03-05-2025
In India, mahua spirit is making a comeback
This article was produced by National Geographic Traveller (UK).
Spring has arrived in the jungles of Madhya Pradesh and the forest is bursting with every shade of green. Fresh shoots sprout from gnarled tree trunks as life begins anew after the long winter. In the distance, the birdsong is punctuated by a peacock's wails. What's really holding my attention, though, is the smell — a distinctly sweet, heady aroma that hangs in the humid air, impossible to ignore and emanating from the pearly white buds strewn on the ground by a nearby tree.
I'm in Kanha National Park, one of India's foremost tiger reserves in the northeast of the country, visiting from my hometown on the vast nation's western coast, Mumbai. In addition to the elusive big cats, around 145 of which inhabit the reserve, this protected region also happens to be one of the places where the Madhuca longifolia, or mahua tree, grows — a towering sentinel of the forest, its branches spreading broadly.
Long have people been attracted to its delicate buds — the tree's flowers, when dried and fermented, produce a spirit that has been consumed by Indigenous peoples in the country for centuries. But it's more than just a folk liquor. This ancient alcohol, known for its distinct sweet, nutty flavour and heady aroma, has played a pivotal role in Indian daily life, serving as a source of pride for many Indigenous cultures.
'So deep is the tribal connection with mahua that it's sometimes used to wash the umbilical cords of newborns and bless tombstones and memorials for the departed so they're not deprived in the afterlife,' says grey-haired Aniruddha 'Jhampan' Mookerjee when I meet him later at Salban, a rustic homestay he runs that borders Kanha. Having served as the heritage liquor advisor to the Madhya Pradesh government, Aniruddha has been integral to bringing this ancient spirit back into the limelight.
Decades ago, the spirit fell out of favour. Despite being an important part of India's cultural identity, mahua was deemed a 'dangerous intoxicant' and a threat to public health by colonial British officers in the late 19th century, who feared it could disrupt social order and banned its distillation. The ban significantly impacted the livelihoods of Indigenous communities, who'd traditionally collected the flowers. Soon, mahua largely disappeared.
But now, thanks to a new law brought about by the efforts of government officials, people like Aniruddha and some enterprising bartenders, mahua has been deemed a heritage liquor and is making a comeback.
In 2021, labels such as Mond and Mohulo, the first mahua spirits in India distilled by Indigenous people, came to the market, giving these communities a vital financial lifeline. And slowly, mahua has begun to filter back into Indian life. Fine dining restaurants such as Masque in Mumbai are now incorporating mahua-infused dishes, such as ice cream, into their tasting menus. At The Oberoi Vindhyavilas, a luxury wildlife resort to the north in Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve, guests are now greeted on arrival with the basant, a welcome drink crafted with mahua, local herbs and soda. Even tent canopies here are embroidered with the flower, which is rapidly becoming a regional emblem.
Later, when I return to Mumbai, I arrive after dark and head for Bandra Born, a restaurant with a new dedicated mahua bar, opened in partnership with Six Brothers Small Batch, India's first double-distilled luxury mahua spirit. It's an atmospheric spot, mood-lit with dark wood and speakers playing R&B. On offer here are 10 mahua cocktails, all reinventions of classic drinks — think the mahua mule, tribal negroni and popular mahua colada.
I chat to chief barman Raviraj Shetty, as well as Gresham Fernandes, the restaurant's chef-partner, about mahua. 'As an ingredient, mahua has a hint of smokiness and is slightly sweet,' explains Raviraj. I ask them where the idea for the bar came from. 'It came from a single thought,' Gresham interjects. 'What did we drink before we were colonised? Mahua, we found, was the spirit that allowed us to explore that answer in the most creative way.'
Some Indians still hold an internalised bias to what they regard as a 'country liquor', thanks in part to years of India's culinary history being devalued during colonial rule. But slowly, the conversation around the need to revive and respect traditional food cultures is growing. Alongside the launch of its Small Batch, the Six Brothers distillery has also released 1922 Resurrection — a commemorative release of just 102 bottles that each retail for close to £100. And they're not alone: alcohol brand Mah is also attempting to popularise the drink and its story globally, aiming to change the perception of the spirit in India; already, it's being consumed in bars like Little Red Door in Paris and Symbiose in Bordeaux. As I sip my nimbu sharbat, a spicy mahua-spiked lemonade, and wait for my friends to arrive, a conversation I had back in Madhya Pradesh comes to mind. There, at the female-run Mohulo distillery, I'd met Anarkali Bai, an Indigenous woman who's part of the production team. After taking me on a tour, we'd sat down to talk over chai and biscuits, and she told me how mahua had made her financially independent, and able to pay for family weddings and ceremonies — just as the liquor had in her community before colonial rule. 'It has been our guiding spirit,' she'd said. 'Very often, our husbands can't support us. But mahua can.'
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