Chp 346. Mumbai: Hike in liquor prices!

This morning, I woke up in such a good mood – I’ll be leaving for GoaFest 2011 tomorrow, which means beaches, fenny, a well deserved break, Ad fests, nominations for The Abby’s, creative awards, beaches, shacks, fenny, beaches, all-night parties, etc..

And then I read this morning’s paper and became depressed immediately. Borderline Personality Disorder? Blame it on the news.

Party pooper: Liquor prices to go up by 40-60% in Mumbai

Talk of high spirits — beer and hard liquor will cost 40-60% more in Mumbai and the rest of Maharashtra. The alcoholic beverage industry is reworking costs steeply following the excise duty increase in the latest state budget.

The price rise will be steeper for popular or regular priced brands. A nip (180 ml pack) of Bagpiper and Officer's Choice whisky will move up from Rs 65 to Rs 105, jumping over 60%. McDowell's No. 1 whisky is expected to see an at least 50% hike with nips moving up from Rs 100 to Rs 150. A quart (750 ml pack) of Royal Stag whisky will jump from Rs 425 to Rs 615, while Blender's Pride will soar from Rs 650 to Rs 870.

Totally sucks.

It’s not like I’m an alcoholic and I will die if there’s no alcohol. I don’t drink to get drunk (errmmm…) But we work hard, from 9 in the morning to usually 1-2 in the morning almost every day. That’s like 16 hours a day. And after five such days of continuous hard work, it is indeed good to relax during the weekend with a bottle of sweet intoxicant… keeps my mind refreshed and my engines running for the next upcoming week.

Call me an old fart, but that’s how I spend my weekends now – Away from the digital world. No emails. No Facebook. No blogs. Just me and my sweet bottle of rum, watching a complete season of the latest something, either alone or with my ahemz. Complete relaxation.

And of course, being in Mumbai, there’s always the occasional party for some occasion or the other. Birthdays. Promos. Reunions. Farewells. Kitty parties.

Considering all that, and clubbing it with the high cost of living in Mumbai, life is definitely not going to be easy with such steep rise in liquor price. Vijay Rekhi, MD of United Spirits Ltd. whose Signature whisky jumped from Rs 650 to well over Rs 850 admitted that this is the biggest price hike he has seen in his career.

I’m a BLASINK – Bachelor Living Alone, Single Income, No Kids. With this 40-60% increase, my social life will definitely hit a sink hole.

I guess my lifestyle is definitely going to change in the next few weeks/months. With the only two options – either consume less of my regular brand, or shift to a cheaper brand, seem to be my main dilemma now. Well, at least thinking about Mizoram makes this pain less hurtful. The costs of illicit liquor and smuggled booze in Mizoram are still way more expensive than any other places in India.

This steep rise in liquor price is definitely going to affect the common man. But the worst affected will not be the consumers, but rather the small liquor business owners. I wonder how this will change the economy in the long run.

As for now, I’m training my thoughts on Goa. Letting this unhappy news slip by. Reach Goa. Have as much fun as possible. Drink, drink, drink. Cheap liquor. Cheap liquor. Cheap liquor. How I wish I’m a camel so that I can store some of the cheap booze in my body and re-consume them much later in Mumbai.

Ah…