Feni (liquor)

Feni (sometimes spelled fenny or fenim) is a spirit produced exclusively in Goa, India. There are two types of feni; cashew feni and toddy palm feni, depending on the original ingredient. The small batch distillation of feni has a fundamental effect on its final character; still retaining some of the delicate aromatics, congeners and flavour elements of the juice from which it was produced.

Feni is classified as a "country liquor", and is therefore not allowed to be sold outside the state of Goa.

The word feni is derived from the Sanskrit word phena ("froth"); this is thought to be because of the bubbles that form a light froth when the liquor is shaken in a bottle or poured into a glass. It is generally accepted that coconut feni was produced before and then followed to adapt the same procedure for distilling the exotic cashew fruit. Coconut palms are abundant along the coastline of Western India and Goa, whereas the cashew tree was an exotic species brought by the Portuguese to India. There is ambiguity about when and who started distilling fermented juice into a spirit.

The feni consumed in South Goa is generally of a higher alcohol content (43-45% abv) as compared to the feni produced in North Goa. Commercially packaged feni is available at 42.8% abv.

In the traditional method of making cashew feni, only tree ripened cashew apples that have fallen are picked and taken for the crush. The cashew apples are de-seeded and then dropped into the stomping area. This area is called a "colmbi" and is usually a rock cut into a basin shape. The cashew apples are stomped to release the juice. Stomping has now gradually been replaced by the use of a press called a pingre (cage). The pulp is then hand-pattied into small mounds traditionally using a particular vine, nudi, which is snaked around it to hold it together while a heavy weight (typically a boulder) is placed on top. The juice produced through this process is known as neero, and is refreshing to drink. The fresh neero is traditionally in a large earthen pot called a kodem, which is buried halfway in the ground and left while the juice ferments for several days. Delicate earthen kodem have now been replaced by plastic drums for the sake of practicality. The juice is then allowed to sit for three days as it ferments. No artificial yeast or nutrients are added to hasten the process.

Cashew feni is distilled employing the traditional pot, which is still practiced. A traditional distilling feni is still known as a bhatti. The use of an earthen pot as the boiling pot has now been replaced with copper pots, both known by the same name bhann. The distillate is collected in an earthen pot called a launni. The tradition of cold water being continuously poured on the launni to condense the distillate has now been replaced by immersing a coil in cold water.

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