Traditional Goan Feni

Mention the terms exotic cuisine, relaxed lifestyle, electrifying nightlife, splendid feasts, lively festivals, and beautiful beaches, you’ll be directed to one of the most sought-after holiday destinations in the world, the best in India at least, Goa! Nicknamed as the holiday beach state of India, Goa has emerged as the home to some of the most stunning and finest beaches of the world. All thanks to the sun-kissed and palm-fringed beautiful beaches, this tiny yet striking state is a holidaymaker’s paradise. Right from old-fashioned seafood huts to luxury resorts to beach shacks to trance night parties to supreme tranquility, Goa has them all. So, whenever you are on a long and relaxed vacation to Goa, make sure you witness the marvelous blend of beauty and nature with unique lifestyles here. So be it the unique serenity, flea markets, swaying palm trees, lavish worldwide cuisines, and of course, hot babes, do not take a chance to miss anything at this tiny miraculous land.

 

But before you bid adieu to your dream destination, there’s one thing you must definitely indulge in, as your trip would be sheer incomplete if you haven’t tasted the local brew feni, for which Goa is most celebrated across the globe. It is this native liquor that has made Goa all the more popular across the globe, leave alone the pristine beaches and exotic holidays. What scotch is for Scotland, tequila for Mexico, and champagne for France, is feni for Goa! Interestingly, this local brewed drink is the most favored alcohol amongst all hard drinks offered here. In fact, tourists and visitors carry bottles of feni with them as beautiful remembrances and reminiscence of a wonderful and mesmerizing Goa trip. Such is the warmth of the drink and the pleasure of going on a high offered by feni that you are bound to feel on top of the world after guzzling down a couple sips of it. Also referred to as fenny, fenim or fenni, the term feni has been derived from the word ‘fenn’ which means froth. Steer through the section below to know more about this traditional and strongly aromatic drink.

 

Want to get the real feel of feni and appreciate the real stuff? Hire a cab and make a trip to one of the spice plantations and gulp down some feni ice cold from coconut shells. But beware; do not overdo it as it easily gets over your head. Though feni production is a local industry, but the state has surely picked up the right source to attract hordes of its admirers. This intoxicating locally brewed clear and strong Indian liquor called feni is prepared from either coconut or the juice of the cashew apple. The liquid distilled from the juice of the cashew apple gives you the aromatic and spicy cashew feni, while its coconut counterpart is derived from the toddy collected by toddy tappers from the coconut trees. Cashew feni is the most preferred drink amongst the two due to its flavor, although coconut feni has its own fan following.

 

What is more interesting and exciting is its preparation. While all seems as easy as ordering feni and enjoying its flavor in a coconut shell, preparing a gallon of it undergoes a great deal of hard work and dedication. To start off with making cashew feni, the cashew apples are crushed manually in a coimbi, which is a rock on the hill carved or shaped like a basin with an outlet to let the juice flow down. As the juice passes by the basin, it is collected in a huge earthen pot called Kodem, buried in the ground. When collected in earthen or copper pots, the juice passes through the distillation process, beginning with boiling on firewood. Through the process of vaporization and distillation, the concentrated liquid is collected in a smaller pot which is blended frequently with cold water with a wooden ladle to keep the pressure under control. Such is the aroma and fragrance of the distillation process that you can instantly feel the same run through your nostrils.

 

The entire process of feni production gives you three different products to take pleasure in. The Urrac, the product from first distillation, is light and can be easily consumed neat, though you can enhance its flavor by diluting with some lemon or orange. The product of second distillation is the moderately strong Cazulo, giving you options of guzzling it down neat or in a diluted form, depending upon your resistance of the alimentary tract, though it is not common in markets now. Finally, comes the third product that each tourist or holidaymaker to Goa eagerly waits for - feni. Since Cazulo is no more made, feni is produced after second distillation itself. The higher grade feni is 42% alcohol by volume and is like dynamite, in terms of strength. There are over 4,000 mini traditional distilleries or stills in Goa manufacturing cashew feni and 2,200 such stills making coconut feni. With 75% stills producing cashew feni being located in north Goa and the rest in south Goa, as against 65% stills producing coconut feni in south Goa and remaining in north Goa, it clearly indicates that north Goa flourishes in cashew trees while south Goa is abound in coconut palms.

 

Seat yourself comfortably at a sea-facing tavern with the perfect ambience in the background and experience heaven as you sip Goa’s native liquor and let yourself booze!