Swank (aka Lime Water)

A tall glass of ice-cold Swank (lime water) (Photo by Cynthia Nelson)

It is still the best thirst quencher apart from water.

Lime + water + sugar = swank. It’s that simple that’s why we call it as we see it: lime water. I always get a good laugh when I think of our practicality when it comes to naming things. We make rice pudding/kheer and because it is rice and the dish is sweet, we call it sweet rice. We make paratha roti and because we brush the dough twice with oil, we call it oil roti. Perhaps the knack for practical naming is borne out by the naming of some of the more familiar streets in the Cummingsburg area in Georgetown: New Market Street simply because it led to the new market. Church Street because it was the primary route used by people to access the St George’s Cathedral (Source: Historic Cummingsburg: National Trust of Guyana).

Swank – this drink in all its simplicity provides many waves of refreshment on a hot day. Heck, who am I kidding, we drink swank any time of the day and regardless of the weather. It is just so good. If there is one thing we always have in our homes, it’s limes. And, of course, this is due in large part to our proclivity to liming and salting every piece of fish and meat. But having limes in the house saves us also if there are no bottled drinks and someone drops by and you want to offer them something more than water. In no time a jug of swank can be made.