Agwa De Bolivia is the only coca liqueur in the world! It can be enjoyed straight, as a long drink or in a cocktail.

Coca leaves haven’t had the most reputable image, being associated mostly with the drug cocaine, but with their history as an ingredient in the old formula of coca-cola, it is perhaps unsurprising that one day they would find their way back into something drinkable. And this one definitely has a buzz!

What is it?

The coca leaves are picked above 2000m in the Andes and packed in to bales, before being swiftly shipped to Amsterdam to be immediately macerated. This liquid is then pot distilled to around 80% depending on the leaf. After resting it is forwarded to a second facility where 36 other natural herbs and botanicals are added, including; Green Tea, African Mint, Lavender and Cucumber.

The taste is rounded out to create the most complex blend of flavours, handcrafted by one of the World’s master blenders. The final stage is to reduce it to 30% ABV with the pure, neutral grain spirit, water, lime juice and sugars. The natural green colour is augmented with colouring before being rested and testing pre-bottling.

Neat tasting notes: this is very sweet, herbal with a lot of anise and caraway to start but you are then left with mint and chilli notes as a lasting impression. For a product that may not be a runaway success neat, it bears surprisingly well when mixing.

Recommended Serve: Bite into a lime wedge, then drink a shot of Agwa. Taste the sweetness and herbal flavours offsetting the sour lime.

I was first introduced to Agwa back in my student days in an “Agwa Bomb” – a shot of Agwa floating on top of Red Bull in a specially designed glass. The result was a shot immediately chased by Red Bull in one drinking motion. It’s certainly an energising drink, and tasted far nicer than a Jaeger Bomb. TASTE cocktails of course would recommend you always mix your ingredients into something even better…

Check out our Mojito Kit and try this unique liqueur in a home-made Bolivian Mojito: