The Term “Arak” in the Asian World

Dash De Soysa, whose preferred title is “Arrack: A History of Alcohol and Distillation in Sri Lanka aand the Wider World”

Long before the rise of the global trade in brandy, whisky, rum and other European spirits, arrack was the world’s first international spirit and Batavia arrack was the world’s first luxury spirit. The evolution of this trade in Asia is traced to around the 9th century AD. The term was in use in India before the 13th century. The more ancient undistilled liquors like toddy, wine, cider and beer were important commodities of trade with a greater antiquity.

Technologically, humans had shown to be rather ingenious and spent a good deal of time and effort in discovering, inventing and perfecting the art of producing alcohol. It was  incorporated into early religions and utilized for medicinal purposes, fermentation enhanced nutrition, reduced gluten toxicity and has antimicrobial properties. The Middle East and Asia appear crucial to the early history of distillation, although today their position in the global spirits trade overshadows their importance. Arak has its roots in the Middle East, particularly in the Levant region. Known locally as arakku, Sri Lankan arrack has a history of over a housand years. However, Sri Lanka’s distillation history has not been fullyunravelled, and there is a lot of speculation and exaggeration.

Until recently, it was passed off as a European introduced technology. A few writers have attempted to give it an older heritage, but without a comprehensive set of evidence. Our ancestors actually consumed alcohol before they were human. Thus, understanding the
evolutionary relationships between alcohol and the variety of species that have evolved to exploit it, will also widen our understanding of both alcohol and humans. Analysing the historicity, by taking into account the genetics, the archeological and the written accounts, as well as the more recent beliefs and constructs, will help illuminate its history and bring clarity to an often-misunderstood subject.

ORIGINS & EVOLUTION
Ethanol is toxic to most organisms and only a few organisms are even capable of
ingesting it. The primary enzymes involved in alcohol metabolism are alcohol
dehydrogenase (ADH) and aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH). ADH helps oxidize
ethanol to acetaldehyde, a relatively toxic molecule, and ALDH detoxifies
acetaldehyde by helping to oxidize it to acetic acid (vinegar). Interestingly, humans
have as many as seven different ADH genes and nine different ALDH genes.
Research over the past decade has provided evidence that the consumption of
overripe fermenting (rotting) fruit was accompanied by an adaptive evolution of
genes involved in alcohol metabolism in great apes. This had enabled an
evolutionary benefit to exploit the high caloric content of fermenting fruit whilst
minimizing the toxic effects of alcohol consumption. This tendency of apes to seek
out ripe fruit that has fallen to the ground is termed “scrumping”.

Some primates were able to metabolize alcohol contained in fermenting fruit as early
as 50-80 million years ago. However, this ADH4 enzyme only broke down small
amounts of ethanol very slowly. But about 10 million years ago, there was a gene-
mutation in the common ancestor of great apes, which includes humans,
chimpanzees and gorillas. This gene protein that was 40 times more efficient at
ethanol metabolism was selected for in our lineage. The scientists noted that the
timing of this mutation coincided with a shift to a terrestrial lifestyle, when our primate
ancestors began moving to life on the ground. The smell of fermentation was a
signal that fruit was at its ripest and most calorically dense — this association with a
key food source is thought to explain why human brains evolved to link pleasure
pathways with alcohol consumption. These findings not only help shed light on the
behavior of our primate ancestors but also might explain why the craving for alcohol
exists in the first place.

ARCHEAOLOGY ARTIFACTS
In 2018, researchers studying a burial site of semi-nomadic hunter-gatherers in a
prehistoric cave near Haifa in modern Israel, found the world’s oldes brewery, with
residue of 13,000-year-old beer;. The historic brew from the mesolithic era, was a wheat-and-barley-based alcohol, more porridge and gruel-like, and was found in stone mortars up to 24in (60cm) deep — carved into the cave floor. The findings
suggest that the manufacture of alcohol was not a side product of agriculture and
likely preceded it, challenging the theory that grain was first domesticated for food.
Another archeological site with chemical evidence of fermented beverages is the
Neolithic (hunting, foraging and farming) settlement of Jiahu in the Yellow River
valley, China. The 9,000-year-old concoction from pottery jars, was a mix of honey,
grapes, hawthorn berries and rice. These discoveries support the hypothesis that in
some regions, alcohol may have been an underlying motivation to cultivate cereals.
The “pharmacological model”, “competitive feasting” and the “alcohol model” help
explain this Neolithic transition. The discovery of monumental megalithic sites from
the era prior to the domestication of plants and animals like Göbekli Tepe (9500
BCE) and pre-agricultural settlements like Körtik Tepe (10700–9250 BCE) in Türkiye,
with probable indications of fermentation, lends some support for the 'beer-before-
bread' and 'feasting' hypothesis, and has forced us to re-evaluate motives of the neolithic revolution. Even today, most adults regularly use psychoactive substances
derived from early domesticates including alcohol, nicotine, caffeine, and sugars.
Archaeological excavations have also unearthed from several Egyptian sites, the
world’s oldest industrial-scale breweries, dated to between 3100–3600 BCE; the
daily ration of beer for the workers who built the pyramids of Giza was nearly 4 liters.
The earliest definitive evidence of wine production is dated to 6000 BC in Georgia,
5400 BC from the West Azarbaijan Province of northwestern Iran and 4200 BC from
Dikili Tash, in the Eastern Macedonian region of Greece. Traces of tartaric acid that
accrue during wine production have also been discovered on stone bowls from the pre-pottery neolithic site of Körtik Tepe. Archeological excavations of ancient Sumerian sites from about 3500 BC, has yielded incomplete remains of what may  have been evaporation vessels from devices used for distilling substances like essential oils. A group of Akkadian clay tablets from another site (dated to circa 1200 BCE) describing perfumery operations, provides the textual evidence for Sumero-Babylonian distillation. Excavations at sites across greater Gandhāra, including
Shaikhān Dherī, have yielded parts of an ancient type of pot-still, with diverse
receiver-condenser forms. In total, 76 components of baked clay retorts and
receivers were recorded across 16 sites: 65 receiver-condensers, seven still heads
and four condensing tubes. They include specimens from as early as the fourth
century BCE and are found in numerous archeological sites of the ancient Gandhāra
kingdom, from the Peshawar valley to the river Indus and even as far south as
Mysore. The Gandhāran excavations appear to show combined distillery-taverns,
where spirits were made in the back and served in the front. The stamped cups and
condensers indicate that this commodity and trade was likely taxed and regulated.

