🥃 Feni

Feni is a spirit from the Indian state of Goa, obtained by distilling the fermented juice of cashew apples (the fleshy stalks of the cashew) or coconut toddy. The name Feni has been registered in India as a geographical indication since 2009, and its specification is built around cashew: double distillation of juice from fruit that has fallen on its own.

Application No. 120 was filed on 19 December 2007 by the Goa Cashew Feni Distillers and Bottlers Association and the state government's Department of Science, Technology and Environment; certificate No. 105 was issued on 5 March 2009, and the registration is valid until 18 December 2027. Under the GI specification, feni is made in March–May from ripe cashew apples and distilled in a copper still called a bhann with a condenser called a lavni.

The Goa government's 2021 feni policy describes the chain like this: the juice, called niro, ferments only with natural yeasts, without additives, in a buried clay vessel called a kodem. The first distillate is tondap, the partial cut of the first stage is urrak (23–30% ABV), and after the second distillation feni is 40–45.5% ABV. Matured Feni spends at least a year in wooden barrels. The policy does not allow feni to be blended.

In 2016 the Goa government gave feni the status of Heritage Spirit. The 2021 policy defines feni more broadly than the GI, as a distillate of both cashew and coconut toddy made in Goa. During preparation of the GI, the technical committee dropped coconut feni from the specification without discussion, so the protected name in practice applies to cashew.

Why this matters to you. The mark «GI Feni» on a label means double distillation of cashew juice under the specification; coconut feni is another drink and has no GI protection. Urrak is a weaker intermediate of the first distillation. Under Goa's policy, the strength of feni is 40–45.5% ABV. WHO reminds us: there is no safe dose of alcohol.