VALENTINO VAZ, the big boss of feni in Goa, lives in semi-retired luxury in an old, rambling, Portuguese-style mansion in Saligao. The house stands off the main Panjim-Calangute road in a twisting, leafy bylane and smells pleasantly of cashew and palm and grape, the fruits of Mr. Vaz�s business. If you are a feni drinker, then you must have undoubtedly had Mr. Vaz�s premier brand of the heady Goan spirit. It is called Big Boss and it is the No. 1 feni in the world. I say No. 1 with some respect. Because feni has now travelled beyond Goa. It has gone to the UAE, to Canada, England and Bahrain. And Big Boss is responsible for �Drinks International�, that leading publication of the wines and spirits trade, acknowledging feni as an �exotic spirit� of the world.

Mr. Vaz is modest about the success of his product. �Just like any good wine or cheese, feni is an acquired taste,� he says. �And I have been promoting it by holding competetions among bartenders and catering college students for feni-based cocktails.� His company is called Madame Rosa Distillery and it is a household name in Goa, easily and readily identified with the production and marketing of exclusively blended cashew and palm fenis, wines and liquers. Some of his leading feni brands, like Big Boss, PVV (named after his father, Pedro Vincent Vaz) and Godfather, are stocked by all the tavernas and bars in five-star hotels in Goa. He made a modest entry in the spirits business in 1960, when he was 27, by becoming a major importer of Black & White Scotch from Singapore. Until then, he was working with his father in the family�s business of baking and trading. �Getting an import licence during Portuguese rule was a matter of one day,� he says. But after liberation in 1961, the government of India first banned imports altogether and then imposed the quota system on importers. Each importer was allowed only a limited licence. He either surrendered his licence in disgust or suffered. But Mr. Vaz was unaffected. �Even after liberation, I continued to be a major importer of Scotch in Goa,� he says. �Only the small importers were hit.

�He was importing Scotch right until 1983, when he took up bottling and packaging feni for Dr. Ivo Azaredo Costa of Vinicola Wines and Costa food products. �People distilling feni used to rely on secondhand bottles for their spirit. I started manufacturing new bottles. I bottled and packaged Dr. Costa�s �Patrao� feni for him. Feni used to sell for Rs. 11 a bottle in those days. But we successfully sold �Patrao� for Rs. 18. I was convinced that people would spend on good quality and packaging,� Mr. Vaz says. �I was with Dr. Costa for one year, and during this time I also became an agent of Herbertsons for their liquors and rums. Then in 1985, I started making Big Boss.� The success story started from then and continues today.

However, Mr. Vaz would have been a happier man, if not richer, had the government of India accepted feni as a clear distillate of the cashew fruit juice and coconut toddy. That would make feni a spirit, not a liquor. But authority, in its wisdom, decided that feni was a country liquor, and this has got Mr. Vaz�s goat for years. �This is most unfair,� he says bitterly. �Feni is not a country liquor like the Maharashtrian �Santra� and �Mosambi�. It is a spirit. In fact, it is very similar to tequila. Look at how they only promote tequila in Mexico! Why cannot we promote feni that way,� he asks. Why indeed!

The season for distilling feni, says Mr. Vaz, is very short. �It is just two months in the year. The cashew fruit is plucked and processed immediately. It cannot be stored. The cashew crop in Goa is insufficient for the amount of feni this state drinks. We buy fruit from elsewhere in the Konkan region. But this is not the same as the Goa cashew. There is a difference in taste and flavour. This is a big hurdle.

� So, Madame Rosa Distillery is now also in the market with liquers. They are making liquers in mango, chocolate mint and aniseed flavours. Their brand Europa 2000 Almond Liquer was accepted in Europe, but, strangely, not in India. �This is a niche market,� says Mr. Vaz, �and it is occupied by Malibu and Archers.� But multinationals and their marketing muscle will not stop this humble Goan from producing quality spirits and liquors for the middle-class household.

He is fond of white spirits. �I drink cashew feni, Bacardi rum and Smirnoff vodka,� says Valentino Vaz. �As a host, I serve Scotch. For friends from abroad, I serve only feni. Goans at home prefer to drink feni. They will have it neat. In the tavernas, they will drink feni with soda. I have seen that Goans everywhere are proud to serve feni at home. The Goans abroad, they keep the empty feni bottles to show that they are Goan!