TERMINOLOGY & TECHNOLOGY
Araq ….The term “arak” means distilled spirit in Arabic and is derived from the Arabic word —meaning sweat or perspiration, likely referring to the condensation process in
distillation, but the word can also mean sap, essence or spirit. The earliest traces of
arak-like drinks can be found in the annals of ancient Mesopotamia, dating back to
around 2000 BCE. As per the archeological and textual evidence, the practice of
distillation appears to have originated here. As mentioned, the Gandhāran still was
an ancient form of clay pot-still, known to have been utilized as early as the 5th
century BCE in which the alcohol vapor is drawn off through a clay or bamboo tube
to an external condensation pot. Also referred to as the elephant's head still, it is
thought to have been capable of producing a weak liquor, due to the less efficient
means of collecting the vapors at lower heat. Repeated distillation would allow a
stronger spirit. Interestingly, this type of still resembled one of the two main types in
popular use throughout South Asia (including Sri Lanka) into the 20th century,
permitting us, in India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, to take its distillation history back to
around 500 BCE. In the 7th century, a sugar-cane distillate was noticed by
Xuanzang (602-664), the Nālandā trained Chinese scholar monk and explorer. The
Indian subcontinent appears to be the first place to develop the practice on
something approaching an industrial scale.
China has a long-documented history of brewing alcohol from grain, extending to
around 7000 BCE, particularly along the Yellow River. Distilled spirits are thought to
have been introduced to China somewhere between the 2nd and the 11th century
CE. Distillation in China may have begun during the Eastern Han dynasty (100–200
CE) and 'the Mongol still' was in use by the time of the Tang dynasty (618-907CE).
The industry expanded during the Jin and Southern Song dynasties (10th–13th centuries) with the improved Chinese side-tube still. Remains of a still were found in
an archaeological site in Qinglong, Hebei province, China, dating back to the 12th
century. The Venetian explorer Marco Polo (who served the Mongol ruler Kublai
Khan between c. 1275 and 1292 CE), mentions the widespread consumption of
liquor in China, and it being one of the biggest sources of income for the treasury.
The oldest operating distillery in the world, which was established in the mid 16th
century at Luzhou, southern Szechuan, continues to operate producing baijiu, the
sorghum-based liquor is the world’s most consumed spirit.
The word “distillare;”(to drip off), as used by the Romans such as the author,
scientist, and naval commander, Pliny the Elder (AD 23/24 – 79), was not in the
modern sense of the word. Some writers have attributed the invention of the alembic
(a distillation apparatus) to one Cleopatra the Alchemist, who is thought to have
been active in Alexandria in the 3rd or 4th century AD, though the name itself is a
pseudonym for an unknown author(s)/alchemist(s). The experiments of the pioneer
alchemist Zosimos of Panopolis (circa 300 AD) involved distillation equipment. The
initial distillation stills of the Alexandrian alchemists in Egypt had not incorporated
water-cooled condensation, resulting in the evaporation of alcohol. The subsequent
apparatus likely incorporated Gandharan elements, as Pliny the elder mentions of
'water/wines that burn when exposed to fire'. The distillation of wine is attested in
Arabic works attributed to al-Kindī (c. 801–873 CE) and to al-Fārābī (c. 872–950),
and al-Zahrāwī's (936–1013) Kitāb al-Taṣrīf was translated into the Latin Liber
Servatoris in 1463. Surprisingly, till about the 12th century, there are no records of
European consumption of distilled spirits, unlike wine, beer, cider and mead.
Stiftskeller St. Peter inn in Austria (est. 803 AD) and Staffelter Hof winery in
Germany (862 AD) remain the oldest continuously operating companies of Europe,
and amongst the oldest ten globally.
Alchemists made significant advancements in distillation techniques during the
Islamic Golden Age. Jābir ibn Ḥayyān (c. 721–815) and Abū Bakr al-Rāzī (c.
865–925) experimented extensively with the distillation of various substances. Jābir
ibn Ḥayyān is often credited with refining the alembic (al-anbiq) still, introducing the
use of copper for its superior heat conduction and purification properties.
(Interestingly, Jābir ibn Ḥayyān, the court alchemist, started under the patronage of
the Barmakid Vizers of the Abbasid Caliphate, who were previously a Buddhist
administrative family from Balkh, Afghanistan, once part of the Kushan-Gandhāran
empire, where distillation was widely practised). Distilled alcohol was used for
various purposes, including the production of perfumes and kohl, a cosmetic.
Nevertheless, the distribution of arak and its derivatives closely follows the pattern of
the Arab-Islamic trading networks and conquests — the rakia, rakija, rachiu, rachie
or raki fruit spirits of the Balkans and the Mediterranean, to the arak, orraca and
arakku of South and Southeast Asia, as well as the arkhi distilled from airag, the
fermented mare's milk of the central Eurasian Tartars and Mongols. Arrack predates all of the New World spirits. The Genoese merchants who introduced the spirit to the
Russian nobility also invested in sugar cane production throughout the Canary
Islands. Thus, it is the parent of vodka as well as rum.
The base material for Arak varies depending on the region. In South-East Asian
countries like Java (Indonesia) and Malacca (Malaysia), rice and sugar cane juice is
used. In North Africa and the Middle East, dates and figs are often added, and in
Crete and Cyprus, grape wine and raisins are used. The national drink of Lebanon,
Arak, and Greece, Rakı, (as well as Türk Rakısı) is twice-distilled grape pomace and
flavored with aniseed. Ottoman Sultan Orhan Bey frequently gifted the grape derived
araki to important associates, whilst Murad IV banned coffee, tobacco and alcohol. In
India and in Sri Lanka, palm tree sap or sugar cane juice is common. In the early
1300's, Ziauddin Barani, the first known Muslim to write a history of India, mentions
that the sweet-scented 'arq of Delhi were distilled in the towns of Kol, Aligrah and
Meerut and were aged for 2-3 years.
Recipes to produce spirits by distilling wine with salt appear in several Latin works of
the 12th century. By the end of the 13th century, it had become a widely known
substance among Western European chemists. In Bologna, improvements to the still
were added, such as the coiled vine-like condenser, a serpentine outflow pipe that
was cooled in a tub of water (canale serpentinum). Its commercial use was recorded
in 14th century Italy and is considered as one of the new technologies that laid the
foundation for the subsequent European Renaissance. The first printed manual on
the distillation of medicinal waters (aqua vitae) — Liber de arte distillandi, by
Hieronymus Brunschwig, was published in Strasbourg in 1500 AD. Also, the
European term ‘alcohol” derives from the amalgamation of the Semitic (Arabic) word
spelled variously as ‘kuhl / kohl/ kohol / koheul and the Arabic prefix "al". Prior to that, distilled spirits in Europe were referred to as aqua ardens (burning water) and
water of life aqua-vitae in Latin, uisge-beatha in Celtic and eau-de-vie in French.

