Locals swear by the medicinal properties of the drink and would advise you to rub some feni on your stomach if you have a stomach ache or on your forehead if you have a headache. Most certainly when you have a cold, hot water with feni does the trick.
Cashew feni is distilled out of the juice of the cashew apples, coconut feni is distilled from the toddy collected from coconut trees. The cashew feni, which comes from the third distillation of the fruit, is rich and robust with the taste of the cashew fruit. It gives you a kick as it trickles down your throat, stirs your senses and your soul.
You could drink it neat – like a tequila shot or camouflaged in a lime soda. In fancy restaurants, feni cocktails become fruity concoctions, served in coconut shells with decorative paper umbrellas.
There are hundreds of brands of feni available in the market, some look like country liquor bottles, others are in wicker baskets to attract tourists.
Country taverns store feni in huge urns and sometimes keep it for years for it to mature. Urrac, a lighter liquor from the first distillation of the cashew apple, is also a popular choice.
Text: Marcellus Baptista