Naija Diaries: Palm Wine - The Only Alcoholic Drink I Watched My Grandparents Drink

Palmy as they call it back home. Lol.

About a week ago, I told my husband that I would like to have some Palm Wine as I haven't had it in years. I was born in Asaba and spent many school holidays in my village. My husband thinks I am a village girl at heart. I agree with him. Today he came home with some palmy for me. You should have seen my face! I was so elated. One word. Nostalgia.


For those that don't know:
Palm wine is an alcoholic beverage created from the sap of various species of palm trees. Palm wine is known as emu, nkwu, and oguro in Nigeria. The sap is extracted and collected by a tapper. Typically, the sap is collected from the cut flower of the palm tree. A container is fastened to the flower stump to collect the sap. The white liquid that it initially collects tends to be very sweet and non-alcoholic before it is fermented. An alternate method is the felling of the entire tree. Where this is practised, a fire is sometimes lit at the cut end to facilitate the collection of sap. Palm sap begins fermenting immediately after collection, due to natural yeasts in the pores of pot and air (often spurred by residual yeast left in the collecting container). Within two hours, fermentation yields an aromatic wine of up to 4% alcohol content, mildly intoxicating and sweet. The wine may be allowed to ferment longer, up to a day, to yield a stronger, more sour and acidic taste, which some people prefer. Longer fermentation produces vinegar instead of stronger wine.
Palm wine may be distilled to create a stronger drink, which goes by different names depending on the region. Throughout Nigeria, this is commonly called ogogoro.

xoxo