Tracing the history of Mahansar royal liquor

Team L&M

Do you know that ‘James Bond’ Roger Moore and Neil Armstrong, the first man to land on moon were huge fans of Rajasthan liquor. Moore got hooked to heritage liqueur Kesar Kasturi while shooting for Octopussy while Armstrong had it when he visited Jaipur as part of Peace Corps. OR that it is widely said that a drop of Mahansar heritage liquor can beat a one bottle of regular alcohol (its a big of exaggeration though, but you got the point. Right!).

A short documentary film, Mahansar – The Royal Sip, tells you this. Produced by Aditya Sangwan (he has also directed it)and Shekhawati Heritage Herbal Pvt Ltd, the film talks about the story of Heritage Liquor of Rajasthan at length like what heritage liquor is and how it is made. But it is not some dull and drab docu, but one that reflects the old-world charm of Rajasthan, with bytes of distinguished personalities like Maharaja Gaj Singh of Jodhpur adding an extra zing.

Shot over five districts of Rajasthan, the film took six months to complete, informs Director Sangwan. In many ways, it is the ambassador of the heritage liqueurs of Rajasthan with an exploration of its colorful history, charismatic characters, and uniquely royal process of its making.

Rajasthan has a very old liqueur culture. Prior to 12000 BC, the Sumerians learnt how to brew beer and as per ancient historians they built separate villages as brewing colonies. The same happened in the royal culture of Rajasthan, wherein every darbar had its own darukhana (brewery) wherein they produced heritage liquor for self-consumption. The recipes were exclusive and shared only within family.

Film director Aditya Sangwan, Maharaja Gaj Singh of Jodhour and film producer Makrand Mishra

There were three kinds of liquors – ikbara for the hoi polloi, dobaara for the officers, and asaav exclusively for the royals. Different types of liqueur were served to people according to their status and rank. There were different spirits for different occasions and sometimes there were elaborate rituals to be performed before consumption.

The royal family of Mahansar had mastery over this craft. It began producing liquor since in 1768, the year the Brits began to rule India. The commercial production was started by Thakur Durjan Saal Singh of Mahansar royal family in 1890.

A bottle of heritage liquor is a lot more than just a bottle of alcohol – it reflects tradition, craft, history, royalty, and Rajasthan. The Mahansar family dedicated generations to mastering this craft. They used dry fruits and herbal ingredients as well as Mutton, Opium and some sort of poison as well to produce this special liquor.

The Mahansar family used to supply this liquor on Camels to Nawab of Bahawalpur and royal families of Sindh, Balochistan, Nepal and in Attock, the place where Alexander first saw lush vineyards when he invaded India.