Travel often leads to discovery with some journeys taking you to locations that you are destined to visit. Setting out on one such backpacking adventure across the country, siblings Yash and Tulika Sawardekar had no idea what was in store for them.
Headed to their last stop, Goa, which happens to be their native place, they stumbled upon feni and instantly fell in love with the spirit.
Such was their attraction to the drink that they delved deeper into the culture of Goa and met several indigenous distillers, who practised the craft for generations.
The duo soon realised that feni was just as stellar as any other spirit sold commercially today, but hadn’t received its due.
“That inspired a vision, we call 'Goenchi' today,” says 28-year-old Yash, who along with his 22-year-old sister, Tulika, have founded the brand Goenchi that translates to ‘Goan’.
Right from distilling the feni to the design and packaging, the two first-generation entrepreneurs have put their hearts into producing a brand that they’d love to see and consume.
The feni distillation takes place at their ancestral farm at Sanvordem, in South Goa, a lush orchard spanning 50,000 sqm, dotted with local cashew varieties.
“We take a single, hyper-locally sourced ingredient: the juice of handpicked cashew apples or the nectar of coconut flowers, and ferment it slowly and naturally,” explains Tulika, adding that Goenchi has two variants – Goenchi Cashew Feni and Goenchi Coconut Feni.
The ferment is then distilled in small batches in copper pot stills to produce the first distillate that’s called mollop, in the case of coconut, and urrak, in the case of cashew, and it’s the second distillate that gives feni which is distilled to cask strength.
“Our feni is then bottled with the addition of demineralised water at 40% ABV at a state-of-the art bottling facility, where it undergoes a thorough filtration process that helps us produce the finest feni that consistently delivers great taste and smoothness,” says Yash.
The company managed to produce 15,000 litres of feni last year, and is on track to produce double that this year.
Coming to the flavours, Goenchi Cashew Feni has very familiar tropical notes, similar to that of jackfruit, pineapple and guava cheese with a hint of spice like a punch of green pepper with a fruity finish.
“It’s best served chilled with lemon or lime soda, or over ice with an orange twist,” Tulika recommends, adding that it pairs well with any citrus fruits like orange, grapefruit and even kokum.
And their coconut feni boasts refreshing notes of tender coconut water, sea salt and green chilli with a sweet, floral finish. It is best served chilled with tonic water, or over ice with a lime twist.
The Goenchi brand can be found on shelves across 300+ premium wine stores and retail outlets in Goa.
Today, the Goenchi brand can be found on shelves across 300+ premium wine stores and retail outlets in Goa.
“Ever since we launched Goenchi, we’ve received tremendous support not just from Goa, but the entire country,” says Tulika, happy to see people shift to indigenous spirits, and feni standing shoulder-to-shoulder with whiskey, vodka, rum and other spirits.
For the young entrepreneurs, whose adventure began while tasting feni in Goa, it remains an ongoing journey.
“Moving forward, we wish to cater to not just the feni purists, but also open it up to newer palates, make Goenchi available across the nation and change the outlook towards feni from desi to swadeshi,” says the duo, whose end goal is to put feni on the global spirit map and have it represent India.
