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Slake your thirst this Yuletide with these top Quenchers

What you need to know:

  • Christmas more than at any time of the year, cooking for friends and family is the order of the day in most households and what would food be without libations?

‘Leaded or unleaded’ that is the question one would ask one’s guest invited over for a Christmas repast. 

‘Leaded or unleaded’ in local parlance, we would say during my drinking days in the Big Apple back in the 60’s, asked the bartender at a grill shack owned by a Jamaican chap by the name of Ruthven. Indeed in local parlance, ‘leaded’ refers to a gin spiked coconut punch called sky juice. On the other had ‘unleaded’ describes the same drink made sans the gin.

Christmas more than at any time of the year, cooking for friends and family is the order of the day in most households and what would food be without libations? We are of the view that inasmuch as Uganda’s climate is so favorably inclined, the barbecue format offers an ideal opportunity to impress your guests. Speaking of climate, it reminds me of what my dad used to say, “Uganda is permanently air-conditioned!” Regardless, barbecue or not, you will still need to plan for drinks; so do by all means check out what we have on hand.

There is no doubt you can work up an enormous thirst when grilling, and all the more so due to the fact that you are outdoors, standing next to a powerful heat source. Not forgetting that the food that comes off the grill demands a full-flavored libation that matches the smoky taste of the fire. A Brazilian Barbie without an icy pitcher of Brazilian Daiquiris (caipirinhas) made with cane spirits and lime would be essential. Or a Caribbean cookout minus Planter’s Punch.

LEADEDMADRID-STYLE SANGRIA

• 1 BOTTLE DRY RED WINE

• 1 CUP GIN

• 1 CUP Cognac

• 1 cup sugar, or more to taste

• 2 whole lemons

• 2 whole yellow oranges

• ½ cup fresh lemon juice

• ½ cup fresh orange juice

• 3 cinnamon sticks (each 3 inches)

• Ice cubes, for serving

Combine the wine, gin, Cognac, and 1 cup sugar in a pitcher and stir until the sugar has dissolved. Cut the peel, including the white pith, off the lemon and orange, exposing the flesh which you should cut into ¼ inch pieces making sure to discard any seeds.

Stir the diced fruit, fruit juices, and cinnamon sticks into the wine mixture. Taste for sweetness adding sugar to taste. 

Serve the sangria in wine glasses over

PLANTER’S PUNCH

• 1 cup dark rum

• 1 cup fresh orange juice

• 1 cup unsweetened pineapple juice

• 1 cup guava nectar

• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

• 2 tablespoons sugar, or more to taste

• ½ teaspoon Angostura bitters

• ½ vanilla bean, split

• 2 cinnamon sticks (each 3 inches)

• 2 whole cloves

• Ice cubes, for serving

FOR GARNISH:

•4 Orange slices

• 4 maraschino cherries with stems

• Fresh ground nutmeg

Combine the rum, orange juice, pineapple juice, guava nectar, lime juice, guava and bitters in a pitcher and stir until the sugar is dissolved. Add the vanilla bean, cinnamon sticks, and the cloves. Let the punch steep, covered, in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours or as long as a couple of days.

Stain the punch into tumblers filled with ice. Garnish each glass with an orange slice and a maraschino cherry. Grate some nutmeg over each serving and serve at once.

FRONTERA MARGARITA

• 1 ¾ cups tequila

• ¼ cup orange liqueur

• 1 cup drinking water

• ½ cup fresh lime juice

• 1 teaspoon finely grated lime zest

• 1/3 cup sugar

• ¼ cup coarse sea salt

• 8 lime wedges, for garnish

• 3 to 4 cups ice cubes for serving

The morning before you plan to serve the Margaritas, combine the tequila, orange liqueur, drinking water, lime juice and zest, and the sugar in a pitcher. Stir to dissolve the sugar and then let the mixture steep in the fridge covered for at least 6 hours.

Spread the salt in a shallow dish. Rub the rims of 8 martini glasses with cut side of a lime wedge and dip each glass rim in the salt, shaking off the excess. Add the ice to the Margaritas into the prepared glasses. Drop a lime wedge into each glass and serve at once. 

UNLEADED

GINGER PINEAPPLE PUNCH

Gingere Ananas (a popular Senegalese drink) 

• 2 pieces fresh ginger

• 3 cups diced fresh pineapples

• 3 tablespoons sugar or more to taste

• 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice

• 4 cups cold drinking water

• Ice, for serving

Cut the ginger into ¼ inch slices and then combine with the pineapple, 3 tablespoons sugar or to taste, the lime juice and the water in a blender or food processor and process until smooth. 

Strain this liquid into a pitcher, pressing the pulp against the strainer with te back of a spoon to extract al the juice. Taste and correct seasoning then pour into tall glasses over ice and serve at once,

PEANUT PUNCH

• ½ cup creamy peanut butter

½ cup condensed milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract1

1 teaspoon Angostura bitters

4 cups drinking water

Ice cubes for serving

1, Combine the peanut butter, condensed milk, vanilla, bitters and the drinking water in a pitcher and whisk until the peanut butter is dissolved and serve at once.

MANGO NECTAR

• 2 cups diced ripe mango

• 2 cups drinking water or more as needed

• 2 tablespoons sugar or more to taste

• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice or more to taste

• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice or more to taste

• Ice cubes for serving.


Combine the mango, 2 cups water and 2 tablespoons each of sugar and lime juice in a blender or food processor and process until smooth, add the water as needed to thin the punch to the desired consistency as well as adding sugar and lime juice to taste. Pour into tall glasses over ice and serve at once.