• Friday, March 29, 2024
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Mojito, Long Island Iced Tea, others top choice of cocktails at events

Long Island Iced Tea

Nigerian’s love for leisure and entertainment are drawing in Mojito, Long Island Iced Tea, Strawberry Daiquiri, Kiwi delight and Irish Empire as top choices for cocktails at wedding ceremonies, birthday parties and business events.

A cocktail is an alcoholic drink, mixed either with one type of alcohol with juices, as soft drink and other fruits or as multiple alcoholic drinks with juices or ice tea. The cocktail business is under the industry of event management and hospitality. And usually you see bartenders who help to mix cocktails.

According to cocktail vendors and bartenders, the preference for these is due to its sweet and unique taste.

Ayoade  Adesanya, a partner and chief executive officer, Aplusdrinks, said “They are in high demand due to the unique and nice taste it gives.”

Akintunde Shenbanjo, chief executive officer, Chill Park Cocktail & Drinks said that whenever he has an event, his customers would check for his menu list for these drinks and most of the time they would prefer  Mojito and  Long Island Iced Tea and if the drinks are not on the menu, they request for it.

Bartenders say the prices of these drinks usually range from N1, 000-N4, 000.

Cocktail is also any beverage that contains two or more ingredients if at least one of those ingredients contains alcohol. It is said that cocktail was derived from the French word “coquetier”, referring to an eggcup-type measure.

Mojito consists of five ingredients that include sugar or sugarcane juice, lime juice, soda water, mint and white rum. It is best served and consumed in Collins glassware garnished with a sprig of mint and lemon slice.  Although there may not be a very clear history of origin but it is believed that it is one of the first cocktails to have been invented.

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Long Island Iced Tea is a stylish cocktail typically made with vodka, triple sec, tequila, light rum, gin and cola that gives a nice and soothing amber hue. It is generally served in a long highball glass. The cocktail has a much higher concentration of liquor than most of the other popular cocktails.

Strawberry Daiquiri usually served frozen is a classic and popular fruity cocktail that is made with fresh or frozen sweet strawberries, rum, lime juice and some ice.

Drinking is fast becoming fashionable and trendy in today’s world. And many more cocktail businesses are flooding the shores of Lagos and other places in Nigeria.

When you log into Instagram, a social media tool and search for cocktails in Nigeria, you will see the number of displayed colourful and refreshing cocktail drinks its vendors on their pages.

“I think there is a big improvement in the demand for cocktails than in the past as are more young people are going into the business and finding new ways and ingredients to make cocktails available making it both competitive and lucrative,” Shenbanjo said.

“But it is still a young market. We have not scratch the surface that is what the essence or what it takes to be in the cocktail business. I recently came back from South Africa, where I went to learn and upgrade my skills in cocktail learning and it actually helped me to discover a whole lot. South Africa has one of the best schools in cocktail making and bartending,” Shenbanjo further said.

 

BUNMI BAILEY