WRITTEN ACOUNTS: THE PRE EUROPEAN ERA
There are various references to alcohol in ancient texts and inscriptions from
Kashmir to Assam, Kerala and Sri Lanka. There is some speculation about alcohol
consumption in the Indus Valley civilization (3300–1300 BCE), where beef was a
part of the diet, a characteristic shared with many of the Adhivasi (indigenous)
communities of the subcontinent, who also tend to produce traditional fermented or
distilled liquor. The renowned historian and chemist Syed Mahdihassan (1981),
using etymology, chemistry and archeology as his basis, suggests that pariśrut was
a spirituous liquor of India from the era prior to the Aryan migration. The Rigveda
(circa 1600–1000 BCE), the oldest sacred text of Hinduism, one of the world's oldest
religious texts and sources of the Indo-Iranian language group, frowns upon drinking,
but outlines a set of rules to guide prudent drinking. It recommends the consumption
of soma by Brahmins during rituals but prohibits other intoxicating beverages. The

Atharvaveda (1200–1000 BCE) specifies the method of preparation of the sacred
ritual euphoriant – soma. By the time of the later Vedic culture, when the Sutras were
written (900–700 BCE), there are references to various kinds of fermented drinks –
kilala that was made out of a cereal of the same name; masara, made out of a
filtered rice gruel, or kanji and pariśruta, various fermented beverages made out of
the juices of certain flowers and special grasses/grains.
Treatise of the subsequent Mahajanapada and Classical/Empire eras (6th century
BC to the 6th century AD), such as the Suśruta-Saṃhitā and the Caraka-Saṃhitā,
the Sanskrit texts on Ayurveda, mention sooraa, sīdhu, ariṣṭa, madhu, madirā and
āsava as drinks with medicinal, intoxicating and anaesthetic properties. The Caraka-
Saṃhitā (3rd century BC–5th century AD), mentions a huge variety of intoxicating
drinks (84), treatments for excessive intoxication as well as some of the positive and
negative attributes of drinking – "like nectar if used by persons predominant in sattva
(truth) and with reasoning, otherwise like poison". It promotes moderation and gives
an upper-class view, such as being well adorned and perfumed and the use of gold
and silver goblets, accompanied with fruits and roasted meats, served by beautiful
women in good company. Vatsayana's treatise also, mentions the leisure drinking
parties of urbanised men.
According to Om Prakash (1961), the Indian economic historian, surā (सुरा) was a
strong Vedic era intoxicating liquor of the Indian subcontinent derived from distilling
fermented millet, barley or rice, though others are of the opinion that it refers to beer.
Surāh and meraya is also mentioned in Buddhist Pali manuscripts —
Surāmerayamajjapamādaṭṭhānā veramaṇī sikkhāpadaṃ samādiyāmi ("I undertake
the training rule to abstain from intoxicating drinks which cause heedlessness"). As
per the Surāpāna Jātaka, during the drinking festival of Madirotsava (also known as
Surakshana), held in Vārāṇasī, the king of Kāśī provides free liquor to all the
attendees. Another Jātaka tale refers to how one alcohol seller observed happy
hours throughout the day, leading to rioting by drunks in which many were injured.
The legal text, Manusmṛiti (100BCE–300CE), introduced a harsher stance by
textually degrading the status of any consumer and removing the religious
importance of alcohol — these appear to be efforts to control alcoholism. The
Arthashastra (300BC–100AD), the Mauryan era treatise on statecraft, mentions a
superintendent of surā, which attests to the existence of a drinking culture and the
generation of state revenue via the processes of control and taxation, but
recommends that "householders should be free to manufacture white liquor on
