Urrak: How the jungle juice from Goa is having its moment

Experience the essence of a Goan summer with this fresh and fruity cashew drink that is redefining the spirit of the season

Feni is a drink, but urrak is an emotion.

This is the overarching sentiment across all those urrak reels breezing across Instagram, come April. This drink has seen a cult following in recent times as Goa’s official summer drink.

After the first harvest of cashew apples at the end of February, the first batch of fresh urrak hits the market by mid-March. From then on, the urrak fever gains momentum until May-June, although urrak purists claim that the best is enjoyed young and fresh, during the earlier phase.

I sit down for lunch one afternoon with Mac Vaz, founder-president of All Goa Cashew Feni Distillers & Bottlers Association, and director of Madame Rosa Distillery, a pioneer within the industry. Their flagship brand, Big Boss, is recognised globally for the superbly fruity feni, packaged in Chianti Classico style wicker basket bases. “Given the popularity of urrak, we are now bottling the liquid for the last eight years or so under our PVV brand and the USA is a big export market,” he tells me.

So, what is the reason for urrak’s meteoric rise?

Approachable and pleasing to first time users too, urrak is obtained with a single distillation process of cashew juice. With an ABV of 20-25% (as opposed to feni’s 40-45%), it is fresh, fruit-forward, and most importantly, hangover-free. “It goes down deceptively smooth, and because of the absence of the strong, pungent smell, has enjoyed a certain mass appeal. Urrak is also rather affordable, with prices starting at a mere ₹200 a litre,” concludes Mac, who does not believe that the urrak fever should ebb away with the close of summer.

Served in the classic way as Goans prefer it, urrak is mixed with Sprite, a pinch of salt, twist of lime and with that slit green chilli perched wickedly on the side of the glass. Throw in a few cubes of ice, and you have the perfect drink to sip on while enjoying a Goan sunset.