The toastmaster: Jeffrey Manuel, Goa’s ‘Fenilier’ extraordinaire,
takes guests and invitees on a journey of feni
Starting on April 10, before culminating on April 19 2015, the
Park Hyatt Goa began its celebrations of the legacy of the cashew though a
series of unique experiences and thoughtfully curated events. The Cashew Trail
is an annual event that was conceptualised by Park Hyatt Goa Resort and Spa in
association with Madame Rosa Distillery in 2012.
Taking place during the harvest season, the event traces the
life journey of one of Goa’s most prominent food elements: the cashew. The 2015
edition of the event started on April 10, with a Feni Appreciation Class where
a group of discerning connoisseurs enjoyed the rare collection of the choicest
variants of feni specially presented for the launch of Cashew Trail by Valentino
Vaz and his pioneering distillery Madame Rosa. Together, he and his concern
have been instrumental in promoting Goa’s most beloved beverage, feni, to the
world. Their passion for innovation has earned the Vaz family the reputation of
being ambassadors of this heady spirit.
Mac Vaz, of Madame Rosa, along with his family, celebrates a
new chapter in the feni books as he says, “Lembranca is a new brand that we
will be launching as part of the Cashew Trail at the Park Hyatt. The first
bottle of Lembranca was symbolically handed over to Habiba Miranda, the widow of iconic Goan
cartoonist, Mario Miranda, who designed the signature bottle. Lembranca in
Portuguese means memory or souvenir; in this given case, it refers to a traditional
copper pot distilled feni, which is then charcoal filtered for smoothness and
blended with oak barrel aged feni. All the credit on the feni front must go to
my father, Valentino Vaz, who, for decades has been a key figure in the
journey undertaken to getting feni its place in the world.”
Goa’s iconic event host and compere, Jeffrey Manuel has been
closely associated with what some may refer to as Goa’s version of tequila. At
the Cashew Trail, he has been conferred the title of the first ‘Fenilier’ in
the world. Speaking on the events that unfolded, he says, “I took a select
list of guests and invitees on a journey of feni, through an appreciation
session of some of the freshest urracks and finest fenis from the
casks of the Madame Rosa Distillery. I feel that this is a spirit that can go
shoulder to shoulder with the cognacs of the world.”
In addition to the more ‘spirited’ events, the Cashew Trail also
included a cycling trip that began at dawn, from a cashew fruit
orchard and traditional distilling plant in Valpoi, which eventually ended
at the Park Hyatt, where the cycling journey ended with a true
celebration of the fruit of the cashew tree, through some of the finest
mocktails and cocktails of the cashew.
