Dawa

Ingredients

Drink

• 50 mlvodka
• 1lime, cut into quarters or eighths
• 2 tspcaster sugar
• 1 tbsphoney
• crushed ice

Equipment

• a short tumbler
• a wooden muddler
• a honey-coated wooden stick

To serve

• with the honey stick left in the glass

Directions

1. Use a plain wooden stick or a swizzle stick and coat it thickly in honey before it goes in.
2. Cut the lime into quarters or eighths, through the flesh rather than into wheels. Put the lime wedges and sugar in the glass and press them with a muddler.
3. Press and twist rather than pounding, which extracts the juice without shredding the peel. Now the crucial point about muddling citrus.
4. Fill the glass with crushed ice rather than cubes. Crushed ice chills the drink faster and gives the slushy texture a muddled drink should have.
5. Pour the vodka over the crushed ice. A clean neutral vodka is right here, since the drink is about lime and honey rather than the spirit.
6. Add a spoonful of honey to the glass as well as the stick, or rely on the stick alone. Use a real honey with some character, since a bland one disappears against the lime. Honey does not dissolve readily in a cold drink.
7. Stir the drink well with the honey stick before drinking. Serve it immediately with the stick left standing in the glass.

Technique

• Dawa means medicine in Swahili, and it was popularised at Nairobi’s Carnivore.
• The honey stick lets each drinker control their own sweetness.
• Do not over-muddle the lime, since crushed pith turns the drink bitter.

Substitutions

• Gin in place of vodka, which is common.
• Any wooden stick coated in honey.

Variations

• Made with gin.
• Made without alcohol, as lime and honey.
• Lengthened with soda water.

History

Dawa means medicine in Swahili; the drink was popularised at Nairobi’s Carnivore restaurant, where waiters carry honey sticks between tables.

Frequently asked questions

What is Dawa?

Dawa is a cocktail from Kenya: vodka, honey and lime crushed with a honey-coated swizzle stick. Dawa means medicine in Swahili; the drink was popularised at Nairobi’s Carnivore restaurant, where waiters carry honey sticks between tables.

How long does Dawa take to make?

Dawa takes 5 min of preparation and none of cooking. The recipe makes 1 drink. It is rated easy to make.

What can I substitute in Dawa?

Yes, within limits. Gin in place of vodka, which is common. Any wooden stick coated in honey.

What is the most important thing to get right in Dawa?

Cut the lime into quarters or eighths, through the flesh rather than into wheels. Put the lime wedges and sugar in the glass and press them with a muddler.