I am fascinated with history, especially food and beverage history. I recently went over for brunch at the residence of my friends in Mumbai, the charming couple Suvodeep & Shruti. I was introduced to a spirit from Shruti’s hometown in Shekhawati, Rajasthan. This spirit, popularly known as Royal Heritage Liquor, has several legends of its own. I sipped on it neat while I was retold the legend of the liquor. The Maharaja of the region, at the time, had commissioned the finest spirit makers in the city to come forth and present their best concoctions. The Mahansar liquor was one of the spirits presented to his Royal Kingship. It was so strong that one whiff had rendered his highness suitably intoxicated. So excited was he of having come across such a delightful elixir that he ordered the two bottles which were brought to him, to be emptied into the river which flowed through his Kingdom for one and all his people to celebrate and rejoice.
The Liquor, till date is a closely guarded secret of the region, its recipe is not known and there is a very distinct distilling process being used since centuries. I believe the process is as crude as it was eons ago, but the resulting liquor, which I was honoured to be presented with, was tongue numbing and smooth at the same time. While today the liquor is produced commercially under the Heritage Liquor brand, the real deal is the un-bottled versions. The one which I consumed came with no official bottle, it was carried carefully by my hosts in empty vodka bottles through a treacherous train journey (or at the least treacherous for the bottles, one tilt, and it would’ve intoxicated the bogey). I reasoned with myself thinking about the rampant country liquors available throughout the country and this came nowhere close to the crudity or the harshness country liquors are known for. I have had Mahua, a milky local spirit made in the poor villages of Madhya Pradesh, giving warmth to the locals of the otherwise barren spaces spread across the region, especially during winters. It’s quite an acquired taste and has a very dairy-earthen aroma to it. I have also interacted with illicit liquor manufacturers in the coastal-interior belts of Maharashtra. Interestingly Maharashtra produces quite a humongous quantity of illicit country liquor due to its sugarcane rich agriculture practices and molasses get converted to ENA (Extra Neutral Alcohol) on an excess basis. I have had a sip or two of Naarangis as it’s popularly called and all it managed to do was burn a hole in my food pipe.
The alcohol content in the Mahansar Liquor is extremely high (somewhere above 60%) which gives it that spirited kick. While the liquor is strong, it has a very smooth and aromatic characteristic about it. The herbs and spices used to put it together are aromatized with saffron and citrus fruits and usually best had with a cube of ice and a splash or two of cold water. It reminds me of saffron liquor introduced to me by the then brand ambassador of Diageo spirits – Tim Judge, a few years ago, albeit a lot more complex.
I am someone who likes boozy cocktails. Most of the pre-prohibition and prohibition classic cocktails were spirit forward with citrus’ and herbs forming a very nose related base. While the Mahansar Liquor could be consumed by a few easily (took me getting a little used to initially although it grows on you after a few sips) it’s not for the faint hearted. I started thinking up ways this could be had and took some over back to my place to figure out an excellent ‘drinkable’ concoction. I mixed and matched and thought of various combinations to work this in without losing the essence of the spirit and came up with, well, what I call “The Spirit of Mahansar”.
I wanted to keep the flavors vibrant and real, use ingredients which cut through and balanced out the elixir and at the same time kept it as rich as it could be royal. I scented it with Kirsch (technically local (country!) liquor from the European old world), I had picked up a bottle from a small town in Switzerland on my travels last year. Infused with some sweet spices such as cardamom, highlighted with almond elements (very Persian, to keep intact the Royalty factor) such as slivers and amaretto and finally cut the intensity with citrus influences of orange peel. This resulted in such a beautiful creation, I would wonder what sort of party the Maharaja then would’ve thrown had I joined hands with the creator of the original Mahansar Liquor to concoct a cocktail?
The Spirit of Mahansar
Ingredients
- 60 ml Mahansar Liquor (Saffron/Orange)
- 10 ml Kirsch OR 1 Dash Cherry Bitters
- 2 Tsp Sugar
- 1 Tsp Amaretto
- 1 Black Cardamom (seeded)
- Orange Peel for Garnish
- Almond Sliced thin
- Ice
Meathod
- In a small pestle mortar – crush sugar, cardamom together, toss in the amaretto and stir well till sugar melts.
- In a stirring glass place some ice cubes, top with Mahansar Liquor, Kirsch (or bitters) and strain the sugar-cardamom liquid atop. Stir well till you have about 50% dilution. This should take about 2 minutes. The spirit is strong so if you want to go easy, stir and dilute for about 2.5 minutes.
- Strain into a crystal coupe or cocktail glass, twist an orange peel spritzing the orange oils on the surface and garnish further with a sprinkling of a few almond slices.
- Serve cold.
Nonchalant Variation
Since Mahansar Liquor is hard to procure, I tried a homemade variation which you can steep and make yourself; it takes about a day and makes for an excellent story at your next cocktail party.
Steep a few strands of pure saffron in high quality gin (I used Bombay Sapphire), about 10 strands in a pint of gin. Leave undisturbed for a day and you will see a gorgeous yellow hued liquid the next day. Add about 90 ML of Cointreau spirit to enhance the flavors and balance the infusion out.
Use the above mixture with the recipe toning down the sugar quantity to 1 tsp. The rest of the process remains the same.
I hope you enjoy this Royal treat, do write in if you need any more help or come up with some of your own suggestions. It would be great to keep the ‘spirit’ alive.
