On a high
with Feni

Goans, generally known for celebrating at the drop of a hat and more often than not with a cheering glass in hand, find their summer particularly exciting, however hot it may be, because the season throws open the floodgates of nostalgia for Goa's magic potion-the famed cashew feni

By Joel D'Souza

The cashew apple literally spirits away every honour bestowed on the bounty of Goa's tropical fruits. Someone sang a song that said that the stain of the cashew apple can be cleansed by no detergent and its heady aroma can never be hidden, the pure feni's call cannot be resisted by its diehard connoisseurs.
The Portuguese brought to Goa the cashew apple, the Latin name for which is Anacardium Occidentale, sometime in the late 16th century. Grow the succulent cashew apples do in abundance in tropical climes the world over but Goa alone has harnessed fruitfully its authentic essence and cultured a singular tradition of converting the strong smelling fruit into a variety of distinctly delicious items as nowhere else. The teeth-cleaving sweet called khottkhottem, wines a refreshing squash and other edibles emerge from the cashew juice. But when the juice is brewed in the earthen tills on Goa's bottle-green hills by the rustic kazkar, the cashew's supremely authentic avtar ascends in the form of inebriating cashew feni and ur'rak.

Tastes have evolved tremendously over the years, with people preferring chilled mineral water from the plastic bottle to the refreshing well water from the mud gurguret, or drinking beer from cans rather than in a glass. But talk of feni and we will still insist on knowing the kolas from which our drink hails, despite a multitude of alluring labels on the sleek hot-drink shop shelves. A connoisseur may settle for a glass of fresh seasonal ur'rak with a dash of lime but when it comes to kajel, as feni is affectionately called, it better be from a well matured lot distilled in the traditional manner.

Goa produces nearly 6 lakh plus bulk litres of cashew feni annually, which means a handsome economic activity, realising a lot of much needed revenue to the State exchequer. Of course, one has to discount a massive amount that is being spirited illegally across the State's boundaries almost daily, to be sold in the neighbouring areas, where feni of any pedigree fetches a high premium. Evidently, the liquor industry is one of the major sources of employment and livelihood in the State.

Traditional Tills
The major, lush green cashew groves adorn the rising, undulating hills of the more rural talukas of Sattari, Ponda, Pernem, Sanguem and Bicholim. Of course, virtually every village in Goa has its own share of hillocks. On each of these one finds the Kazkar the moment the cashew blooms develop into the luscious red or yellow cashew apples. The blooms trigger a lot of behind the scenes activity to corner the auction bids for the larger cashew plantations. (The cashew nut too is also a highly lucrative item.) The bidding begins in December and those who succeed, look out for the traditional kazkar, to obtain the feni straight from where it is distilled, to fuel the burgeoning, highly profitable business.

Some who fail at the bid may even indulge in igniting forest fires. There were a helluva lot of such abrupt mishaps all over Goa this season. V K Naik was arrested for allegedly destroying 1000 cashew trees and causing a loss of around Rs.1 lakh, by setting fire to a cashew plantation at Goa Velha on March 12. On March 24, a sufficiently extensive cashew plantation, belonging to Baba Saheb Rane, was gutted by fire causing a loss of nearly Rs.50,000. And the cases go on about cashew groves going up in flames.

The Ethnic Kazkar
As we trekked up the beaten hilly pathway deeper into the cashew grove, we were welcomed by the unmistakably strong aroma of the cashew apples. At the stone dugout, where the cashew fruits were being emptied by Pramod, his shirtless and hardworking father, Esso Vernekar, was busy de-nutting the apples.
The fruit is rather sparse even as early as mid-March, a time the trees should have been groaning under the weight of the pendant bulbs. Esso ascribes the scanty harvest to the murem (fog) which increased towards the end of February. The kazkars fear the unpredictable fog that eventually destroys the nascent flowers and affects the harvest adversely as it did this season.

"Hence the price of quality feni per kollso (a pot containing 18 litres of feni) has risen from Rs 950 last year to Rs 1000," Esso says. Of course, he talks of his special quality of non-adulterated liquor. "We use pure cashew juice without adding anything else and that is why people come right here to book their order well in advance," he adds. Feni is surely available at much cheaper rate, the quote being commensurate with the quality.

The 58-year-old man belongs to the third generation of Kazkars, plucking the harvest from the aframent of Luis, Tito, Antoninho and Manuel. He recalls that his grandfather sold feni at Rs.3.50 per kollso in 1942. Since the age of 10, Esso has been at it, learning the ropes of traditional feni making. He has been accustomed to watching the peacocks strutting in the blissful isolation of the greenery. "The peacocks begin crying, rather mewing, at 3 am. They spread their beautiful wings and romance around in the small clearing in the woods the moment the sun rays show up," he tells.

