JZ [Alongside that interest in Goa's cheaper rates, a lot of people also discovered caju feni. For a certain type of drinker, it was just what the lord had ordered; two shots and oblivion was guaranteed.]
CP
That must be a very frail drinker Joseph is referring to. Two shots of Caju Feni take one to a warm place. 3 Half-Quarters (6 pegs) takes one closer to the Supreme Being. You become one with the Universe!!!
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JZ [Speaking for myself, in the many years I was out of Goa, I have also had the occasional caju feni, more in nostalgia, than anything else. It's a lousy drink, it stinks, you stink for two days afterwards as the feni comes out with your body sweat, and, well, I've never liked it.]
CP
Perhaps Joseph should change his bathing and hygiene habits and get his nose checked. If he doesn't like Caju Feni that is his prerogative, but to call it 'lousy' is sacrilege.
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JZ [I would prefer a good whiskey or beer and I've had my share (minuscule actually) of Grand Cru Champagnes, single malts and all that, and have learnt to appreciate the finer things in life.]
CP
How nice to know that Joseph appreciates the 'finer things in life'. I guess we Caju lovers are ghanvtis who will never reach that higher level.
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JZ [Relocating to Goa, for a while I continued in the same vein (no caju feni!). Gradually, occasionally, I would have a shot or two of caju feni, with other visitors or long-lost friends, the drinking revolving around the nostalgia. Every time I would drink caju feni, I would feel slightly sick, and being sharply sensitive about such things, realized -- with dismay -- that most of the caju feni was simply bad booze. Which was how I ended up trying to find a good caju feni. I must confess that the cheapness of caju feni was also a factor.]
CP
And there lies the difference. Anyone thinking they can get good unadulterated Caju Feni retail for Rs. 40/- a bottle is living in a fool's paradise.
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JZ [About a year and a half later, I had to abandon my hunt with a greatly battered liver, which hopefully is well on its way to recovery.]
CP Anything in excess is dangerous.
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JZ [I'm convinced there's no such thing as good caju feni, which could compare with, say, a good bottle of Tequila or whiskey. The reasons are very simple.]
CP
Another example of our fascination with the West? If tomorrow Feni was served in the top hotels of the world and toasted as the new 'happening' drink would the reaction be different? At one time Tequila was considered vile. Through aggressive branding and marketing it is now considered desirable.
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JZ [But I shall go step by step. The hunt for a good caju feni, of course, began with the friendly neighbourhood bar. Sometimes the caju feni would smell 'pure'; sometimes the acrid and acid taste would have all but obliterated the fragrance of the fruit. After a few weeks of this, I went to the next bar. The bar-man there took one look at me, a Goan was not in Goa for many years, bent down behind his counter, audibly mixed the caju with something else, and then with a flourish gave me the bottle. "This is very strong caju," he said. "Very forte". It was adulterated to give that knock out punch, and so I passed on the bottle to the neighbourhood drunkards. I've had versions of this incident repeated even in well-known restaurants (no names), where they regularly mix in Coconut Feni with the caju feni every time I try to pick up some.]
CP
Too bad for Joseph. It has become very fashionable among the uninitiated amateur Caju drinkers to consider any variation as having a mixture of Palm Fenny. Little do they know about all the minor factors that affect the bouquet of a good Caju Feni.
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JZ [This is all done because they think an 'outsider' is not aware of caju feni. Which is true as far as it goes. After a while, if you try, as I did, you know what caju feni tastes like, as compared to Coconut Feni. Occasionally, I would get some so-called 'good caju feni', courtesy some well-meaning acquaintance. The good, of course, meant that it was not adulterated per se.]
CP
Serious Caju connoisseurs know that the hunt for good Caju is a process requiring skills and dedication.
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JZ [After a while, for the safety of my own (precious) liver, I decided to focus the hunt on only the packaged, branded, bottled caju fenis. Here too the experience has been greatly disappointing, and today I have reached the stage where I don't drink caju feni anymore, just like always. Some of the brands, of course, have been better than the others. Occasionally, a bottle has been good, which shows no consistency in the brand.]
CP
This statement is true of only certain brands that are bottled for the idiot tourist market. There are many brands that maintain a consistency in their quality by sourcing their liquid from one distillery only. I too will not mention names.
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JZ [I've also had occasion to watch the cashew plantations, caju gathers, the crushing, the distilling, many times, and it is not difficult to see why there is no good caju Feni. Starting with the fruit. There is no sorting of the fruit into, say, fully ripe, slightly ripe, slightly damaged, fallen fruits, etc. Everything is gathered together, crushed together, the juice extracted and left to ferment with some cheap fermenting agent, many times in freshly painted drums. To use an analogy, that would be like making a fish curry with fresh fish, rotten fish, discarded fish, dry fish, etc. Good alcohol needs a certain temperature, much below boiling point, for good quality distilling. In the rush to produce as much caju feni as possible, so as to make a small profit, such niceties are thrown to the wind. The worst part happens with the storage of the caju feni that is finally produced. Much of it is stored in badly maintained drums, gallons which are never cleaned and other containers. It is considered a matter of pride to store the caju feni in the glass garrafaos and clay pots, both of which at times turn the caju feni into vinegar. Why isn't anybody storing the caju feni in wooden barrels which will absorb some of the bitter smell and taste, two of the biggest turn-offs in caju feni? ]
CP
Caju ripeness, temperature and storage are just three factors. There are dozens of others that Joseph is obviously not aware of. Little knowledge....
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JZ [Hasn't anybody, for example, been to the Indage plant at Nashik, which has temperature controlled storage tanks? Of the so-called best caju feni that I've had, the closest it would be possible to compare it with would be Cognac; it produces a nice uplifting warmth. But you don't wake up the next day with a good feeling. And, in fact, it's very painful to see so many of my co-villagers suffering from severe liver ailments as a result of the lousy caju feni that is being sold in the villages.]
CP
Again I repeat that all things have to be had in moderation. Even excessive consumption of the best Indage wines will result dirty hangovers and liver ailments.
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JZ [Then there is Urrak, the smell of which practically pervades all Goan villages at this time of year. Urrak also has its plus points, and good Urrak is a great drink, comparable, say, with Beaujolais. But not all Urrak is good and it's affected by the same factors as caju feni, because Urrak is made from the left over fruit after the juice has been extracted for Feni.]
CP
I wish Joseph would not make such sweeping statements based on half baked knowledge and very little actual ground research.
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JZ [I feel that it is possible to produce good quality caju feni if the basic process of fruit harvesting, juicing, distilling and storing are made more hygienic. Today the prices of liquor in Goa are about comparable with other states, so the old attraction is no longer there. ]
CP
Sorry to inform Joseph that lots good Caju is made in Goa and consumed by people in the know. Joseph is not one of them. Too bad for him.
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JZ [Now if only caju feni were not to stink so much and damage your liver the way it does, it would be possible to raise a toast to it.]
CP
Some few years back the Vaz entrepreneurs (Madame Rosa) from Mapusa had sent Caju Feni to a famous distillery/lab in Europe to try and remove the aroma (not stink!). The Master Distiller managed this but also informed them that the aroma is a vital part of the character of a liquor and removing (or camouflaging) it would be killing it.
------- JZ The writer can be contacted via email jzuzarte at rediffmail.com
CP
The knowledgeable can be contacted at cpinto at sancharnet.in. I have been assigned by a national level publication to write the 'definitive' piece on Caju Feni for the consumer (distilling, sourcing, storage, consuming, appreciating). Until my comprehensive research is complete I will not go about bandying half truths about Caju Feni. Nor tolerate other doing so.
Cheers!
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