5 Coconut Feni Cocktails That Celebrate Goa’s Local Spirit with a Tropical Twist
What is common between sandy beaches, failed buddy trips and Feni? Well of course it is the coastal town of Goa. A traditional drink derived from cashew or coconut, Feni has been an intrinsic part of the region’s cultural identity for centuries. This is interesting, because despite its popularity, Feni has remained a hyperlocal drink.
Be it as it may, the potent liqueur has found patronage among many mixologists in recent years, its fruity flavour profile providing the base for many-a tropical cocktail offerings. Cocktail enthusiasts claim Feni is a lot like gin in its flavour dimensions, which is why a lot of cocktails made with gin can be substituted with Feni without much altering the flavours.
Coconut Feni is distilled from the sap of coconut palms, and has a predominantly fruity profile with hints of earthiness. Because of the sweetness, it is traditionally consumed either on its own or diluted with water.
Whether you’re hosting a beach-themed party or a summer brunch, these Coconut Feni-based cocktails will have your back.
Coco Bongo
Coco Bongo is the lesser-known cousin of Pina Colada. With Feni as the base, this drink adds both coconut water and coconut milk to echo the flavours of the Feni. The other important ingredient that goes into the making of Coco Bongo is pineapple juice.
To make this drink, you need to add 30 ml of Feni to 60 ml of coconut milk, 60 ml of pineapple juice and 60 ml of coconut water to a shaker with ice.
Then, shake it as hard as possible till your drink is chilled. In a glass garnished with mint leaves and a pineapple slice, pour the mix through a strainer and enjoy.
Feni Mojito
As is evident from its name, Feni Mojito is a riff of a classic Mojito made with coconut Feni instead of rum. This cocktail gets its freshness from the mint leaves, a zingy kick from lime juice and is topped with soda for the fizz.
To make Feni Mojito, crush a few mint leaves to release the sweet aroma and the oils, then add Feni, freshly squeezed lime juice, sugar syrup and a few ice cubes to the shaker and keep shaking it vigorously until all the ingredients have combined and also are chilled.
Tambdé Rosa
You can use either cashew Feni or coconut Feni for this classic Goa cocktail that incorporates one of the most popular local ingredients from the place—kokum.
Brindao or kokum extract imparts the cocktail with a tangy edge similar to that of tamarind. To make this cocktail, you have to combine Feni, brindao, and lime juice in a shaker with ice cubes.
The lime juice gives the drink a fresh, zesty dimension which is different from the sourness of the kokum extract.
Once the drink is chilled and combined properly, stir and sieve the drink out in a glass and garnish it with a wedge of lime.
Feni Pina Punch
Feni Pina Punch is what happens when you turn your tropical fruit salad into an alcoholic beverage. But, instead of using fresh cut fruits, we use freshly squeezed juices of mango and pineapple.
To make Feni Pina Punch, you need to add 30 ml of Coconut Feni to 30 ml of pineapple juice and 15 ml of mango juice into a shaker. To sweeten the mix, you can use 10 ml of grenadine instead of sugar syrup. Add ice cubes and shake it vigorously.
Once it’s chilled, you will strain the liquid into a glass and garnish it with slices of pineapple and mango.
Peru Meru
Popular legend has it that this cocktail was created, not by design but accident.
Originally meant to be a version of Bloody Mary, the mixologists at a Goan bar substituted the tomato juice with guava juice one day, when they ran out of the former.
The drink became an instant hit, because the guava chilli combination was reminiscent of eating guavas with chilli salt as kids.
