Ogogoro is a West African alcoholic drink extracted locally from palm trees often served to guests or consumed in local bars, and at social events in Nigeria. The local gin also has traditional appeal and is used in traditional wedding ceremonies in some regions of the country by fathers of the bride as a form of offering to bless the union of the newlyweds. But Nigerian company Pedro’s, founded by Lola Pedro and Chibu Akukwe, is producing and refining the drink made from palm saps for a broader market. Pedro said she became interested in producing ogogoro in 2013 after spending time in countryside communities in the country. Pedro said she began collecting samples of the gin from different parts of the country and sent them to alcohol distilling experts abroad. She later found a master distiller and launched Pedros’ ogororo in 2018. She describes the gin as Africa’s first premium ogogoro. More than anything else, Pedro says she wants West Africans, particularly Nigerians, to change how they perceive the drink.
SOURCE: CNN
