Celebrating Indian Flowering Trees
Heritage Liquor
In 2021, the chief minister of Madhya Pradesh declared mahua as a heritage liquor. This was the cue for enterprising community members of the Bhilala tribe to begin commercial mahua liquor production in earnest. Ancestors of these tribes had been producing the liquor for centuries.
This liquor produced in the Alirajpur district is sold under the brand name Mond. The bottle carrying the clear drink has a pale-yellow sticker featuring a tippy horse attired in red and blue. The horse may have run straight from a wedding dislodging the groom! The bottle also mentions, “pot-still-distilled”, a claim of its traditional batch production in copper kettles making it a full-bodied liquor. It is now twice-distilled to enhance its strength.
Not to be left behind, the Gond tribe from Bhakha Mal village in Dindori district began their production. Their drink is called Mohulo. The label, also a pale-yellow sticker features a pink and green mahua tree. They claim the drink as “artisanal and organic.”
The effect of mahua was best described by The Economist, “a little mahua makes a person act like a parakeet, giggly and repetitive; a lot makes people tigerish, roaring and full of bluster; and too much makes people act like pigs or mice, ‘rolling on the ground, wallowing in mud or looking for a hole to hide in.”’
Flower Bearing Tree
The mahua tree grows easily in barren parts of rocky and mountainous regions. The deciduous tree reaches a height of forty to fifty feet. When planted, the job is carried out by older men because the tribals believe that the person planting the mahua tree hastens his death. The flowers begin blooming in February and peak in March and April. The Santhal tribe celebrate the Baha Parab or the Festival of Flowers that signifies the arrival of new mahua flowers.
The flowers blossom at the edge of small branches in clusters of twenty to thirty. The yellow-green flowers dissipate a sweet, musky and often intoxicating fragrance. The flowers loaded with sugar and nicely ripened, drop to the forest floor, where they get collected by tribals. The tribals are careful to never break the flowers directly from the tree nor shake the flowers off the tree. The legend has it that if forced that way, the trees will not flower the following year.
Dried mahua flowers look reddish-brown like raisins and are used to make the liquor. The tree is just not another tree, it is a kalpavriksha (wish-granting tree) to the tribals. Its products have medicinal properties that help in treating joint pain, ulcers, skin diseases and bleeding gums. The mahua flowers, when dried, can also be milled into flour.
Colonial History
For centuries, the tribals prepared the liquor using dried mahua flowers and a small amount of jaggery. They expanded the ingredients to include juniper berries, coriander seeds, orange blossom, basmati rice, and a touch of honey. Apart from domestic consumption, it was historically served at festivals, weddings, births and funerals. Then it began to be offered clandestinely at make-shift shacks at fairs, where men, women and children came out to grab their drink in brass or earthen vessels. The vendors would be ready to shut shop and flee if law enforcement officers passed by. Buffaloes carrying leather bags across their backs filled with local liquor were driven from village to village. The New York Times edition of April 11, 1920 highlighted the success of indigenous alcohol, “The Koran is not keeping Mohammedans from drinking, although it forbids any follower of the prophet to touch liquor. The Hindu’s sacred books are not preventing the Hindu from drinking, and neither is the Bible preventing Christians from drinking.”
Colonial officers considered mahua flowers “food for the poor” and less nutritious and inadequate for a proper diet. Mahua became a contentious issue for the British as the need for imported spirits dropped. The government passed the Bombay Abkari Act of 1878 to consolidate the state’s monopoly over import, export, transport, manufacture, sale, and possession of liquor. While the rule made the distillation of alcohol illegal without a license, it did not prevent the tribals from gathering the mahua flowers. Consequently, the Mhowra Act of 1892 was passed that plugged this loophole. It prohibited the collection, storage, possession, and transport of mahua flowers without a paid government license.
Now in the 21st century, the tribals can produce the liquor commercially. Other breweries such as South Seas Distilleries, DesmondJi and The Good Craft Co. are making it popular globally. The Financial Times describes the modern mahua liquor as “a mix of musk, ripe jackfruit, pepper, guava cheese and rice wine.” Conde Nest Traveller recommends enjoying “Mond on the rocks, with a dash of soda and a slice of Gondhoraj or Italian lemon. It also goes well with tonic, lemon and crushed ice or ginger ale.”
Sources
“This new mahua liquor comes from the indigenous tribes of Madhya Pradesh” by Arundhati Ail, Conde Nest Traveller, August 17, 2023
“Utilization of mahua resources: Traditional knowledge as a tool for sustainable Management” by H.T. Hegde, R.P. Gunaga, N.S. Thakur, J.B. Bhusara, R.L. Soundarva, Current Science, JSTOR, November 25, 2019
“Prohibition for India; Combination of Christian Missionaries, Mohammedans and Hindus for a Dry Regime in That Country”, The New York Times, April 11, 1920
“Mahua, the banned Indian liquor, is back on the Menu” by Alice Lascelles, Financial Times, July 4, 2026
“Mahua: A Lifesaving Famine Food in the Nineteenth Century” by Sunny Ruchi Ecka, Global Environment
“Mahua is smooth as scotch now. MP tribal liquor is at Taj, Marriott tasting sessions” by Iram Siddique, ThePrint, November 4, 2023
“Forget smelling flowers; now you can drink them”, The Economist, August 26, 2025
“Indian gin tips hat to the Mahua flower” by Smriti Mukerji, Villagesquare, May 9, 2025