TEAM HERALD
teamherald@herald-goa.com
PANJIM: Manuel Afonso, having a small bar near Bicholim market, was till the beginning of March busy selling imported and local drinks. This place alike many other liquor-serving establishments are a must visit for guzzlers with the onset of ‘Urrak’ (first distillate of Cashew fermentation).
This semi-distilled, once removed drink is now much-in-demand this summer. The consumptions go up by 90 percent from mid-March to May end.
“Locals prefer Urrak being best suited summer drink. I purchase pure Urrak from Sattari in bulk. Not only I get in concession but also guarantee of purity as it is directly from the cashew plantations,” Afonso said.
The ‘lighter’ than Feni drink, is also in great demand from the domestic and international tourists who prefer it anytime during the year. Locals however believe that Urrak is the best to ‘beat the heat’ during summer. Afonso boasts that no drinks can sink in better than Goa’s Urrak.
The well distributed cashew trees across Goa produce 24,000 tons of cashew nuts annually. It is learnt that for every one kilo cashew nuts, the apples give 10 litres of juice. Urrak is then made from the first distillate of cashew fragmentation.
Minguel Braganza, Secretary, Botanical Society of Goa terms Urrak as “cooling drink”.
“It serves a purpose. It is cooling and is lighter than Feni even in terms of its smell,” he said. The brew contains 28-34 per cent alcohol content, compared to nearly 40-45 percent alcohol in Feni.
Urrak also fetches good money to bar owners, as they get concession to buy in bulk which means for every 35 litres, they have to pay as low as Rs 1,300. They pay only Rs 30 per litre.
Actually, one bottle is sold at Rs 40 from the distilleries while the same is sold anywhere between Rs 80-100 per bottle in the towns like Mapusa. “They overall earn a profit of 300 per cent,” Braganza added. Urrak is not being bottled and hence cannot be bottled and is also out of excise tax bracket.
