How To Make Nigerian Chapman Drink

How to make the perfect  Nigerian Chapman Drink?

I had lunch with my sister over the weekend and I had ordered a glass of Chapman as one of the drinks. In my mind’s eye the expectation was that of a drink with lots of oranges, cucumber (which I will crunch on as I sipped the drink), a good dose of angostura bitters for flavor and some smack of bitterness from Campari.

What I was served was far from it. I then wondered if Restaurants actually know what the original Chapman recipe tastes like. For some restaurants, anything with a reddish/pink color with sparse fruits and a straw to suck on is fine. By the way you may get loads of water ice cubes, and then you end up sucking on only flavorless water at the end of the drink.

So you see my motivation on setting the records straight on Chapman. I have travelled quite a bit around the world and can authoritatively say that Chapman is a Nigerian drink /Nigerian cocktail. Like we say in Nigeria Chapman is our own origi.

As part of my dietetic internship straight out of the university I had to work in Federal Palace hotel and Bristol hotel (heard it has gone into extinction) both in Lagos. It was at these two places I learnt how to make the real and true Chapman. For those that do not take alcohol, you may wish to skip the Campari and angostura bitters.

The twist I have brought to this recipe is the added flavour of curry leaves and the iced cubes made from the drinks. The cubes guarantee that you will enjoy your drink to the last drop full the flavor of your first sip.

I note that Chapman is always served in big glass mugs locally called “who send you come”. We can enjoy even indulgent drinks like this in small doses. A small mug will not hurt. Enjoy!

 

Recipe for Nigerian Chapman Drink (1 Glass)

1/4 bottle Lacasera drink or Sprite

1 small pack Ribena (black currant)

2-4 tablespoons Campari

2-3 dashes Angostura Bitters

8 pieces Curry leaves or Patmenja leaves

1/4 Orange cut in segments

4-6 slices Cucumber

Method

1. Freeze some of the Lacasera and Ribena in ice cubed trays. These will form the iced cubes. You need about 4-6 ice cubes
2. Chill the remaining Lacasera and Ribena.
3. Cut up the oranges and cucumber into desired shapes. Wash the curry leaves and set aside
4. In a glass put in 1/2 the quantity of fruits and curry leaves at the base .
5. Pour on the Campari , Lacasera and Ribena .
6. Add the remaining fruits and curry leaves
7. Finish off with the iced cubes and the sprinkle on some dash of angostura bitters.

Tip: You will generally find angostura bitters in the sections of shops where wines and drinks are sold. If you cannot find it then you may want to replace it with Bitter Apperito