Tuesday, April 1, 2008

A Fenny For Your Thoughts

I like booze. It's no secret. Love the stuff, and I've tried everything. When I go places I try to find exotic liquors, like the bottle of Suze (a gentian-and-vanilla flavored aperitif) I brought home from Paris, or the Xtabentun (Mayan honey-and-anise liquor) I enjoyed in Mexico.

Today I discovered a new one, from Goa in India. It's called Fenny, or Feni, and it's distilled from the cashew apple.


The cashew apple, as I also discovered today on Slog, is a false fruit that grows behind the true fruit (which bears the seed, or cashew nut as it's called) of the cashew tree.

I've never seen or heard of it before, and I'm quite certain it's never been sold in this God-forsaken state with its repressive licensing laws and state liquor stores. I don't understand why the State of Washington is in the retail business, selling me booze, and telling me what kinds I'm allowed to have and what days I can buy it on; or why the only place within a mile of where I'm sitting that can sell me ANYTHING stronger than beer or wine closes in FIVE MINUTES. Hmm, perhaps that's a rant for another day.

While poking around the web, though, looking for an online seller (whose deliveries would be illegal but unlikely to be traced or stopped) I did discover this Indian exporter, who praises his "Fantasy" brand Fenny with the words "it has been designed to manulise your string of ecstasy" and "you will find it hard to resist howling in to one now and then." Which is exactly what I like to hear.

"Howling into one" doesn't make any sense, but it's the best description of what happens to me and a bottle of 40-proof I've ever heard.

Tickets to Goa are out of my price range. If this was a perfect world, someone would tell me in the comments where I can order this stuff online. I won't hold my breath.

16 comments:

iggy said...

As a past witness, I'd say you're more of a "howling out of the bottle" kind of guy.

Mr. Poe said...

Steak! STEAK!! BLOG ABOUT STTTEEEAAKK!!

Hilary said...

Could that fruit look more scrotal?

Anonymous said...

I had an ex who was very into strange booze, and she ordered a bottle of Feni from this site: http://www.wineglobe.com/11007.html
I liked it.

Fnarf said...

It worked!

I don't know who you are, Anonymous, but I love you. Swing by and we'll share a glass.

Mr. Poe said...

For all you know, it's Ecce Homo.

Fnarf said...

You are such a buzzkill.

Mary Jo said...

That was awesome Mr. Poe.

Sorry Fnarf but it was funny!

You have To save some of that Fenny Fantasy. I'm going to chug it down if I ever come to visit you.
I should do really well with that, don't ya think?

Anonymous said...

No liquor source tips, but this general observation: yours is a really great blog. I'm working my way back through some of the older entries. Uniformly well written and interesting.

Eric from Boulder

Mike said...

Liquor made from cashews = alcohol that would kill me not through overimbibing, but rather through allergic reaction.

Fnarf said...

More for me, then!

Fnarf said...

Just kidding, of course. Nut allergies sound like no fun, even though cashews aren't nuts. Worse than not being able to have certain foods would be the fear that they might unknowingly be in seemingly innocent foods -- like "this brandy I got in Goa, try some, it's interesting".

harold hollingsworth said...

you have me wanting to expand my range in the drink, good stuff Steve! Nice to sit with you a bit at the Caucus on Saturday!

Fnarf said...

Yep. I bailed after my name wasn't called for my precinct alternate. Couldn't stand another minute of it.

Fnarf said...

I have some fenny now. Tastes like grappa. Maybe a hint of pear brandy, but not much; it's basically grappa. Which is good, don't get me wrong, but it's not a knockout punch.

kumar said...

Stumbled on this when I was trying to find Fenny (aka rotgut) for a reunion of my graduating class of 1970. This was all we could afford when I was at college (Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay) and we drowned vast quantities.

Thanks, anonymous, for the URL of where I can buy it.