Alcohol, Beer, Wine, Arrack, Toddy and Gin

Alcohol in Sri Lanka 

Spirits, wines and Sri Lankan beer are available at public bars, restaurants, wine shops, stores and some supermarkets. However, the sale of alcohol is prohibited on Poya days, public holidays and on occasional government-designated “dry” days.

The dedicated liquor retail outlets are open 09.00 to 21.00 daily, including Sundays, unless it’s a “dry” day.

Sri Lankan Spirits

Arrack and Coconut liquor is either drunk neat, mixed with coke or lemonade or used in tourist-oriented bars and restaurants as a base for cocktails. It’s available in various grades and is usually a darkish brown, though there are also colourless brands like White Diamond and White Label. The smoother, double-distilled arrack tastes faintly like rum.

There are also locally produced versions of most spirits, including rather a rough whisky, brandy, rum and vodka, as well as various brands of quite palatable dry gin and lemon gin. Imported spirits are widely available, but are expensive because of import duties and local taxation.

No alcohol in Sri Lanka on Poya days and other public holidays

You’re technically not allowed to buy alcohol on full-moon (Poya) days, although tourist hotels sometimes discreetly serve alcohol to visitors (often in a teapot). All bars and alcohol retail outlets close on dry days. If you’re a tourist on the road, you’ll need to buy your booze previously and carry it along with you.

Sri Lankan beer

Sri Lanka has a strong drinking culture – Sri Lankan beer was introduced by foreign captives during the Kandyan period, and later brewed by the British – and the Islanders have never looked back. The island’s two staple forms of alcohol are lager and arrack.

Lager beer is usually sold in large (625ml) bottles; draught lager is rare. There’s not a great choice of brands; all clock in with an alcohol content of just under five per cent. The staple national beer tipple, the ubiquitous Lion Lager, is uninspiring but perfectly drinkable.

More palatable beers include Carlsberg (brewed under licence in Sri Lanka), the delicately malty Three Coins, and Three Coins Riva, a good wheat beer. Anchor, Tiger beer by Heineken is also becoming increasingly popular: soft, creamy and a bit bland.

Lion also brews a very dense stout, Lion Stout, which is virtually a meal in itself, as well as Lion Strong (eight per cent a.b.v.), beloved by local alcoholics. As you’d expect, lager is relatively expensive in Sri Lankan terms, cheapest in a liquor shop and with a mark up in bars and restaurants. Imported beers, on rare occasions you can find them, come with an even heftier mark-up.

Toddy and Arrack, Coconut liquor

Two more distinctively local types of booze come from the versatile coconut. Toddy AKA coconut liquor, tapped from the flower of the coconut, is non-alcoholic when fresh but ferments into a beverage faintly reminiscent of cider – it’s sold informally in villages around the country, though unless you’re travelling with a Sinhala-speaker it’s difficult to track down.

When fermented and refined, toddy produces arrack (33% proof), Sri Lanka’s national beverage for the strong-livered – you won’t go far before finding a group of voluble Sri Lankan men clustered around a bottle.

Public drinking is illegal.

Even though you’ll find locals drinking on the beach, or by the side of the road, this is illegal.

Where to drink?

Most people drink in their hotel bar or guesthouse. There are a few decent bars and English-style pubs in Colombo, Kandy and a few tourist resorts, but most local bars are gloomy and rather seedy places, and very much a male preserve.

Important links

Importation of Alcohol to Sri Lanka through customs

Smoking and smoking up in Sri Lanka

Last Modified: December 2, 2024