Continuing the baggage of the colonial legacy, mahua is still categorised as ‘country liquor’ by the archaic excise laws which forbid a non-Adivasi to consume it or any manufacturer to produce it - dragging the negative notion of mahua.

 

But, good news is there is a change in the air. Not only in the assertion of scholars like Dr Vasava, but also in redoing mahua liquor as a brand that can compete with other market-dominating alcohols. Till date, we came across five mahua liquor brands, operating in India and abroad by changing the law or finding a legal workaround.

 

At the forefront of these efforts comes DesmondJi. It was introduced as IMFL, back in 2018 and available only in selected states of India due to legal glitches. This brand not only reinvented the drink, but also invigorated the much needed conversation around it, including a change in policy, to declare mahua as the ‘National Heritage Liquor’. 

 

Mond & Mohulo are products of Madhya Pradesh Govt., launched a couple of years back, available in selected outlets within MP. Along with introducing these two mahua brands, MP Govt. also declared mahua as a ‘heritage liquor’, thus righting a century old wrong. 

 

Aniruddha Mookerjee, who was the advisor of MP Govt on this project, is a stalwart in indigenous liquor. His insta handle desidaruguru is loaded with interesting information, insights and updates about mahua and other indigenous liquor repertoire of India.

 

Mah is a tribute to mahua, India's oldest indigenous drink, launched in Paris in 2021 and cherished since then. This is particularly important because this attempt wasn’t a mere introduction of the drink, but also presented the heritage of India’s very own traditional drink outside India.

 

Six Brothers Mahura, as of now, is the latest entry in this list and was made public in 2024.

 

These businesses/initiatives drew considerable attention from the media, generating headlines. A few are added above and a bunch of them are accumulated in the repository.

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But… Yes, there is a but. Or, rather quite a few!