After spending N700 to taste the much talked about Obi Cubana’s Odogwu bitters, the disappointment took me to memory lane and I remembered Swedish Bitters.
Swedish Bitters, is the first most popular Bitters to enter Nigerian market and held grounds, dominated the market.
It was seen more as a medicine than what we think and know of Bitters today in Nigeria. Nigerian bitters are not consumed for any medicinal purposes but consumed purely with the hope that it will help the drinkers sexual appetite and performance.
Swedish Bitters claimed to cure a large number of ailments, and to aid digestion.
According to Wikipedia, the following herbs are used to brew Swedish Bitters with aloe as major ingredient and water extract of the following herbs: angelica root ,camphor,carline thistle root, manna ,myrrh, rhubarb root, saffron, senna, theriac venetian (a mixture of many herbs and other substances), zedoary root.
Most Bitters in Nigeria, do not have half of the above herbs as part of its ingredients.
With the awakening of nationalist spirit in West Africa, many countries started promoting their native herbs soaked in ethanol to rival and push Swedish Bitters out of the market,
All the Bitters in Nigeria, claim to improve manpower, treat erectile dysfunction and poor libido in both men and women. Their greatest selling point is the claim that they delay ejaculation. They all have a low end size, targeted at the poor and usually sold in dark green plastic or sachets. This makes them easy to hawk and display in and around motor parks, near night clubs and around construction sites.
Most bitters in Nigeria, do not tell consumers what are the herbs they soaked in alcohol.
The first low level Bitters to enter Nigerian market after years of dominance by Swedish Bitters, is Alomo Bitters.
Alomo is made in Ghana. It was greatly consumed but the inability to check adulteration, led to many fakes in the market and this affected its fortune and dominance.
Some of Bitters in Nigerian market are; Jekomo, Action Bitters, Erujeje, 1960 Rootz, Baby Oku, Bajinotu Poka, Koboko and Orijin.
They have different level of alcohol but they also claim to be aphrodisiac to assist those in need.
The recent entrant, Odogwu is also herbs soaked in alcohol. Most people will taste it because it is associated with Obi Cubana not because of the bogus claims in most of its adverts online. But after the first taste, will they buy again? I know I won’t, or recommend it to anyone except for experiment sake.
Can Odogwu compete against Orijin the current most popular bitters on the street?
Odogwu claims that carefully selected herbs, honey and ginger are soaked in alcohol to produce it. Unlike Orijin that listed its ingredients on the bottle, Odogwu does not.
Most of its adverts making rounds in the internet, portrays it as an aphrodisiac, to help erection and nothing more.
It is ginger spicy, smooth like licking tom-tom and drinking Arabian tea. The producers should tone down its honey content.
We tried some bottles, apart from the highness, our libido was not gingered oh.
What about igboya. Is it a bitter or purely alcohol.