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Roland Francis wrote:
Mervyn,Though no doubt every Goan worth his salt (including
brothers-in-law),when giving you a bottle of traditionally distilled feni
will tell you that his feni was:the most difficult to find given to him by
the distiller as a valued patron the most expensive of the best batch no
additives or preservatives and so on and so forth, my personal experience
as a feni drinker of many years has made me sadly conclude that the fenis
of the past 20 years or more do not merit the name feni.
Cecil Pinto replies:
An exaggeration, but with a slight element of truth.
As Roland writes, it is true that until approximately 20 years back one
could drink Caju Feni most anywhere in Goa and be quite confident that it
was genuine stuff. Adulteration of Caju feni was very rare. Of course there
always has been good and bad Feni but that is a question of taste and
process - not adulteration. A very bad cashew crop in 1987, or thereabouts,
saw some shrewd distillers and bottlers use adulterants in the distillation
process and later. They got away with it and ever since then one can never
be sure if the Caju Feni one consumes is 'pure' or 'impure', unless you
have an absolutely reliable source
-----------
Roland:
In fact true feni aficionados (myself not included) no longer drink the
stuff. They will drink scotch instead and look with an half-amused sneer
when they see overseas Goan falling for "this is the best feni"spiel.
Cecil:
True feni aficionados like myself don't sneer at anyone. To each his own
is our motto, in all matters. But we do spread the word around about good
and bad suppliers and try to educate novices into the pleasures of
savouring a good Caju Feni. An entire chapter in my Caju Feni book is
dedicated to "Sourcing Out & Identifying" good Caju Feni. The process
though, as Roland pointed out, does not end there. One has to cultivate the
supplier into consistently supplying you the same quality and not changing
from season to season or garafaunv to garafaunv. Once a certain loyalty has
been established the quality will remain consistent.
Indian Made Foreign Liquors (IMFL) are like poison compared to a good Caju
Feni. A true feni lover will rather drink Caju Feni of indeterminate
vintage rather than drink premium whiskey, rum, vodka, brandy etc. He might
though be tempted by a good imported Tequila or some Absolut vodka
(Christmas gift hint!). Many Goan drinkers have whiskey (sometimes falsely
referring to any whiskey as Scotch) and it has been proven at various
barroom experiments that in a blind test (after about 3 pegs) they can't
differentiate, to save their lives, between Officer's Choice (yuck!),
Signature (tolerable) and Hiram Walker Special Old Rye (heavenly). Nor do
they know whether they are partaking of a single malt, a blend or a
bourbon. The average Goan whiskey drinker don't know jacksquat about
whiskey but a rather large percentage of die hard Caju Feni lovers can tell
whether a Feni has been made from relatively raw/ripe cashews, distilled
too fast/slow, been stored properly/improperly etc etc. And any Caju
drinker worth his Half-Quarter-and-Soda can tell whether adulterants have
been added at any stage.
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Roland:
However to make the most of a bad situation I will settle for the
commercially bottled "Big Boss" or "Fidalgo". In that vein, I may mention
that I was surfing the net recently for feni in the USA (since it is not
imported in Canada) and came across this site called Goafeni.com. It is
distributed from an importer in California who brings in a brand called
"Kazkar" - for export only. I got my hands on 2 bottles of the stuff and I
find it not so bad. It comes in a milky white opaque well labelled and
presented bottle.
Cecil:
The major Caju Feni brand players here in Goa are "bottlers" who source out
their stock from various distilleries and hence cannot provide consistency
in quality or taste. I will not recommend or condemn individual brands on
this forum but will willingly advice any Caju lover after having met (and
drunk) with him and having been convinced about his genuine love for the
Nectar of the Gods.
But just in passing I would like to mention that Caju Feni made by priests
at some seminaries is certain to be free of adulterants and pretty
consistent in quality every year. As a thumb rule any branded Caju Feni
costing less than Rs. 90/- for a bottle can be safely used for cleaning
toilet bowls - or served to tourists.
My 3-Day Caju Feni Appreciation Workshop was a major success last year with
the co-ed faculty and students indulging in major partying long before the
course concluded.
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Roland:
Will some of our Goenkars - attention my friend Cecil - please tell me the
genesis of the Kazkar feni.
Cecil:
Some two-three years back when they started operations with a website I had
correspondence with the seemingly young and enthusiastic person behind the
venture. I forget his name, nice young man. I will not comment on the
quality of his product on this forum. As I mentioned earlier I am willing
to share secrets gleaned over a life-time only with true fanny lovers.
----------
Roland:
Mervyn, I hope with all this codswallop of mine on the subject of your
feni, you will not place that bottle from your brother-in-law out of bounds
for me tomorrow.
Cecil:
This party looks like its going to be fun. Why cant the annual GoaNetter's
meet in Goa also be something similar? One guy with a big residence hosts
it and everyone brings in some booze or snacks. What say Vivian? The lawns
at your palatial house next year? I will bring enough Caju Feni to
intoxicate not just two dozen GoaNetters but the entire population of New
Vaddem, Succor!
Having said that I just realized its way past my drinking time. Adios!
Cheers!
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