Feni holds a special place in the Goan culture and society. Families come together and put tremendous effort to produce feni for personal and commercial use. Manu Shrivastava says that the heritage drink that started in Goan homes has come a long way. Feni is gradually gaining popularity among tourists—domestic and international. It is one of the last few enterprises that are still owned and managed by families giving the ‘industry’ a characteristic personal touch.
From March to May every year, a characteristic smell permeates through the air in Goa—of fermenting cashew fruit juice. The intoxicating ‘aroma’ gets stronger as one heads closer to the houses preparing the traditional liquor that has been an integral part of Goan culture and cuisine for more than 400 years—feni.
Feni, incidentally, was the first alcoholic spirit in India accorded the Geographical Indication (GI) status in 2009. This meant the liquor made from cashew fruit can only be called feni if it is made in Goa through the traditional specific process. In 2016, the Goa government introduced an amendment to the state excise duty law elevating feni to the status of a ‘heritage drink.’
In Arambol, a quaint bohemian town in North Goa, the tourist season wraps up by late February or early March, marking the beginning of the feni season. A short diversion from the arterial road tapering down to the beach opens into a forested, hilly settlement. The narrow road is flanked by unevenly-spaced traditional houses with big verandas, clothes drying on jute lines and elderly women seated on parapets cleaning and drying fish. And then, there are houses all the way up the hill in myriad directions. On one open plot abuzz with activity is the Kundaykar family preparing the patch for making feni.
This story is from the August 2020 edition of TerraGreen.
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This story is from the August 2020 edition of TerraGreen.
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