*DISCERNING DISTILLED DARU* Stephen Dias, Dona Paula
To dispel all fears about liquors manufactured in Goa, it is to be guaranteed that there is no adulteration of liquor in Goa officially. However, to the discerning connoisseur we wish to inform you that except for a few brands, only cashew feni and coconut feni are actually distilled from cashew apples and coconut sap. In fact most of the brands of cashew feni and coconut feni distilled in the traditional way although not mentioned on the label are genuine liquors. It is pertinent to note that now cashew feni has been accorded Geographical Indication (GI) which means that it is now certified that Goa is the cradle of feni and thus the source of origin of cashew feni is Goa. As regards to the manufacture of whisky, rum, brandy, vodka and gin it may be emphasized here that most of these Indian Made Foreign Liquors (IMFLs) are not distilled but are blended by using ethyl alcohol known as Rectified Spirit (RS), Neutral Alcohol (NA) or Extra Neutral Alcohol (ENA) which is distilled from molasses obtained from the production and manufacturing of sugar. Molasses is subjected to fermentation and then the ethyl alcohol obtained is blended into whisky, rum, brandy, vodka and gin by using concentrated essences and then mixed with caramel to impart colour and made up to 42.8 percent alcohol which corresponds to 75ᶹ UP (under proof). Quality Control for the various alcoholic beverages (IMFLs) is supposed to conform to Bureau of Indian Standard (BIS) certified parameters. To set doubts at rest it may be revealed that alcohol obtained from molasses such as RS, NA and ENA are at least 96% of ethyl alcohol and do not even contain traces of methyl alcohol which is supposed to be extremely harmful to health. Thus all blended alcohols are safe for consumption. Obtaining whisky, rum, brandy, gin and vodka by fermentation and then distillation is a costly process and thus only imported liquors which are very pricey are genuine malt, scotch or grain-based beverages. So if a connoisseur is looking out for genuine liquors, then be certain that except for cashew feni and coconut feni all other liquors that are fermented and then distilled are of foreign origin. In fact, due to lack of legislation and inspection in India, we do not have different labels indicating fermented and distilled liquors to distinguish from blended liquors. It would be advisable for India to categorize IMFLs as being fermented and distilled or blended so as to inform the consumer. However, as far as wines are concerned, in Goa we have blended as well as fermented wines. The price difference is usually very large between the blended wines and the fermented wines from actual grape juice. As far as beers are concerned, all beers in India as well as imported ones are brewed and thus genuine. Stephen Dias Dona Paula date: 7th Nov 2017