festive occasions". It also mentions the usefulness of taverns for intelligence
gathering and indicates the existence of nearly a dozen varieties of liquor. Vāruṇī,
refers both to an intoxicating beverage and the goddess of liquor and intoxication.
Prepared from the sap of the date palm, the palmyra palm and several other
ingredients, considered more potent and prized than surā.

The Puṟanāṉūṟu, a work of Sangam literature between the 1st century BCE and 5th
century CE, speaks of toddy flowing like water in the port town of Muziri on the
Malabar coast and the steadiest customers along the peninsula’s long coastline
being sailors. Apart from toddy, beverages brewed from rice called thoppi were also
popular. Amphorae from various wine-producing regions in the Mediterranean have
been found in ancient ports of the Indus Delta and far south as Pattanam and
Arikamedu in the ancient Tamil country. The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea, the
Greco-Roman text on navigation and trade (circa, 50 AD), refers to the import of
Roman wine into ports like Karachi (Sindh), Broach (Gujrat) and Muziris (Kerala).
The Indian nobility, in particular, showed a preference for white and dark wine from
Rome and Afghanistan. As per the textual record, there appears to have been a
class-caste divide in the ancient customs of drinking. The royalty was forbidden to
drink grain-based liquors, but enjoyed maireya, a spicy wine made from fruits and
flowers with a natural sugar base. This is the drink offered to Sita by Rama in
Valmiki's Ramayana. The 7th century Da Tang Xiyu Ji (Records of the Western
Regions), the travelogue of the Chinese scholar monk Xuanzang, mentions that the
nobility (Kshatriyas) drank fruit or flower wines, the rich Vaishyas preferred to drink
strong distilled liquor, while the Brahmins mostly stuck to fruit juices. Around the
same time, the jolly Pallava king Mahendravarman I (571– 630CE), wrote one of his
two immortal and comical, one-act Sanskrit plays; Mattavilasa Prahasana (A Farce
of Drunken Sport), a satire on the drunken orgies of rascally holy men.
Thanks to a 10th century Persian chronicler based in the port cities of Siraf and
Basra (after 915–916 CE), Sri Lanka can lay claim to the oldest record of distilled
coconut arrack — Arab sailors had noticed a liquor of palm-honey boiled. Abū Zayd
Ḥasan ibn Zayd al-Sīrāfī, who documented it, was an explorer, merchant, mariner
and geographer, best known for his detailed accounts of his voyages in the Indian
Ocean and the China Sea. He also documented the travels of Ibn Wahb al-Basri, an
Arab merchant from Basra, Abbasid Empire, who sailed to China via the Indian
Ocean between 872-877 CE. The refreshing liquor of the palm-groved estuaries,
ports and coasts of 9th century Sarandib (Sri Lanka) was 'made of Palm-Honey
boiled, prepared with the juice which runs from the tree'. In 1859, this was referred to
as 'exhilarating draughts of arrack flavoured with honey' by James Emmerson
Tennent, the scholar and Colonial Secretary of Ceylon. The mid 10th century
Hopitigama (Badulla pillar) inscription indicates widespread consumption of toddy
during the Auradhapura kingdom. Inscribed during the reign of Udaya IV (946-954), it
instructs that; 'royal officers who have come to the village should not receive liquor,
meat, curd, or ghee; they should not enter gardens and demand toddy, and they
should not take part in illicit trade..' Writing in the mid 12th century, Muhammad al-
Idrisi (1100–1165), the celebrated Moor geographer and cartographer, mentions
about the royal monopoly of the imported liquor trade of Serendib. (Whilst the 13th
century travelogue of the Venetian merchant Marco Polo and the 1432 record of the
Chinese explorer Ma-Huan, mentions of the tree wine of Seilan and Hsi-lan-kuo,

