Excise to introduce budget liquor to counter ‘Kasippu’

 In a bid to attract over 40% of the country’s illicit liquor drinkers into a much safer drinking culture the Department of Excise is mulling to introduce a new ‘quarter’ bottle with a lesser strength of arrack for an affordable price to match ‘Kasippu’, the Daily Mirror learns. Following the initial green light received from the Committee on Public Finance (COPF) last Friday to introduce a less strong and less expensive alcoholic beverage for the underprivileged consumers,the authorities have started carrying out research into the matter.

 

The Excise Department submitted a draft of the proposed Excise Gazette No.1/2025 to the COPF where the matter had been debated extensively, and no objections were made to the introduction of a substitute ‘quarter’ bottle for the regular illicit liquor consumer. Sources within the department told the Daily Mirror that the proposed ‘quarter’bottle with 180 millilitres will be made to an alcohol volume of 25% and willbe priced below Rs.600 inclusive of all government taxes. Compared to the traditional strength of a litre of ethanol with 96.6% alcohol volume a new spirit with a lower 85% alcohol volume has to be introduced for the production of the proposed drink, which the authorities are planning to make from the molasses manufactured in Pelwatte Sugar Industries and Sevanagala Sugar Factory.

 

Initial approval had already been received to the composition of the drink from the Department of Government Analyst, whilst more testing are underway with the Industrial TechnologicalInstitute (ITI).

 

According to sources the new alcoholic beverage, which will come in the form of arrack will encourage a large number of ‘Kasippu’ drinkers in Sri Lanka to deviate from the unhealthy and hazardous liquor to legitimately manufactured affordable spirit. The new drink will also bear similar avour and aroma of the so called ‘Kasippu’ to lure the consumers to a much safer booze.