Anant Khandeparkar in Sancorda, Gunavati Kunkolkar in Chimbel, Precioso Soares in Loutulim, Jose das Dores D'Souza in Morjim-some of the people known for their pristine feni-seem to reflect the opinion that it is a tough life up in the hills, where the plucking and distilling operations take off by end-February or early March; the season tapers off by April end. The entire family virtually camps out in the hills in a palm-thatched khomp (hut), from where can be heard quite clearly the rooster's call and people beckoning their goats or pigs down in the village below.

Before they leave the cashew groves for home, whether they are rewarded with a rich bounty or not, they celebrate the parting with the wilds with delicious chicken xacuti. City-bound folk should take a walk up the hill to the cashew groves and sample the hospitality of the kazkars, who gladly ply you with delicious niro, the crystal clear, sweet juice which drips after the main juice has flown into the containers, and perhaps freshly roasted cashew nuts too.

Traditional Process
After being plucked from the tree or those fallen underneath the tree, the apples are crushed laboriously with the feet as in the case of thrashing the paddy. It is quite a job calling for not necessarily skill but sufficient strength in the muscle. Having de-juiced the fruit, the remaining pulp is tied up in bundles with vines and a heavy stone kept over it to drain the last drop of juice.

Following three days of fermenting in a mud pot, the juice begins smelling of actual cashew feni; the distillation has to wait until this moment. Any delay, on the other hand, turns it sour. This happens at every traditional till. Of course, at most places, people have recently yielded to the more convenient modern tank, abandoning the delicate mud-pot method. Obviously, the quality of the produce has suffered in the bargain. The traditional distillers say that five large tins of juice go to distill one kollso of ur'rak. For a kollso of feni, two toddpam, a particular grade of ur'rak and two tins of juice are a requisite.

"The upper reaches of the tributaries of the Goan rivers are not polluted but "intoxicated" with the waste of cashew. We do not recycle the stuff as several people do to produce feni throughout the year with the addition of jaggery, yeast and navsagar," Esso told us.

Cheer Up
Alcoholism, of course, has been a curse in Goa, but the bulk of Goans at large believe that any celebration lacks the joie de vivre sans the company of alcohol. The birth of a child is cheered with feni, a death in the family is mourned with feni. Feasts, football, fish and feni are the 'famous four', which go into the making of Goan occasions, at least among the minority community. Feni helps cheer up the spirits, help many to get over depressions and also brings not a few to death's doorsteps with acute liver problems when they drink the spurious stuff.

Feni's glory has been vocalised by Goa's evergreen singer Alfred Rose long ago. In fact, feni has also travelled across the seven seas along with Goemkars, but often hidden in suitcases because it wasn't allowed out. Goa's feni surely reigns supreme among a number of traditional drinks produced in various States, and it is also better than most of the government-recognised Indian Made Foreign Liquors.

Hence the State government has to convince the Centre about the benefits of according recognition to feni and to lift the despicable rating and unfair clubbing, which presently equates a pure, thrice-distilled spirit like feni with worthless hooch and other drinks popular elsewhere.

Several entrepreneurs bottle a variety of feni brands in Goa. However, one needs to take off the hat and salute the pioneers, Madame Rosa, producers of the exotic and high-demand brands of feni. Were it not for their entrepreneurial endeavour Goan feni would have hardly reached the dining tables of five-star resorts like the Taj and others.

The Goa native is no run of the mill brew. "It's thrice-distilled and has a lot of scope if promoted properly. It can be marketed like the famed Tequila," says renowned journalist Ervell E Menezes. Every cashew connoisseur will put forth his own reason why a glass of feni is dearer to him than other drinks. For Menezes, "feni should not be harsh but descend down the throat gently".

A discerning feni adherent, who has traded his favourite feni for any other liquor, is yet to be found. Likewise, he'd never ever rush to the booze counter to buy a bottle of feni. Moreover, the bottle ain't the measure for his purchase. He buys the year's bulk of the traditional kollso. He will travel to his regular kazkar during the cashew harvesting season to book his quota. Like fine scotch, the longer the feni matures the better it tastes. Many persons store it in a mud pot even up to three years at a stretch. Over a quarter century of staunch allegiance to the inebriating brew has brought to bear upon Ervell E Menezes that it's best to allow feni to mature for at least three years.

The massive fraternity of sundown tipplers too prefer the cashew feni to coconut feni. They may not question the man behind the counter from where he has procured the stuff. The tippler gets wiser after he has downed the drink. After bottoms-up, he may not smoke a cigarette or beedi, but he suddenly lights a match, and drops it in the emptied glass. If the blue flame fills the glass and holds on for a while, he flashes a toothy smile to the bar-tender while shuffling out from the taverna.

The Feni Pride
Feni can jolly well hold a prestigious place in the elite 'spirit'ual pantheon, provided, of course, the Goa government takes an initiative to ensure this but how many are aware of the Geographical Indication Act? "Feni is a spirit of cashew and coconut and is made in Goa. We are endeavouring to get it registered under the Geographical Indication Bill, which is likely to be in place within the next four months. We wish to ensure that feni does not go the Basmati way," says Valentino Vaz of the Madame Rosa Distillery.

