Chennai: High temperatures, poll heat, drive liquor sales

Chennai: Thanks to the heat of the summer days as well as that of the election campaigns, the sales of beer and lower variants of brandy picked up by 15 per cent in state-run liquor outlets in Chennai. Tasmac authorities said that the sales in terms of revenue had picked up but not in terms of volume, when compared to previous polls. TN will also have four dry days this month during polling and counting and liquor consumers are expected to throng the Tasmac outlets on May 14 to stock up, a Tasmac official source said.

We have ordered for more stocks particularly beer and brandy varieties. In the case of beer, Kingfisher and British Empire are in demand and the brandy market has picked up 8 per cent due to the polls in urban areas and by 5 per cent in rural areas, a manager said. Tamil Nadu has always been a brandy market and this surge in sales started last month and will continue till the end of May. On the day of the results (May 19) also we are expecting a surge in sales, he said.

Tasmac sources maintained that the sale of whisky has dipped slightly while the sales of rum have taken a beating. The young consumers in the districts nowadays prefer beer while old timers switch to brandy in summer, sources said. Premium brands of whisky like Signature and Royal Challenge are constant and the spike in sales is common in ordinary and medium brands of brandy like Monitor, MC Brandy and VSOP, sources said.   

When contacted, a senior election official who is monitoring the sale of liquor, admitted that the sales have not come down despite stringent patrolling and checking by coops. We have seized a huge number of liquor bottles carried in bulk from Pondy, Vellore and Coimbatore areas, but the sales are not dipping here either, the official quipped.