Here at Hand Crafted Drinks Magazine we pride ourselves in supporting and promoting the artisan and hand-crafted drinks sector, and we’re particularly interested in companies whose products have an intriguing backstory.
Enter Ma’hooah (pronounced /məˈhuː.ə/).
Ma’hooah was once banned by the British Raj for being ‘too drinkable’ and we wouldn’t disagree. The drinkable bit, that is, not the banning.
We were recently contacted by Arjun Bais, the founder of Colonial Drinks, the company that produces Ma’hooah, which is distilled from the edible flowers of the Mahua tree,”Madhuca longifolia”— referred to by the local harvesters as the “Tree of Life”.
Arjun sent us a sample of their first release is Ma’hooah, a 40% ABV spirit with a distinctive floral, earthy character and, as you will read, a fascinating history.
As with all spirits we receive, this was sampled neat and over ice, without any mixers. On the nose there is the unmistakable presence of alcohol that whets the appetite and prepares you for the first sip.
The mouthfeel is silky smooth, and there is depth and complexity; there is a distinctive earthiness, reminiscent of the more peaty single malts, and a slight floral bitterness that underpins the spirit’s core ingredients.
The finish is memorable, with a lingering, warming heat, and the subtle bitterness that never lets you forget its roots.
As well as being a unique spirit to sip, we could see this forming the basis of some new cocktails, or spicing up traditional drinks such as the Long Island Iced Tea or the Espresso Martini.
For a refreshingly simple drink you could also pair Ma’hooah with chilled prosecco and add a sugar cube to provide a perfect balance to the spirit’s bitterness.
The spirit is memorable and its history is fascinating.
To the indigenous Adivasi communities, living within the central and eastern forests of the Indian subcontinent (the Gond, Santhal, Baiga, Ho, Munda, and Oraon peoples) this tree was never treated as a simple raw material.
Mahua flowers, which only bloom during the night, were gathered up from the ground at dawn and throughout the day were dried under the sun.
These flowers sustained families through difficult months and sweetened everyday meals. When fermented and distilled these flowers become a liquor unlike any other; smooth, floral, and grounding.
Drinking this distillate was not to escape the pressures of everyday life, but it was part of local culture and its rituals. Mahua warmed people during cold nights and was consumed during weddings, to honour the dead, and to mark festivals tied to the seasons of planting, of harvest, and the rains.
For many communities, mahua liquor was (and remains) sacred. It was poured onto the earth before being consumed as a libation to the forest and to the ancestors who had once lived there.
It was shared, not hoarded. Drinking alone was discouraged. Mahua was meant to bring people together. Elders discussed matters big and small over it. Arguments were settled in its company. Stories and songs survived because of it.
All that changed when the British arrived. The colonial administrators were unwilling to understand indigenous systems and classified mahua as a dangerous and illicit substance, mainly because it didn’t fit neatly into the systems of taxation or control brought with them from England.
The production of mahua was outlawed and the practice that had sustained communities for generations became a social problem to be fixed.
However, this early form of prohibition didn’t end the production of mahua, it simply went underground and was distilled in secret forest clearings away from prying eyes of the new rulers. In many ways the ban on mahua strengthened its significance and became a signifier of resistance.
Today, each distillation begins with fallen flowers, which are gathered by the producer’s partners working alongside tribal families in India and distilled in the UK.
What ends up in your glass carries the memory of forests that sustained entire cultures and of people who refused to let their traditions disappear.
We wish Arjun and his business every success.
For more information visit their website: Colonial Spirits
Photo credit of the image of the Mahua tree: “Vānaprasthh (Sanskrit: वानप्रस्थः)” by Dinesh Valke is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.