We in India have failed to appreciate and explore its export potential as a revenue earner. Feni can be an exotic spirit, which can give many other exotic spirits in the world a run for their money. When Goans return to the homeland, they prefer native feni for its ethnic, nostalgic reasons. Foreigners enjoy it. Australia is the latest country which imports "Big Boss" cashew feni. It travels to the Arabian Gulf, UK and Canada too.

Says Toronto-based NRI Tim D'Mello, director of Goacom Infosys Ltd, "It's a typical Goan drink. It has a taste which you have to acquire. It doesn't naturally enhance itself to many as its rather offensive smell tends to put people off." He adds, "When I come down to Goa, I drink only feni and enjoy it thoroughly. My wife is English and she enjoys it as well. But for some unknown reason, it is not the same drink when taken abroad. It just has a different feel and is not as enjoyable as in India. If the smell is removed it may appeal to foreigners too."

Violin and mandolin maestro Emiliano da Cruz, who regularly plays for the guests at the Taj Resorts, enjoys only cashew feni among drinks. He says that he sees foreigners drink and enjoy the drink, particularly in the form of cocktails.

"However, it depends how one presents and introduces feni to a European or someone who has never tasted the stuff earlier. But if for the first time, they are served inferior quality of feni, they will definitely take instant dislike for it."

To Valentino Vaz, of the leading bottlers Madame Rosa Distillery, goes the credit of endeavouring to standardise feni by triple distillation in the traditional mud-pot method to achieve smoothness quality consistency as well as for promoting it globally as an exotic spirit. Vaz and Aniceto Lobo of Oxel have pioneered the bottling of Goa's feni in unique and innovative packing which enhance the appeal not only of the product but the shop shelves too. These are the sole brands of feni, which have been recognised by the five-star resorts so far. PVV's Big Boss, the costliest feni, enjoys a privileged place at the Taj.

Bottling
The major bottlers include Madame Rosa, Real, Cajulana, Lobo and Renco. Madame Rosa, the flagship of wine baron Valentino Vaz, has been spearheading the grit-glued process of brand and image building over the last several years, to bring due credibility to feni. Of course, the market share of the unbottled variety is tremendous and caters to a whole spectrum of varied clientele, right from those who would not accept anything but the thrice-distilled produce from cashew juice to those who can be satisfied with inferior or essence-based brews, which flow unceasingly into the thirstily-waiting, massive market.

Every place in Goa from Canacona to Tirakol produces feni but there is a strong belief among lot of people with a penchant for the superior stuff, that the kazkars in Bardez, generally are reliable as far as quality is concerned.
Goans, the perfect celebratory, summer folk, challenge the sweltering heat with swigs of the potent Goenchi feni, which could otherwise summon beads of sweat on one's brow even in the coldest of climes. That's probably the secret of our gregarious menfolk being able to sport a three-piece cashmere suit and dance graciously to any tune, on any occasion, in any season.

(With inputs from Alister Miranda)

A Feni for Your Thoughts By Mario Miranda As far as I can remember, my earliest 'close encounters with the Feni kind', mainly the caju variety, were when I was five or six years old. My grandmother, Dona Maria Ermelinda Xavier de Miranda, was a firm believer- and rightly so- of the potential medicinal qualities of Feni, which, if I am not mistaken, is Goa's 'national' drink. So if I had a cold or upset tummy, my grandmother would fill a tablespoon with Feni and add a dash of sugar and warm it on a candle flame. I was then made to swallow this warm concoction, which I must admit I did with great relish, and I could feel the warm glow as the liquid slid down my gullet. As I grew up, I began to appreciate the finer points of drinking Feni, which I did at regular intervals during my visits to Goa. However, I must admit that I did not do it for any medicinal reasons. If you are drinking good Feni, you may rest assured that if it's taken in moderation, you will suffer neither hangovers nor any unpleasant side effects. Luckily for me, my friends like Mohandas Naik, P T Coutinho, Bebe Azaredo (well known for his Vinicola products), not to forget Pedro Vicente Vaz and his quaint and colourful bottles. These gentlemen, owners of vast caju plantations, make sure that I am supplied with one or two bottles of the 'real stuff' during the caju season in April and May. Caju Feni is a clear drink, with a distinct aroma of its own. Personally I drink my Feni with soda and lots of ice. Some add a dash of lime to it, while others dilute it with Coke or orange juice. It is strange, but people react to Feni in different ways like when my friend Bertu D'Souza, during his last visit to Goa, went slightly overboard with the Feni and ended up dancing the Bolero with Bozo, my pedigree Boxer. Caju Feni is the ideal base for good cocktails, and my friend Polly Vaz is a master in the art of mixing various ingredients resulting in fabulous cocktails. But he will not share the secret of his success with anyone, least of all, those with a weakness for caju cocktails. The caju fruit was initially brought into India by the Portuguese from Brazil, but as far as caju Feni is concerned, I'm not sure whether it is purely a Goan invention. So, what are you waiting for? Let us drink that!