Indian liquors: What they are, how they're made, and what to try

When people think of Indian liquors, traditional alcoholic drinks made locally across India using fermented grains, fruits, or sugarcane. Also known as country liquor, it's not just about what’s sold in bottles—it’s about what’s brewed in backyards, sold at roadside stalls, and drunk during festivals. These aren’t imported spirits. They’re rooted in village traditions, seasonal harvests, and generations of trial and error.

Most Indian liquors, traditional alcoholic drinks made locally across India using fermented grains, fruits, or sugarcane. Also known as country liquor, it's not just about what’s sold in bottles—it’s about what’s brewed in backyards, sold at roadside stalls, and drunk during festivals. These aren’t imported spirits. They’re rooted in village traditions, seasonal harvests, and generations of trial and error.

Most country liquor, unregulated, locally distilled alcohol common in rural India, often made from molasses, rice, or palm sap. Also known as desi spirits, it’s the backbone of rural drinking culture. You’ll find toddy, a fermented drink made from the sap of coconut or palm trees, popular in South India and Kerala. Also known as neera when unfermented, it turns into a mildly alcoholic drink within hours. in Kerala, mahua, a liquor made from the flowers of the mahua tree, traditionally brewed by tribal communities in central India. Also known as mahua wine, it’s sweet, floral, and often homemade. in Jharkhand and Odisha, and fenny, a Goan spirit distilled from cashew apples or coconut, protected under GI status. Also known as cashew feni, it’s strong, earthy, and unlike anything else. in Goa. Each one tells a story—not just of taste, but of land, labor, and local identity.

These drinks aren’t just about getting drunk. They’re tied to rituals, harvests, and community. In some places, offering a glass of country liquor is part of welcoming a guest. In others, it’s how farmers celebrate the end of a hard season. They’re rarely mass-produced. No big brands. No ads. Just people with knowledge passed down quietly—how long to ferment, when to distill, what wood to use for the still.

You won’t find these in every supermarket. But if you’ve ever had a drink at a roadside stall in Uttar Pradesh, sipped something sweet at a village wedding in Maharashtra, or been offered a glass at a temple fair in Bengal, you’ve tasted Indian liquors. The posts below cover everything from how these drinks are made, what they’re paired with, why some are banned, and how they’re still alive in modern India—even as regulations tighten and tastes change.