made it to Sapele, Delta State, two and a half hours south from where she had first encountered the clear spirit indigenous to the region—but foreign to her. In Sapele, the spirit is fondly calledwho had heard about the woman asking for ògógóró.
Although widely consumed, the spirit’s source is less straightforward. Ògógóró’s reputation as a moonshine has relegated its production to the rural trenches of the country, where it is made crudely—and, oftentimes, dangerously. Regular raids on informal distillation setups are why hustlers like T are enlisted: to keep the law, and curiosity, away.,
in charge of leading the way through the backwaters of River Ethiope that flow through the city and into the deep forest. Over the next year, T would arrange Lola’s safe passage to and from the furtive bushes where she spent weeks at a time cooking and distilling ògógóró. She would follow the spirit from the palm tree tappers that sourced the primary ingredient—palm wine—to the women who staffed most of the distillation operations.
These defining experiences, facilitated by T, stretched across Sapele, Warri and Patani , and would eventually culminate in Pedro’s microdistillery, which opened in Lagos in 2017. There, guests gather at a carved wooden table where pours—served neat or with lime and soda water—are accompanied by food pairings: shaved coconut flakes; a lightly battered fish, called
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