It takes a combination of skill, honesty and ingenuity to make a spirit that has the
power of putting a tiny coastal state on the map as a serious player in the
alcho-bev segment. In Goa’s case, Feni is proud to have done just that. Since
centuries, the bracingly crisp, awesomely fragrant, explosively fruity and
spicy spirit was a ‘Goa postcard’ in a bottle. Aficionados swooned and the
discerning wax eloquent.
Over the last couple of years, new Feni
brands have been making a big splash into the competitive alcohol retail
shelves and bar counters. Family owned enterprises like Rhea Distilleries
(Henriques family from Verna), Heritage Distillers (Bhakta Family from Mapusa),
Madame Rosa (Vaz Family from Mapusa), Haldancar family from Valpoi and Vaz
Liquor Industries (Vaz Family from Margao) have been at the forefront of this
‘spirited’ revolution.
They have displayed the desire to raise
standards to craft Feni that is unafraid of pushing the envelope.“We aren’t
here to compete with the dime-a-dozen, bargain Feni in those plastic bottles
that flood the wine shops; it’s time we boast about the world’s most exotic spirit
– Premium Feni – be it a bottle of Cashew or Coconut Feni,” says Hansel Vaz an
industry stakeholder.
And at the upcoming Spirit of Goa
festival, some of these brands are about to introduce, what they believe are,
products that are not only in sync with the market demands but will also give
the market something it has never seen before. The essence of this initiative
is to try and increase the bandwidth for Feni.
For instance, Cazcar will be launching a
new Ready to Drink alcoholic beverage for the first time, a historic leap for
Feni, given that it sets a precedent.“With the aim of bringing Feni on par with
international alcohol products and proving the acceptability of Feni as a great
drink, we are now launching ‘Feni Freezer’, a Ready to Drink (RDT),” says
Gurudatta Bhakta of the Cazcar group.
Giving Feni a new twist will be ‘Rhea’s
Harmony’, a cashew Feni perfectly blended with cinnamon and honey. This new
launch will be available for tasting at the festival, along with an array of
attractive and tasty cocktails using the award-winning Fidalgo Premium Cashew
Feni. “‘Rhea’ has given Feni a different dimension by ageing it in oak casks, a
feature of most of the International premium spirits. Thereby giving it a
distinctive character with rich aromas, a smooth palate and a golden colour,”
says Regan Henriques of Rhea Distilleries. Fidalgo Premium, a smooth tasting
cashew Feni from the prestigious Rhea Distilleries, has won several awards for
its quality at various International Spirits Competitions.
Cazulo Premium Feni, besides showcasing
their Cashew and Coconut Feni, will be launching South Goa’s best kept secret
and long time classic Cazulo Premium Dukshiri, a Coconut Feni that is craft
distilled with the roots of the Indian Sarsaparilla or ‘Dukshiri’, as they say
in Konkani. “This root has widely been employed in Ayurveda to make a tonic.
The brilliance of our ancestors in Goa was to make it into a beautiful Feni!
However, we do not ascribe our ‘Dukshiri’ Feni for any remedy; we prescribe it
as a truly exotic spirit from Goa. It’s got beautiful pronounced earthy tones
and strong vanilla flavours that marry very well with Coconut Feni. The trick
is in the distillation, where roots of the creeper are distilled with the first
distillate of coconut toddy or ‘mollop’. A ‘mollop’ is equivalent to what one
would call a ‘urrack’. It was a real task trying to identify the creeper, then
to dig out the deep roots before finally preceding to processing it to be ready
for distillation. Connecting all the dots is the challenge, and that’s why no
one has ever attempted to commercially make this traditional variant of Coconut
Feni,” says Hansel Vaz of Cazulo Premium Feni. Cazulo has always been at the
forefront with their Feni cocktail revolution, their cocktails featuring some
must try funky Feni cocktails.
Cazcar will be showcasing the traditional method of ‘Launi’
distillation. “‘Launi’ is the century-old process that we cherish and
commercially bottle. The masala is fifteen types of condiments and herbs used
during distillation. The fermentation technology of Cazcar, using native
microbes for infused fermentation, is under patent. This method brings out the
fruity flavour of cashew, which is exclusive to our products,” adds Gurudatta.
The distillery maintains the century old traditional method of hand crafted
distillery process, semi and modern equipments in hygienic and environment
friendly conditions.
Cazulo, on the other hand, will be focusing on Coconut Feni at
the festival. Cazulo brand ambassador Karl Fernandes will be conducting two
workshops for industry professionals as well as lay people on how Feni can be a
really easy and fun product to use. Karl is a highly respected industry
professional. “We are very serious about taking Feni to the world. We realise
that even in its home state, Feni is a forgotten drink in almost all five star
or resort properties. Even local restaurants ought to be able to use Feni in
more contemporary cocktails. We want to demystify the haze around Feni and make
everyone realise that it’s simple and great fun to use with,” adds Hansel.
Mac Vaz, whose company Madame Rosa Distillery first kindled the
Global positioning of Feni and also initiated the Geographical indication
registration; states, “I am glad that the Government of Goa, especially the
Excise and Tourism Department, are being proactive in our vision to protect and
promote this asset of Goa. I must compliment Menino D’Souza, Director,
Department of Tourism, for believing and walking the talk.”
The Goa Cashew Feni Distillers and Bottlers Association follows
the mission, ‘Take Feni to the world’, while strengthening and reinforcing the
very objective of the people of Goa-Toursim, by developing a promotional plan
to attract tourists with the greatest propensity and interest to visit Goa.
While the past years has seen steady growth in the production and curiosity of
Feni in Goa, the Association believes that the time is ripe to better educate
the consumer through experience; and the Feni experience is a crucial component
to the future success of both, the Feni and Tourism industry, while directly
benefiting the people of Goa. The Association has reached out to the various
government departments to realise, understand and appreciate how Goa could
emerge as the world’s top exotic spirit tourism destination; and is also
grateful to all the government agencies concerned for their support.
“The season has started late and if the climate keeps good, then
we can reach last year’s crop, if not it will be less by 15 to 20%,” said
Gurudatta, while speaking about the season. While expressing hope, that the
Feni industry will the potential it has in the seasons to come with regard to
domestic and international markets; Gurudatta, the president of the
association, also thanked the Tourism Minister Manohar Azgaonkar, for keeping
his promise of promoting the ‘Spirit of Goa’.
Furthermore,
in addition to Goa Feni obtaining Geographical Indication (GI) status, the
Indian Council for Agricultural Research (ICAR) has now begun the procedure to
patent the process of manufacturing Feni. “The process to be patented involves
the system followed to manufacture Feni, right from plucking of cashew apple to
bottling of the brewed final product. To get it patented, the process should be
unique to the Feni manufactured in Goa, ICAR Goa Director Dr NP Singh had
stated to news agencies earlier.