Moses ‘Drybone’ Onyah, the president of the Ghana Drunkards Association, has lamented the high cost of living, which has affected the price of akpeteshie.
Mr Moses and his association spoke at length with Berla Mundi on the Day Show. They showed off the various herbal-infused alcoholic beverages and named some uses of these drinks.
“This is one tot of unadulterated akpeteshie, normally it used to be 50 pesewas, but it’s now Ghc2.00,” Moses Drybone explained.
He also took Ms Mundi to their makeshift bar, where he described each drink and what goes into making it.
“This is where we have all the various kinds of herbs mixed with bitters. This place is called the council of elders. Originally, we registered as Beverage Consumers of Alcohol.
“This is popularly known as Orekodo (It’s going well) made from mahogany and other herbs. This other one is also tiger nuts, negro pepper and other roots. This one is called Awoba (you have given birth). This one is neem tree with akpeteshie, but the alcohol percentage level is 38%. The normal bitters on the market are 42%, but we have reduced it to 38%.”
Akpeteshie is a homebrewed alcoholic spirit distilled from palm wine or sugar cane juice in Ghana and other African countries.
According to Moses Drybone, people should not stop taking alcohol. He listed some benefits of alcohol whilst cautioning against excessive drinking.
“Some of the bitters cure malaria. If people stop drinking, there will be a lot of unemployment in this country. Moderate drinking is very healthy because it helps your health, especially for people with kidney disorders. One bottle of beer per week helps the kidney.”
Source: 3news.com