An Ode to Calabasa Spirits

Ode is drawn to how people across the African diaspora are reinterpreting heritage through contemporary gastronomy — a question that feels personal to us, shaped in part by our own Nigerian founder's relationship to culture, perception, and experience.

Calabasa lives inside that same question. It takes a spirit that exists across West Africa under many names — Akpeteshie in Ghana, Ògógóró in Nigeria, Sodabi in Benin and Togo — and carries the whole lineage into one bottle, without asking any single nation to stand in for the tradition.

We wanted a spirit at Raison d'Être that guests would encounter honestly, before a label could tell them how to feel about it.

At Raison d’Être

All guests will taste Calabasa as part of the City Loop exploring taste, memory, and story.

What to Notice

The vessel: The bottle's form draws from the calabash fruit, historically used as a drinking vessel for palm beverages across West Africa and the Caribbean.

The handwork: Each neck adornment is hand-woven by artisans in Accra, taking roughly two hours per piece.

The category: Palm spirit carries many regional names and centuries of practice. Calabasa introduces guests to a tradition far larger than any single bottle.

City Loop · Taste Mapping · Pattern Recognition

Taste

Sight

About

Created by Tobi Ojuri and Kwabena Asante, Calabasa is a UK-based premium drinks brand with a mission to change the face of palm spirit in the African diaspora and across West Africa. "Rooted in tradition and distilled for the world," Calabasa represents culture, craftsmanship and the future of premium African-made goods. It's a celebration of heritage and a reclamation of ancient traditions. The first of its kind.

Explore Calabasa Spirits →