While enturire is sweet, it is potent alcohol that can weaken you. PHOTOs/Tonny Mushoborozi
When you visit Kabale or any other major towns in Kigezi and parts of Bunyoro, your contact in the host town is more likely to propose a hangout at a pub that serves enturire than to a conventional pub. You are more likely to find Bakiga conversing and socialising over enturire than over commercial alcohol.
It retails at a higher price than commercial beer, but its consumers let the high price stand in the way. Granted, the Bakiga flock to enturire bars more than they visit conventional bars because enturire is the quintessential Kikiga drink the same way scotch whiskey is Scottish.
But beyond that, people love it for the same reason they love Eagle Extra. It is very potent. You will not have to spend on five drinks before you get flambéed, like in the case of beer. Two drinks are enough to send you home smiling to your waiting woman.
Fermented honey. That is the secret touch that makes enturire so pleasant to the taste. Made from sorghum or millet, the thick, opaque brew is sweetened with fermented honey to give it a wholesome delicious taste that delivers a happy-go-round high that tends to put people in a loving mood.
Healthy libido
The Bakiga swear by this drink. Men sharpen each other’s opinions over it. Women keep it in a secret place next to their marital beds. Young men and women who live in Kampala seek the rare suppliers in the city to have a taste of the treasured drink from home.
Many a couple have fallen in love over a calabash of this drink. Some believe that enturire may be the reason the Bakiga are such a fertile people. Enturire is believed to be an aphrodisiac for both men and women. But could it be?
Well, many women (hey Olivia) who have taken this drink whisper that it did some things to them that align with the idea that it might definitely be an aphrodisiac. Men report feeling, well, you know how men talk about sex. Is there any scientific basis for this belief? As it turns out, yes. And it all comes down to the honey that is added in this drink.
Why people keep coming back for more
Honey is known for increasing sexual desire. It contains some vitamins and minerals that are essential to sexual health and libido. The brew masters in the chilly hilly villages of Kabale may not know this, but the results speak for themselves. Men and women keep coming back for more for the simple reason that it is improving their marriages.
One of the key components in honey is boron, a nutrient believed to regulate hormones. Some nutritional authorities believe that boron can treat erectile dysfunction. (Hey Phil, I have contacts of a supplier in Kampala).
In fact, one research in 2015 showed that just a week of boron supplementation can result in increasing free testosterone levels by 25 percent. Reports also indicate that boron reduces inflammation by half. Why is this important to sexual health? Because inflammation can prevent both men and women from achieving sexual arousal and climax. Honey contains potassium, iron, zinc and folate, all of which contribute to a healthy sex life.
So the belief that enturire may promote a healthy libido may not be too farfetched afterall. It contains large amounts of honey. In fact, the honey flavour is one of the most dominant aspects of this drink.
Tastes nothing like alcohol
But beyond the secret benefits of drinking enturire, people say it tastes amazing. The taste generally tends towards a non-alcoholic beverage, making it welcome to people (mostly women) that would not ordinarily gravitate towards bitter drinks.
That, however, does not mean that it will not slosh your brains out if you are not careful. You, therefore, have to keep reminding yourself that what you are drinking is very potent alcohol even when it does not taste at all like it. If you are seated, you might want to check if you can still stand up after the first half litre. It tends to weaken you in the knees in a way that no other alcohol does.
That pleasant taste lasts through the first few days after the drink has been poured out of the aging pot, which is when the batch is usually consumed. Keeping it longer without refrigeration slowly turns enturire bitter, tasting more and more like regular alcohol. Older men and seasoned drunkards tend to prefer this taste. So if you do not like the sweet taste, age it until it tastes the way you like it.
