If you are a lover of cashew feni, there is great news in store for you. This season, manufacturers of cashew feni have all reported a huge jump in production, thanks to a bumper cashew crop earlier this year.
PANAJI
Last year, some brands of feni had almost disappeared from the shelves of liquor shops owing to inadequate cashew crop. Feni connoisseurs can now heave a sign of relief because such a situation is unlikely to happen as manufacturers have reported a much higher production this time than the last year.
Gurudatta Bhakta, president, Goa Cashew Feni Distillers and Bottlers Association, said, “This year, the brewing of cashew apple juice was over by the end of April. Most of the brewing took place between February and April. The crop was really good, and as a result, the production of cashew feni has jumped tremendously.”
Bhakta is the managing partner of Cazcar, wherein he manufactures cashew feni under brand names like Launi, Masala and Best. “At our company, we manufactured 40 per cent more feni this year as compared to last year,” he added.
For feni manufacturers, the good cashew crop couldn’t have come at a better time as they are also witnessing a renewed interest from customers. Regan Henriques from Rhea Distilleries said, “We had put up a stall at the just concluded Food and Cultural Festival, wherein we offered feni cocktails to people. The response that we received shows that its acceptance is growing among people.”
He continued, “Mixologists are experimenting with various combinations of feni using other alcohols and beverages, and people are really liking these newer varieties.”
Given this, the bumper cashew crop couldn’t have come at a better time because it appears that the tide is turning in feni’s favour now.
Hanzel Vaz, manufacturer of Cazulo brand of feni, said, “We are expecting that we will make around 25,000 litres of cashew feni this year, while last year, we had made only 12,000 litres. For a good cashew apple crop, you need a high temperature after flowering, which happened this year in February and March.”
Manufacturers are now expecting a healthy growth in feni sales as well, as some of them have started exporting it. “We have just exported feni to Canada and already there are enquiries from countries like Japan, Spain, Finland and UK,” Vaz said.
