Before the crowds descend on the Whisky Jewbilee, a kosher alcohol tasting event in Manhattan, David and Dorit Nahmias stand behind their vendor table, getting psyched up.
"This is like the big game," Dorit Nahmias says.
Events like these are a key tool for getting the word out about their tiny distillery, and the Nahmiases attend half a dozen of them per year. The product they're trying to sell is one few people have heard of: mahia. Dorit rehearses her pitch:
"We'll say, 'This is mahia. It's distilled from figs. My husband's family were distillers in Morocco for generations and we are revitalizing it here in Yonkers.' "
The tiny Nahmias et Fils distillery takes up one room in a converted warehouse space just outside New York City. In the entry area are Moroccan rugs, a decorative copper still and old photos of David Nahmias' parents. He grew up watching both parents and grandparents distill mahia over wood and fire in Morocco. Since Morocco is largely a Muslim country, Jews traditionally did the work of producing alcohol, though all enjoyed the clear liquor once it was made — even if they weren't always open about it.
"I grew up with people constantly coming to our home and asking for mahia — the Jews, Muslims, even the cops ... so mahia was part of the tradition of living with people, Jews and Muslims, together," he says.
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