Dawa Cocktail Recipe
Vodka poured over crushed lime and sugar, with a honey-coated stick left in the glass to sweeten it as you drink.
- Category: Popular
- Glass: Old fashioned glass
- ABV: 18%
- Difficulty: Easy
- Prep time: ~3 min
Ingredients
- Vodka50 ml (1.7 oz)
- Lime, halved and cut into wedges1 piece
- Honey2 tsp
- Brown sugar1 tsp
How to Make It
- Muddle the lime wedges with the brown sugar in a short tumbler until the juice and oils release.
- Fill the glass with crushed ice and pour the vodka over the top.
- Stir well, until the outside of the glass frosts over.
- Dip a wooden stick in the honey and stand it in the drink, so every stir sweetens it a little more.
Garnish
A honey-coated wooden stick and a lime wedge
What it tastes like
The sweetness is pronounced, it smells of lemon and lime peel and it drinks cool and easy.
The technique
Muddling. Fruit, herbs or sugar get pressed at the bottom of the glass. With leaves like mint the goal is to press, not to shred: two or three pushes is plenty, more releases chlorophyll and turns the drink grassy and bitter. Sugar and firm fruit, on the other hand, really do get crushed.
Glass and ice
A heavy-bottomed, wide old fashioned glass. Wide enough for one large cube, which is the point: a big cube has less surface area, so the drink gets cold without getting watery.
Ingredient notes and substitutes
- Vodka
- Vodka brings body and alcohol rather than flavour; its job is to get out of the way of everything else. Which is why, in a vodka drink, how fresh the juice is matters far more than the brand.
- Honey
- Honey will not disperse in a cold liquid; turn it into a syrup first, three parts honey to one part hot water. Dark honeys bury the spirit's aroma — a pale one is safer.
The Story
Dawa means 'medicine' in Swahili, and the drink made its name in Nairobi's restaurants and bars; its muddled lime-and-sugar build echoes the caipirinha, but the honey-coated stick standing in the glass is entirely its own.
Frequently asked questions
- How is a Dawa mixed?
- It is muddled and served in an old fashioned glass.
- How strong is a Dawa?
- Roughly 18% ABV as served — in fortified-wine territory — plan it as a single drink.
- Can a Dawa be made without alcohol?
- Simply leaving the spirit out does not work — the body and the bitterness go with it. The 86 alcohol-free recipes in the catalogue are built to hit that balance from the start.
- Is a Dawa hard to make?
- Easy. No bar kit required — a measure, ice and a jar will do.
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Alcoholic drink recipes are intended for those aged 18 and over. Please drink responsibly.