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Alcoholic drinks from Nepal, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh

Raksiरक्सी

Rice or millet is cooked, mixed with murcha starter and fermented for one to several weeks into a jaanr mash, which is then distilled in a stack of three pots. The cold water in the top pot is changed several times, and each change gives one draw (pani) of clear spirit of roughly 20–40 % alcohol.

Fully documentedAlcoholic drinks7 days – 25 daysFamily: Kodo ko jaanr (finger-millet jaanr; base of tongba)

Recipe

Raksi, a photo from Wikimedia Commons
Photo: Gaurav Dhwaj Khadka, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Amounts from a sourceA lab batch adapted from a survey of 15 Rolpa makers gave 4 L of distillate from each mash, mixed to 40 % v/v. Household batches vary.
Rice, washed and cooked3 kgLab version of the Rolpa method[subedi2024]
Murcha (manapu), powdered20 gFor the 3 kg of rice[subedi2024]
Jaggery and murcha (mana), added for a second ferment1.25 kg and 200 gRolpa practice; not used everywhere[subedi2024]
Starterkoji/qu/mold-starter (murcha, through the fermented jaanr)

Total time across the recorded steps: 7 days – 25 days

Start
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What changes: Washed rice is cooked until soft

Step 1 of 4
Wash and cook the grain
Time
Not documented
Temperature
Not documented
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented
Which microbes the steps name, step by step
Moulds
Yeasts

In the lab version of the Rolpa method, 3 kg of rice is washed and cooked. Output: cooked grain.

Flavour
Not documented
Texture
Not documented
Colour
Not documented

Microbes at work in this step

Not documented for this step.

Method

Measured measured in a studySet fixed by a specification or tested recipeReported one source reports itTypical a general value, not sourced for this fermentUnconfirmed not yet checked against a source

At a glance

Rice or millet is cooked, mixed with murcha starter and fermented for one to several weeks into a jaanr mash, which is then distilled in a stack of three pots. The cold water in the top pot is changed several times, and each change gives one draw (pani) of clear spirit of roughly 20–40 % alcohol. Made in 4 steps over 7 days – 25 days. The longest step, ferment into jaanr, takes 7–25 days (Shrivastava K 2012). The jaanr's yeasts does most of the fermenting.

Key numbers
Main step7–25 daysReported[shri2012][subedi2024]Ferment into jaanr

What makes this one different

Raksi is distilled; the jaanr it comes from is drunk as a mild beer. Its still is a local three-pot stack, and the strength is set by how many changes of cooling water the maker collects.

Related ferments

Variants

  • Aila (Newar)Newar rice or millet spirit, used in ritual.
  • Timur raksi (Rolpa)Sichuan pepper (timur) is added to the mash at distillation; 50–100 g in the lab study.
  • Arunachal raksi (Monpa, Miji, Mishmi)Finger millet, rice or barley cooled on a charang mat and fermented 1 week in summer or 2 weeks in winter before distilling.
  • Karbi rakshi5 kg of fermented stock gives 3 L apong and 10–12 L rakshi (figures as printed).

Safety

Distilling concentrates both alcohol and other volatile compounds. In the Rolpa lab method the first 20 ml of each run was thrown away to reduce unwanted compounds; methods differ by maker.

History and sources

Every number is labelled with how it is known. How this atlas is made

In a 2024 survey of 15 home producers and traders in Rolpa, Nepal, 10 were women, and sellers were satisfied with strong local demand.

  1. [subedi2024] Subedi K., Dhungel A. 2024, Preparation and quality evaluation of "timur raksi", an indigenous alcoholic beverage of Rolpa, Nepal, Journal of Food Science and Technology Nepal 14:19–28paper
  2. [tamang2016] Tamang J.P., Watanabe K., Holzapfel W.H. 2016, Review: Diversity of microorganisms in global fermented foods and beverages, Frontiers in Microbiology 7:377 (raksi strength citing Kozaki et al. 2000)paper
  3. [thapa2004] Thapa S., Tamang J.P. 2004, Product characterization of kodo ko jaanr, fermented finger millet beverage of the Himalayas, Food Microbiology 21:617–622 (abstract)paper
  4. [shri2012] Shrivastava K., Greeshma A.G., Srivastava B. 2012, Biotechnology in tradition: a process technology of alcoholic beverages practiced by different tribes of Arunachal Pradesh, North East India, Indian Journal of Traditional Knowledge 11(1):81–89paper
  5. [wp-raksi] Wikipedia, Raksi (outline only)wiki