Agwa, a new liqueur made from coca leaves, is giving Valley barflies a boost

Representatives of Agwa de Bolivia Coca Leaf Liqueur are quick to clarify that the drink does not contain cocaine; they blame the media for the hype. When the drink first appeared in Toronto in 2000, Agwa's maker released a press statement in which Babco International North American Vice President Andrew Stodart said, "Claims that Agwa contains cocaine are false . . . Agwa's cocaine-in-a-bottle reputation did not come from Babco. The coca leaf spirit drink contains no actual cocaine but has been reported to induce a more interesting effect than traditional spirits by consumers and the press in various countries."

• Jamie Peachey

  

• Jamie Peachey

  

  Shady's owner Brad Henrich has created dozens of drink recipes using Agwa.

Details:

Check out bars and restaurants that serve Agwa, and peruse drink recipes.

Subject(s):

Agwa de Bolivia, Babco International

Simultaneously, the marketing campaigns behind Agwa have clearly played off the faux blow angle. Slogans have included "Alco-Jolt," "Melts in your mouth, not in your nose," and "lqdblo." South American natives are said to chew raw coca leaves with lime to release the cocaine alkaloids from the leaf, and many Agwa drink recipes include limes or lime powder. One marketing kit even included an Agwa de Bolivia mirror, vials of lime powder, and straws.

Regional Agwa distributor Rich Naegeli admits the props are as much fun as the drink.

"I have a neighbor that's an ex-Tempe cop," Naegeli says. "And I've got him to where he loves Agwa, and one day he came down to the house and I had the mirror on the table and everything all set out, and he said, 'Rich, what're you doing?' and I said, 'Wanna do a lime with me?'

"And he asked to borrow the mirror because he was having a party with his cop friends and wanted to have the mirror on the table to kind of freak them out.

"That's the fun thing. You can play with it. You can be as bad boy as you want with it, or as innocent as you want with it."

But, no, it won't get you high. Not really.