Physico-Chemical Analysis of Locally Brewed Gin - Ogogoro

The consumption of Nigeria?s locally brewed gin has long been part of the cultural fabric of its society. Howbeit, there has been no contemporary investigation on its content, production process and associated safety. The objective of this study is to investigate the production of locally brewed gin, identify and quantify its constituents. To accomplish this, a quantitative laboratory analysis of samples from 3 sources was undertaken. Analytical methods include use of spectrophotometry for nitrates, trimetric method for chloride, pyonometer for impurities water and alcohol. It was found that that local dry gin (Ogogoro) has a high alcoholic content as evidenced by values of up to 91%, varying amounts of additives nitrates copper, chloride and lead. It also found that the production process involves extraction of resource material call palm sap, fermentation and repeated distillation using an improvised distillery. It is recommended that Nigeria government and other regulatory agencies such as the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) should collaborate and build the capacity of local distillers to improve the production process, quality and safety of Ogogoro.