Indian equiv of Sake?

goose

Is it called feni?

I am drinking some nigori sake (cloudy/unfiltered) and its good. think I prefer the Sake bath oil and perfume, though. But anyway India has an interesting selection of local alcohols. What are they? What's worth trying or avoiding?

edwardseco

Country liquor is very good and I was once told I could run my 2 wheeler on it. However, I was also warned not to spill it as it might damage the paint. Keep in mind that the whole party of us in the village were smashed drunk. You must try Fenny in Goa. I just discovered some in my liquor cabinet..

Wanderer22

Years ago tried something the locals called pan moorii in Orissa. This had to be the most vile tasting alcoholic beverage I've ever encountered. Think curried fusil oil and you'll come close. One taste was enough, unlike friends who had more along with the mother of all headaches next day. Be careful of moonshine, or as it's called in the news reports of poisonings....spurious liquor.

The non-distilled beverages can range from so so to very good. Toddy, (fermented coconut sap) is OK, but not something I'd go out of my way to drink again. The beverage I enjoyed the most was a Tibetan millet beer called toomba. (sp?) The traditional way to serve it is in tall bamboo mugs with a bamboo straw to filter out the seeds. A quantity of the alcoholic millet mash is placed in a mug, then topped up with boiling water. The warm alcoholic infusion is somewhat like sake. Great stuff to wash down a plate of momos. First had it in Darjeeling, but it's probably available in other Tibetan areas.

W22

Nick-H

Beware: people die (sometimes whole parties) from drinking moonshine here.

Not that I want to spoil the fun or anything, but take care!

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jyotirmoy

Feni is brewed from the sappings of Coconut trees or Cashew fruit mash where as Sake is distilled from rice. Most of the country liquors in India are distilled from either cane or rice. The country liquors distilled in Bengal, Orissa are mostly from rice as these are rice growing areas.
I absolutely agree with Nick. DONT TRY ILLEGAL OR BOOT LEGGED COUNTRY LIQUOR, LOT OF HOOCH TRAGEDIES HAVE TAKEN PLACE.

vinayverma

The closest thing to sake in India probably is the rice drink made in upper himalayan region of Ladhakh, spiti and lahual etc. It is locally called 'Aara'.

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jyotirmoy

Aara or Arak? In Sikkim you get similar liquor too.

vistet

I had it & liked it in Sikkim as well, but I think it´s regional - haven´t seen it in U, Tsang or Ladakh. The bamboo isn´t readily available in most Tibetan areas, for one thing.

Chang, the barley beer, is the big social engine among the tsampa eaters. Had some wonderful chang just off the Barkhor in Lhasa two months ago. Tsangyang Gyatso, the sixth Dalai Lama, is renowned for his drinking and amorous escapades and poetry, written in the chang shops of Shol, just under the Potala.