Drinks of Cape Verde
Cape Verdean drinks range from strong sugarcane grogue to sweet homemade liqueurs and tropical juices, offering a mix of tradition and refreshment.
Cuisine: Savouring the Popular Tastes of Cape Verde
Cuisine born from scarcity and spice, equal parts survival and celebration, now savoured both at home and by visitors lucky enough to sit at Cape Verdean table.
Pontche: The Strong and Sweet Spirit of Cape Verde
Cape Verde may be best known for grogue. Still, its sweeter cousin, pontche, carries an altogether different reputation.
Cape Verdean Beer: Strela and the Islands’ New Craft Wave
A cold Cape Verdean beer bottle lands on the table, its green glass beaded with condensation. On Sal or Santiago, that bottle is almost certainly Strela…
Cape Verdean Drinks
Cape Verdean drinks reflect both the archipelago’s tropical setting and its local ingenuity. The most iconic is grogue — a strong sugarcane spirit distilled traditionally in copper stills, especially on Santo Antão and Santiago. It’s often homemade, unfiltered, and can vary widely in strength and flavour. Grogue also forms the base of pontche, a sweetened liqueur flavoured with lime, coffee, honey, or coconut, often served at social gatherings.
On the islands with limited agriculture, such as Sal, imported drinks are more common. However, local beers like Strela are widely available and well-regarded. Juices from mango, papaya, and tamarind are made fresh in some homes and cafés, while bottled soft drinks and wine — mostly Portuguese — are regular staples.
While traditional drinks like grogue are tied to rural life and local heritage, the drinking culture overall is modest, more sociable than indulgent, and woven into the rhythm of daily and festive life.
The Grogue: From Sugar Cane to the Beautiful Culture
The sugarcane used to make grogue arrived with the Portuguese in the 15th century. It took root in the archipelago and evolved into something distinct.
Pontche: the Sweet Liqueur and its Great Traditions
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Grogue: The Famous, Strong Drink from Cape Verde
Grogue (pronounced “grog”) is to Cape Verde what cachaça is to Brazil or rum is to Jamaica: a sugarcane spirit deeply woven into the social fabric.