Written by Tanisha Cardozo
Panaji, Goa – July 2025: In the quiet gallery halls of the Museum of Goa, something potent was brewing. It wasn’t just a drink — it was a tale of fire, migration, alchemy, and rebirth. At his immersive session titled ‘Savour Flavour: Feni’s Aromatic Journey’, Hansel Vaz, the founder of Cazulo Feni, unraveled the forgotten and often misrepresented history of feni, Goa’s iconic double-distilled spirit.
For too long, feni has been dismissed — misunderstood in pop culture and sidelined from serious conversations around craft spirits. Vaz, a geologist-turned-distiller, known widely as the feni dotor, is here to change that narrative.
“Feni has been the most abused spirit in storytelling,” Vaz said. “It’s time to unlearn the clichés and rediscover it as a drink born of migration, spice trade, alchemy and medicinal knowledge.”
Through a blend of live tasting, storytelling, and historical exposition, Vaz mapped feni’s lineage back to the South American spice trade, explaining how chillies and cashews came to Goa by accident — but the transformation of the cashew into feni was an act of brilliant, local innovation.
Among the session’s highlights was Vaz’s deep dive into ancient techniques like fat-washing, botanical distillation, and the use of sarasparilla — an ayurvedic root — in making Dukshiri, a medicinal feni infusion once believed to relieve muscular aches.
“These aren’t just drinks,” Vaz reminded the audience. “They are rooted in history that wakes you up at dawn. Literally.”
The stories weren’t just historical — they were deeply personal. Vaz shared how a group of friends awoke unusually refreshed after drinking Dukshiri, a reflection of its medicinal roots. The anecdote wasn’t just quirky — it was a call to look deeper into what we’ve forgotten and what’s worth reviving.
He urged Goa’s emerging generation of distillers, chefs, bartenders, and foragers to innovate without diluting the drink’s essence. “We need to grow this movement — not bottle it for the masses, but experiment, preserve, and collaborate,” he said.
Vaz’s vision of feni isn’t limited to its taste. He sees it as an ecosystem — a drink made in conversation with nature, history, and local community traditions. A spirit not just of celebration, but of heritage.
Cazulo Feni, under Vaz’s leadership, continues to push the envelope — restoring faith in a drink that was once medicine, then myth, and now modernised through conscious revival.
With each pour, feni is reclaiming its place — not just on the shelf, but in Goa’s evolving cultural identity.
