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The Fabled Pour
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Country

Kenya

I have one sourced drink connected to Kenya. The label on each card says how: where it began, what the country is known for, what people drink there, or where the origin is disputed.

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Kenya on the world map. Boundaries are generalized Natural Earth data.

Drinks of Kenya

Signature drinks and regional ones, with the evidence behind each. A drink marked non-alcoholic has no alcohol in the traditional serve.

  • Illustration of Dawa: clear vodka lightly cloudy from crushed lime pulp, with a little honey swirled in, in a short rocks glass.

    Dawa

    Nairobi, now found across Kenya

    IconicSignature drink

    A short drink built in a rocks glass. Lime quarters are muddled with sugar, the glass is filled with crushed ice and about 2 oz of vodka, and a wooden dawa stick dipped in honey is used to stir and crush the lime. The honey acts as a light sweetener.

    The name is Swahili for medicine. The popularly told story places its creation at the Carnivore restaurant in Langata, Nairobi, as a vodka take on the caipirinha after bartenders tired of cachaca hangovers, and a landlord who asked for another called it his dawa. No fetched source gives a year, and one travel writer says Kenyans call it the national drink.

    Made with: vodka, lime, sugar, honey, crushed ice.

    Confidence: mediumEvidence: explorepartsunknown.com (opens in a new tab), africanlegacy.org.za (opens in a new tab), wanderlustandlipstick.com (opens in a new tab)

Map data: Natural Earth, public domain.