drinking appears to have not been widespread in the Kandyan kingdom, at least
during the 17th century captivity of the English sailor, Robert Knox).
Ziauddin Barani (1285–1357), the historian of the Delhi Sultanate, mentions that
there was a lively trade in 'arq, the locally distilled cane spirit, as well as the illicit
production and sale in houses, subsequent to the prohibition imposed by sultan
Alauddin Khalji. At the same time, southern and western India made large amounts
of palm-sap arrack. These spirits were full-fledged articles of commerce, at a time
when the European spirits trade was just beginning. The Asian spirits trade of the 9th
to the 13th century, involved shipments of palm and sugar cane spirits around the
Bay of Bengal, Siam to Burma, grape spirits from Central Asia to China and rice
spirits from China to Java. As per Ma Huan (1380-1460), an associate of Admiral
Zheng He, and a primary source on the voyages of the Ming Dynasty Treasure Fleet,
Siam was producing coconut-palm spirit and Bengal coconut and nipa (mangrove)
palm spirit.
THE EUROPEAN ERA
In the 16th century, Ferdinand Magellen's associates mention about arach – the
spirit distilled from rice in Southeast Asia. Similarly, the Portuguese note that orraca
was the local spirit distilled from coconut sap in early 16th century Goa. With the
initial intercontinental shipments like the 2426 jars of orraca shipped by Francisco
Corbinel from Goa to Lisbon, circa 1515 AD, enough to relieve him of all his debts,
began the enduring global spirits trade. However, the Portuguese could not fully
develop and profit from the trade as the wine trade was Protected by Royal Decree.
The Portuguese added feni, distilled out of the cashew fruit (native to South
America), to the list of alcoholic drinks found on the subcontinent. It was the Dutch
and the British that would go on to profit and expand the arrack trade. British traders
started buying arrack from the Chinese distillers of Java as long ago as 1634, while a
Danish explorer describes seeing a huge number or arrack distilleries on Java in
1673 and the Dutch mention there were twelve distilleries in and around Batavia in
1712.
Arrack became a sought-after commodity in the East-West trade and an important
ration on the ships over the following centuries. By the late 17th and early 18th
century, European markets had a demand for Goa, Batavia and Colombo arrack (as
it was spelt in English). In 1712, for instance, there was the rare occasion of
Colombo arrack being sold in London at a premium price of 14 shillings per gallon
(4.546 litres), comparable to the price of premium brandy and 2 shillings more than
the usually more expensive Batavian version. Arrack's popularity was largely due to
the popularity of punch. Interestingly, ‘punch’ is thought to have derived from the
Hindustani ‘pāñch’, which means ‘five’, a reference to the number of tropical
ingredients for the drink, which traditionally were arrack, sugar, lime juice, spice and
water. Punch became the first popular cocktail drink based on spirits.

Batavia Arrack takes its name from Batavia, Indonesia, the Dutch colony – the
modern-day Jakarta. The spirit itself is distilled from a modification of the older
Chinese origin rice liquor produced in combination with palm wine and sugar cane
molasses. The industry expanded with the new capital of the Dutch colonists, who
made a significant contribution in encouraging the distillation of spirits, the production
of copper stills and in maturing, blending and shipment. In Sri Lanka too, the VOC
(Dutch East India Company) government, promoted distillation and the expansion of
coconut cultivation. The coconut palm is somewhat of a 'tree of life', providing food,
shelter and drink. The Mahavamsa mentions that coconut plantations in the South
were promoted by a 6th century King. Harvesting the sap from the coconut flowers is
a skilled task, requiring the person to climb the branchless palm tree (20 to 60 feet)
and move between trees using a few ropes as a 'bridge'. The sweet sap is harvested
by slicing the coconut flower stalks and tying (clay) pots underneath, to collect the
accumulated liquid overnight. The sap, known as toddy (රා rā in Sinhala and கள்ளு
kaḷḷu in Tamil), is a white, slightly sour, fizzy beverage and ferments of its own
accord, because it contains both natural sugars and yeasts. Toddy (4-8% ABV),
needs to be distilled (or preserved) within 24 hours before it goes sour and turns to
vinegar. About seven parts of toddy are required to distil one part of arrack.
Traditionally, the Ceylonese used a clay pot still identical to the Gandhāran one of
antiquity. As with most other spirits, the first distillation results in a spirit of varying
strength; a strong to a weak polwakāra, and the distillation of the ‘low wine’ a second
time produces a high proof spirit, then usually aged in Halmilla (Trincomalee wood
tree) vats and blended (watered) to standardise the legal alcohol content (ABV).
As with other aspects of industrialisation, Britain led the way in the industrial scale of
production, shipment and control via excise laws. In the 18th century, the British East
India Company (EIC) relied partly on Indian bankers to finance their operations in the
sub-continent. Both the VOC and the EIC were innovative capitalist ventures, aimed
at generating income for the shareholders, investors and speculators, and helped
create new wealth, coupled with the traditional method of conquest. The
entrepreneurial Parsi community, brewed liquor on the small island of Udan near the
port of Bombay and later expanded to distilling spirits with the guidance of the
British. It is still referred to in the community as Shah Dāru, or the royal medicine. In
1876, the right to set up stills outside government control (Out Stills) was auctioned
to the highest bidders, for more efficient means of revenue generation/expansion.
Alcohol revenue is still the second-largest source of tax revenue in several Indian
states, and India has emerged the world’s largest producer and consumer of whisky
and export demand continues to rise as Indian malts appeal to global connoisseurs.
The first modern distillery in India was set up in Kanpur in 1805, to make rum for the
Army, followed by another in Shahjahanpur. Several distilleries were also
established in Indian princely states, which introduced Western-style brewing and
distillation techniques. Later, industrial alcohol emerged as a commodity essential to

