ChickAboutTown

  Living & Lifestyle in East Africa

Konyagi vs. Uganda Waragi

Image Credit: SpiritsReview.com/EABL.com

Not too long ago, I met up for the first time with a reader of this blog who recently relocated to Dar es Salaam from Kampala. Although we had never met before, we found that we had a lot in common including that our parents had completed their graduate studies at the same University in the U.S. (at the same time and knew each other) and that we shared a common friend. Our first encounter was an interesting one where we shared our life stories and spoke about things we could both relate to such as the differences and similarities between life in Uganda and Tanzania. This we discussed at length. Our discussion went as far as to include the spirits produced in each country. My new acquaintance and I were both familiar with Uganda Waragi, the Ugandan spirit, but she had never tasted Konyagi, Uganda Waragi’s Tanzanian counterpart. She asked me how I thought the two compared. That question was the inspiration for this post. Continue reading

Will That Double be Gilbey’s or Gordon’s?

Several GinsYes, I know. I’ve written my share of posts about alcoholic beverages. First, there was the post on rum, then the one about wine, and more recently ones on gin and cocktails.  I write these posts not because alcohol is always on my mind (disputable by some :-) ), but rather because I am fascinated by all the different alcoholic beverages that exist and the even greater variety of drinks that result when you mix these beverages together or with other non-alcoholic beverages. For instance, think about how different a rum and coke is from a vodka and coke, even though both look the same and vary only by the clear spirit used to make each drink. Then compare the latter to a Bloody Mary (a cocktail made of vodka and tomato juice), the difference this time being the mixer used.

Well, that’s all great and good, but today I would like to talk about a difference that is a little more subtle. Imagine making the same drink, say a gin-and-tonic (G&T), and varying the type of gin used. Do you think this difference would be noticeable to anyone other than the greatest connoisseurs of gin? Continue reading

Let’s Talk About Cocktails

Green CocktailIn the comment sections of my posts about Soho’s and Mercury Lounge, some readers and I shared our views on the quality of cocktails served at some of Nairobi‘s most popular bars and nightclubs. In this discussion, Mercury Lounge and Casablanca were named as establishments that were thought to serve good cocktails, while Hidden Agenda and Soho’s came up as places to avoid when in search of a good cocktail. Continue reading

Ethiopian Coffee

coffee beansWhen I was at University, I used to drink cups and cups of coffee. I’d drink coffee during the day to get me through boring lectures (especially when I hadn’t had enough sleep the night before) and at night to keep me awake while studying. It was in those days that I developed my taste for coffee: dark and sweet, preferably with no milk. Continue reading