Urrak cocktails are the flavour of the season

Urrak is the first distillation of the cashew apple juice, and is to be had fresh, further distillation results in Feni.

“These bhingtas (outsiders in local slang) know nothing about our liquor heritage and culture,” dismisses Rohan Monteiro, a small distiller who makes Urrak in his backyard, dismissing the Urrak cocktail trend.

It is a point of view made a tad more politely by Hansel Vaz, owner of the leading brand Cazulo Premium Feni. “Urrak has suddenly achieved cult status. The fruity first distillation of cashew apple was a fun summer drink available only two to three months a year. It costs a mere Rs 20 a peg/glass and is drunk fresh. Now, it is being served as fancy Urrak cocktails that cost Rs 400 in an upmarket bar.”

And yet, Urrak, cashew apple’s second distillation, has evolved into a glamorous drink that can be made into cocktails.

After Urrack is distilled from the cashew apple, the juice is further distilled in a traditional method on the hill. The cashew juice is put in a big pot called a Bhann. The Bhann serves as a closed boiler. It is connected to a smaller pot called Launni by means of a conduit. The Launni serves as a receiver or collector. (Photo: Wikimedia Commons)

Drink an Urrak on the hottest summer day, say locals, and you will feel like you are being cocooned by a cool sea breeze.

Part of Goa’s subculture, the only way you could have acquired a good Urrak in the past was by visiting local tavernas or a village distiller who sold it to you in a jerrycan or a bottle, or had Goan friends who could get you the best of this summer elixir.

“Urrak is like a ninja, sneaking around everywhere, but the really good stuff is like a master ninja, hiding in cool fridges of locals. It is the first distillation of the cashew apple with a hint of fragrance and a punchy, fruity taste that'll transport you to a tropical paradise,” says Neil D’souza, owner of Anjuna’s new contemporary beach shack Slow Tide.

Slow Tide's urrak cocktails.

That was then. Now Urrak cocktails are sold in several modern bars across Goa during summers, much to the discomfort of purists such as Vaz who believes that the spirit, due to its flavour profile, doesn’t lend to experimentation. “The best way to drink it is the way locals do. Top your glass with ice, add Urrak, some lemon or lemonade, a pinch of salt, some lemon wedges and a chilli or two,” says Vaz, who believes the people complicating Urrak have no understanding of its very nature.

And yet, the Urrak cocktail trend is firmly entrenched in Goa’s contemporary cocktail culture. At the famous Panjim tavern, Joseph Bar, Urrak from owner Atish Fernandes’s farm is muddled with lemongrass, organic honey, chilli and fresh lime. Lazy Goose at Nerul blends Urrak with kokum crush, Limca, rock salt and crushed cumin, while Black Sheep Bistro serves it with fruit pulp and fresh jalapenos.

At his restaurant and bar Howling Wolves in Anjuna, Sandeep Verma sources Urrak from Bicholim and serves it in Paloma-style Aam Panna libation. “I focus on its grassiness and fruitiness. We also blend it with homemade kokum cordial and rock salt, or as a Urrak Sour (to mimic Whisky Sour), infused with kala khatta and grapefruit cordial.” He is so fond of his Urrak that bottles some of it and stacks it away in a freezer.

That’s something D’souza would never do. “Urrak cannot be stored or bottled as it ferments to Feni.” A below 30 per cent ABV level makes it difficult to bottle it, says Fernandes. “Feni has an ABV level of 40 to 42 per cent, so the alcohol retains its flavours and oils. Below 30 per cent, liquor cannot retain its essential oils and needs to be drunk fresh in a distillery, tavern or a bar.”

Slow Tide's urrak cocktails.

Slow Tide served an exciting Jungle Juice Jive Urrak menu during the 2023 season. Bartender Sujan Shetty and team put out cocktails that packed in the punch of local fruits, such as Patrao, an interplay between house-made kokum cordial, black salt, soda and Urrak, and Taan Lagleah, which had fresh passion fruit from Kodaikanal paired with Urrak.

He says that during the local cashew festival, they sold several Urrak cocktails, inspiring them to believe that even locals are the new experimentations. As Goa sets to bid goodbye to its 2023 Urrak season, it has discovered a whole new way in which this fun, fruity country liquor can be drunk.

An Urrak cocktail at Hideaway, Vagator, Goa.

But the best experience can be had at Vagator’s fabulous bar, Hideaway, where Aditya Tribhuvan hosted The Big Urrak Festival — a bar takeover with invited bartenders creating a range of interesting cocktails. Says Tribhuvan, “I wanted to challenge bartenders and see how they can elevate the Urrak game.”

An Urrak cocktail at Hideaway, Vagator, Goa.

If bartenders Feruzan and Aneesha paid tribute to the famous Aunty Bars of Mumbai that sprung up during the prohibition era and matched Urrak cocktails with bar bites, Jatin and Tejas from Mumbai ended up serving a gola-inspired cocktail with kala khata and crushed ice. “There were amazing experimentations,” says Tribhuvan, “like a pumpkin and carrot smoked cocktail, and one known as Biryani, which felt like you are eating an actual biryani.”

An Urrak cocktail at Hideaway, Vagator, Goa.

Arjit Bose, co-founder of Countertop India (a group of bar consultants, hospitality professionals, bartenders and mixologists) and his team made Tiki-inspired Urrak cocktails (fruity, lavishly garnished cocktails made with Tiki Rum, which was replaced by Feni). “I love to travel and in Thailand, one of my favourite dishes is mango sticky rice. We used those flavours in an Urrak cocktail,” he says. “We also created a cocktail with jamun-infused lemonade.”

As Hideaway’s summer Urrak menu, Tribhuvan served the spirit with cucumber, sugar, mint and sesame oil to mimic a popular Vietnamese salad, and as a clarified cocktail with basil and green apple.

Vaz cautions a restrained use of Urrak in cocktails. “Without good Urrak, there is no good Feni, so we need to be more discerning on how we use it. It was never sold commercially for a reason.”