Indian economic nationalism and industrialisation. By contrast, in Ceylon, the
transition from the traditional still to the modern still took place over a century later.
In 1834, the Excise Ordinance of Ceylon created an excise system for the entire
country, tightening laws and preventing the manufacture and retail of arrack without
a permit. It also curtailed local officials and government servants from engaging in
the industry due to the obvious conflicts of interest. The production was centred
along the coastal belt, particularly in the Western Province; for purposes of efficient
revenue collection, the British restricted production to the Western and Southern
Provinces. During the Dutch era, the Eurasian Burghers were the advantaged
community to profit from the tavern industry. However, during the British era, a lot
more natives were able to engage in business. Whilst British authorities classified
Eurasian tavern-keepers and arrack renters as 'merchants' and 'respected
somebodies', some later Eurasian writers have attempted to classify the enterprising
and learned Sinhalese who outbid the former, as 'humble nobodies'. The native
merchant/entrepreneur of that era, was rarely your average working-class person,
the hardworking peeler, tiller, fisher or even the tapper, but those that had the
means, the resources and the experience, which, for some, comes almost by default
on an Island in the middle of an ancient and historic trade route. Admittedly, as with
all conquerors and colonists, the opportunities for the natives become limited and
somewhat chosen for, but with economic expansion comes opportunity, particularly
for those in the right place with the right skills and requirements. Whilst fortunes were
made or lost, contrary to some later constructs, none of them made their initial
capital in the arrack industry – an industry, especially after 1834, when licences were
secured at auction for entire districts or provinces, requiring more capital and asset
sureties than most other industries easily accessible to the natives of that era. The
surety was as much as half the value of the total rent and the property had to be
owned by the bidder for no less than a decade. Typically, they were the somebodies
of their localities or their associates.
The British, with their shrewd acumen, auctioned the rights to retail arrack and
collect the various other toll rents, to the highest bidder, thereby securing a part of
the revenue by the start of the fiscal year. The largest revenue from renting till 1892
was the paddy-tax, but the toll-rents were equally profitable to the arrack-rents, and
significantly less risky, whilst the government's share was almost guaranteed. The
successful bidder was referred to as the farmer and/or the renter, giving them the
exclusive right to retail in a specified area/district/province, which they usually sublet
to individual taverns. Prior to 1834, it was the individual taverns that were auctioned
by the government. Pioneer Europeans, like George Bird, 'the father of the Ceylon
coffee industry', were also engaged in the tavern renting business. As were Burghers
(Eurasians) like Barend de Vos, J Labrooy and Jacob de Heer and the monied
Chetties. Similarly, the native entrepreneurs were more than equal to the task,
especially when considering the banks of that era, all European owned, virtually

never extended capital to the natives (unless occasionally via Chetti intermediaries),
until the first native-owned bank sometime later. Entrepreneurial skill, wealth enough
to post sureties, the local authority to prevent illicit sales, and the boldness to deal on
a face-to-face basis with the 'lordly' Government Agent were some of the qualities
demanded of the renters. Though one may be tempted to see this as a certain
stratum in society, the material and the practical abilities were important. However,
the lack of Muslim participation may have eased some of the competition.
The steadiest customer base were the carters, artisans and the workforce in relation
to the upcountry planting districts, railway construction, infrastructure and public
works. Whilst the expanding plantation sector was an important source of custom,
the Colombo and the Western Province rents remained by far the largest, with the
traditional Low-Country customer base. The port area was consistently the most
lucrative and occasionally the Central Province rents auctioned at a higher price. The
tradesmen, artisans and carters themselves were a major source of custom, as
noted by the administration, and evidenced by the drastic decline in sales in the
roadside taverns with the establishment of the modern railway. There is a tendency
by some writers, to underestimate the share of profits and the profit-making abilities
of the distiller, wholesaler and the retailer (taverns), and overestimate that of the
farmer/renter; as such, probable discrepancies in the supply chain tends to be added
to that of the renter, the licence-holder who guaranteed the government. The
plantation owner, who supplied the primary ingredient, has evaded scrutiny. In
several instances, the administration's efforts to increase the licence rent were
curtailed by natural market forces – evidence that reveals the false premise of the
assumptions about the renter/farmer. The observation by Fredrick Saunders, the GA
for the Western Province (1877-90) was that – 'the renters, as a rule, make a fair, but
not an excessive, profit considering the risk'. An inference of costs, the incentive of
profit, and factors to control, were neither alien to the administration, nor complex
enough to be beyond their grasp. Alcohol played a significant role in most of the
colonies as well as back home in Britain, to an extent, even narcotics (Opium-Wars).
Imperialistic ambition, the sharpness of the occidental cunning, as well as the
intelligence, among other things, contributed to forging the largest ever overseas
empire and the dominance of the West. To display the British administration as
naive, is not readily embraced by all, but if the native renters/entrepreneurs did
manage to outsmart the administration, it may well have to be conceded.
By the turn of the 20th century, the 'excise department' (including licences and
internal revenue) was the third-largest source of revenue, amounting to 20% of state
revenue, second only to the government railway (25%) and customs (25%). About
half of the excise revenue was from arrack and the rest from the salt monopoly, toll
rents on roads, bridges, ferries and canals, opium licence, fines and stamp duties. In
1905, the state revenue amounted to Rs 34 395 336 (the pearl fishery alone
amounted to Rs 2 626 175) and the expenditure was Rs 29 739 900. Over 30 000

