Your Next Drink Just Arrived, And It’s Made With Plantain
Greetings from Abura! We’re excited to share a new venture that’s been long overdue…
Welcome to the first edition of The Hi-Life
A new publication serving you the latest from African cocktail culture.
Hey friend, allow me to to reintroduce myself; I’m Kwame, bartender and creator of Abura, and if you’re reading this it can only mean two things:
You make excellent company (not that you didn’t already know); and
You have good taste (I mean, goes without saying).
Besides the obvious, I’d take it further and say you enjoy good drinks and are open to new things, meaning you’re the best guest I could hope to sit at the bar. Whether you’ve tried Abura’s cocktails before or are yet to have a sip, I’ve created The Hi-Life to bring you fresh insights into how Abura, among many others, is defining African cocktail culture.
🧐 Why Hi-Life?
In 1928, Kwame Asare recorded Yaa Amponsah, the first Ghanaian highlife track. With jazzy horns and a distinct two-finger plucking guitar style, Highlife spread rapidly throughout West Africa and beyond, blending with regional influences like funk, disco, and uptempo synths as it moved through the diaspora. Highlife, the musical ancestor to Afrobeats, is a cornerstone of Africa’s global sound.
Abura’s mission is simple: do the same, but with drinks.
😋 Here’s some what of you can expect:
Featured Cocktail : Emerging drinks inspired by Africa, using African ingredients.
Quick Pours : Drops of knowledge for you to gain insight into Africa’s impact in mixology.
AfroBotanica : Your hub for African botany and ingredients, known and new.
Off The Shelf : Bottles we recommend picking up for a taste of Africa.
Bar Beats : A selection of African beats curated for your next imbibe.
Sounds good, right? If this email was forwarded to you, subscribe and join us to discover the latest in African cocktail culture.
Now, to the bar…
Image Credit: Ruby Linton
Plantain Milk Punch
Plantain Rum • Roots Kanela • Vanilla • Lime+ • Coconut Milk Wash
💡Origin - Plantain is iconic. It was the highlight of my Sunday dinners growing up, and now it’s on every African restaurant’s menu. It’s a familiar food to many, but have you ever thought you could drink plantain?
⚡️Logic - Last year, lightning struck the same place twice: Kromanti launched their botanically infused Plantain Rum, Marmalade Collective introducing their DÒDÒ Plantain Rum; I was fortunate to get my hands on both. While very different, they both shine for the same reason: it’s plantain!
I used a blend of both rums for this recipe, married with Malagasy vanilla syrup and a splash of allspice liqueur to raise the sweet and savoury elements of plantain respectively. Balanced with fresh lime juice and ‘washed’ with coconut milk, the result is a clarified cocktail with a straw yellow hue and rounded texture for a silky mouthfeel.
👀 Verdict - I’ll speak plainly: you will love this drink. This is Abura’s calling card, a certified crowd pleaser - yes, you’ll be able to try it soon: we’ve got some exciting events launching this summer, so stay tuned!
Never mix a drink in silence.
It’s our only rule. Curated for your next imbibe.
You’ve reached the bottom of the glass…
… but the drinks don’t have to stop there! You can:
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