000 rupees was reaped by the government alone, being the largest portion, via the
arrack industry in the decade between 1894 and 1903. The production and sales of
arrack more than doubled during this period, peaking at 1,551,544 gallons in 1913.
NDP Silva of Kalutara, had the biggest arrack store consisting of forty, 5000-gallon
vats and CEA Dias, the proprietor of fourteen distilleries, won several silver and gold
medals at international exhibitions like St Louis, Colombo, Paris, and Galle. The
government too was a major producer, and over 90 000 gallons were being
produced annually in the early 1920s in the government distillery at Kalutara,
managed by DA Wijewardene.
In 1924, the Excise Department of Ceylon established new policies which controlled
the manufacturing process of arrack. These policies pushed out the two hundred and
fifty or so small-scale manufacturers and the industry was controlled by eight large
distilleries in the Kalutara District, with a government monopoly on purchases. By
1935, in two of the distilleries, the traditional pot still was replaced by the modern
column still, also called the Coffey still, continuous still or the patent still – it enabled
to sustain a constant process of distillation aiding the volume output and
standardisation of the product. Prior to that, in 1912, influenced by the system in the
Madras Presidency, the government also started to regulate toddy tapping, its supply
and distribution at the village level, restricting its sale to licenced toddy-shops at a
set price. Aiming to accrue income for the state coffers from the hitherto untapped
cottage industry not under legal control and its expansion. Of the 1500 licences put
up for auction, 1165 were sold, adding to the 845 arrack taverns.
The new government policy, however, led to widespread condemnation, disapproval
and regular temperance agitation that lasted till the 1915 riots. It even had the
support of the elite, who appealed directly to the Secretary of State in the United
Kingdom, calling for a Royal Commission of Inquiry on the Excise Ordinance. From
1918 to 1930, the government also made efforts and granted many important
concessions to the temperance workers. During this period, arrack sales dropped
from 1,144,132 gallons to 612,761 gallons, it was 366,524 gallons in 1935.
Production too was at its lowest between 1931 and 1934; it was a mere 127,000
proof gallons in 1933. However, the sale of imported spirits like whisky, brandy and
gin had a parallel increase from 66,659 to 303,774 gallons, as well as 'illicit arrack'.
The observation by the Assistant Colonial Secretary, CH Collins in 1923, was that
the closure of important taverns in Uva had transferred custom from arrack to gin.
Though there was a sharp decrease in arrack taverns and toddy shops, there was
little to no effect on the sales of toddy, the drink of the rural poor, which remained
over 4 million gallons and later increased somewhat. It is likely that drinking during
this era changed from a pub/tavern culture to a private/home-based one, and
contrary to popular belief/construct, the arrack/tavern clientele also included those
from above working-class background.

THE MODERN ERA
In the post-European era, there was a profound increase in the production and sale
of arrack. Whilst the Excise Department remained a monitoring body, the State
Distilleries Corporation was incorporated in 1974. It took over the production of
alcohol, and this resulted in a government monopoly. Even after the 1992
privatisation via the stock exchange, the industry was dominated by four companies,
one with 80% market share. The industry more than doubled in the next decade and
a half. In 2007, the government reaped excise income from 38,456,990 litres
(8,459,356 gallons) of arrack; In 2015, it was 51.3 million liters (11,284,000 gallons)
from hard liquor. An increase of over thirty times when compared to the 1,666,251
litres (366,524 gallons) in 1935. The population increase from 1931 (6.053 million) to
2007 (20.49 million) and 2015 (20.97 million), was approximately an increase of
nearly three and a half folds. Even at the peak of colonial era production, such as in
1913 (when significant quantities were also exported), the per capita consumption
was substantially less.
In addition, beer is also a widely consumed alcoholic beverage amongst Sri
Lankans. In 2003, 19.3 million litres of beer were produced in the country, adding
further to the state coffers. A portion of these earnings pay for public services,
making it a fiscal cornerstone of the state. It was the first measure and the catalyst
adopted in the post-COVID-19 recovery strategy. However, an increase in illicit
production has become apparent with economic hardships and covid restrictions,
coupled with a decreasing demand for legal alcoholic beverages, and in 2022,
production of hard liquor had dropped to 26.5 million litres, whilst other liquors
amounted to about 10 million liters. At the same time, the government's revenue
from liquor increased by 250% between 2016 and 2022, and 20.8% between 2023
and 2024, due to the higher excise duty. Today, an estimated 65 % of the total
alcohol market in Sri Lanka is believed to be illicit, and the government is losing an
estimated Rs.15 billion monthly along with a probable increase in alcohol
consumption in the country.
In Sri Lanka, around 44% (range 35–53%) of men and 2.8% of women consume
alcohol. In comparison, the 2019 global average was 52 % of men and 35 % of
women. In South Asia (2019), the highest per capita alcohol consumption rates were
in India (4.9), where the majority were Hindus and in Sri Lanka 2.8, where the
majority are Buddhists. In Sri Lanka, the vast majority are lite to moderate
consumers: between 60–69% of middle-aged adults, 75% of 18–29-year-olds, 69%
of the Sinhalese, 51.5% of Tamils, and nearly 94% of Muslims (of the 8% that
consume alcohol), consume less than 7 units per week. Heavy/hazardous
consumers, drinking more than 21 units per week, is above 20% among the Tamil
population, well above the national average of 14.1%. Economically, the worst
affected are the poorest, with over 21% of them being hazardous consumers, and
over 26% of those with little to no education/schooling.

Globally, alcohol misuse is estimated to be between the seventh to the tenth leading
risk factor for premature death and disability, with individuals in low- and middle-
income countries disproportionately affected. According to several recent studies,
the estimated cost of alcohol use in Sri Lanka is around 1.4 % (range 1.1–1.7%) of
GDP, less than half when compared to high-income countries, but significantly more
in terms of health expenditure. Globally, it ranges from 0.45% to 5.44% of GDP. The
overall economic cost (44% direct/medical and 56% indirect/productivity) of alcohol-
related conditions in Sri Lanka, is estimated to be more than the excise tax revenue
from alcohol, with road injury costs (30.8%) being the highest cost category. The
World Health Organization estimates that alcohol is the cause of about 5.5% of all
human deaths annually. In contrast, 20% of deaths worldwide are linked to an
unhealthy diet, around 15% related to tobacco, 8% associated with injuries and
violence and over 3% (with a range from 0–22%) due to pesticides. However, in Sri
Lanka, it is estimated that tobacco and alchohol-related deaths are equal, each with
an estimated range of about 10%. As with other South Asian countries, non-
communicable diseases, such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes and stroke
(caused by excess sugar, unhealthy diet and tobacco) are linked to over 80% of the
deaths. Sri Lanka has the third-highest number of adults with diabetes in South Asia.
Potential benefits of drinking alcohol depend largely on your age, and moderate
alcohol consumption by people over 40 has shown to have some health benefits, like
reduced risk of cardiovascular disease, stroke, and diabetes, as well as potential
social and psychological benefits. A number of recent studies have found that light
drinkers had lower rates of cancer, Alzheimer's, and chronic lung diseases than
those drinking less than one drink per week or none at all. Whilst most religions
discourage or prohibit alcohol consumption, it is accepted in mainstream Christianity
– indeed, Jesus' first miracle was to turn water into wine. Likewise, an exception is
the Hanafi school of Sunni Islam, which accepts moderate alcohol consumption done
without the intention of merriment and mischief-making, whilst a few Christian
denominations, like the Quakers and Methodists, promote abstinence. In the
Subcontinent, alcohol is part of the ritual in many indigenous and tribal religions as
well as Bon, and esoteric forms of Hinduism and Buddhism, though in the past, the
Theravada (Hînayâna) denomination of Buddhism did not always have exclusive
patronage in Sri Lanka.

SUMMARY

Our ancestors evolved to metabolise alcohol long before we figured out how to make
it, and making it was one of the major drivers of the Neolithic Revolution that
incentivised the transition of hunter-gatherers into farmers. With considerable effort
and ingenuity, fermentation and distillation has evolved into the modern era of
integration. With its technological foundations in ancient Mesopotamia, Asian
distillation appears to predate European, and the Indian subcontinent was perhaps the first place to develop the practice on something approaching an industrial scale.
Whilst the Middle Eastern variety of araq appears to be the oldest identifiable
distilled spirit, the first record of coconut and palm arrack appears to be in relation to
9th century Sri Lanka. Though nationalists and temperance agitators in Sri Lanka
and India, portrayed it a mere aping of Westernised culture, its roots were somewhat
seeded in our own culture. In modern India, with the emergence of the new middle
class and the rising demand for craft spirits, alcohol abuse can no longer be
agendized as a problem of the poor. Similarly, in Sri Lanka, production and sales
have in fact increased dramatically in the modern era, whilst most writers still echo
nationalist and colonial-era constructs. Throughout its history, the state authorities
were consistently the biggest beneficiary of this industry. Generating income from
legal recreational-related commodities such as alcohol, provided the consumers
have agency, has a historical basis, and is possibly better than generating income
from essential commodities or the sick and the dying. The East-West arrack trade
lasted until the turn of the 20th century and in recent years, there has been some
interest in the Batavian variety, particularly among punch enthusiasts of the West.
What has remained an obvious constant though, is recognising its popularity and
attracted by the potential revenue, many have tried to control the production and sale
of alcohol, from local monarchs and merchants, to European conglomerates and
governments – it is indeed a very profitable enterprise and an important source of
revenue for the state.

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