SURVEY: Impact on drink prices after new laws

The impact of the minimum unit pricing laws for alcoholic drink has seen a widening of the cost of beverages on either side of the border, with differences of up to €5 on a single bottle of vodka.

While the stated aim of the new legislation, which came into force this week, has won widespread support, many have warned it could lead to a surge in southern consumers venturing north to buy alcohol.

Scotland was the global trailblazer with regards to imposing a minimum price policy, with Wales following their lead soon after. However in the Stormont Assembly the health minister Robin Swann has voiced his full support for minimum unit pricing, and has committed to a public consultation on the issue this year.

The Celt compared prices between the same stores, north and south. For the Euro equivalent prices, An Post's currency converter was used on January 6.

VODKA

Vodka is where the impact of the new laws are most visible. Before Christmas you could get a bottle of Smirnoff Red Label for just €15, or an own brand vodka in ALDI at €12.99.

For example in Tesco a 70Cl bottle of Smirnoff Red Label Vodka costs £15.50 (€19.11) on its UK website, whereas the price on Cavan shelves is €23. You can buy an own brand 70Cl bottle 'Tesco Imperial Vodka' for just £11.50 (€14.18). It wasn't available the day the Celt visited the Cavan store, however the cheapest a 70cl bottle of vodka with 37.5% vol can now be sold for in the south is €20.71.

In Dunnes a bottle of Eristoff comes in at €21 in Cavan Town, while in Enniskillen it was not available. The cheapest bottle of vodka on the day the Celt visited was 70cl of Smirnoff Red Label at £12.15 (€14.98).

ASDA has 70Cl bottle of Smirnoff Red Label Vodka costs £13 (€16.04), while a 70cl bottle of Vladivar Vodka costs £11 (€13.56).

WHISKEY/GIN

You can buy a 70cl bottle of Tesco Special Reserve Scotch Whisky at just £12.50 (€15.41) compared to €22.50 in Cavan. Prices are more equitable when it comes to branded Irish whiskey. For example, a 70Cl bottle of Jameson Irish Whiskey costs £22.50 (€27.74) as compared to €28.50 in Cavan Tesco. The Dunnes Jameson price was €25 for a 70cl bottle in Cavan; in Enniskillen they only had 1l bottles on the shelf when the Celt visited, at £32.45 (€40). You can however pick up a Bell's Scotch Whisky 70cl at £15.75 (€19.42).

In ASDA a 70Cl bottle of Jameson Irish Whiskey costs £18.00 (€ 22.19) or a 70cl bottle of Jack Daniel's Tennessee Whiskey costs £16 (€19.72), while looking more budget conscious, their McKendrick's Blended Scotch Whisky 3 Years Old (70cl) will set you back £12.50 (€15.41).

Meanwhile a 1 Litre bottle of Gordon's Special Dry London Gin comes in at £20.50 (€25.27) on Tesco's UK website, €32 in Cavan Tesco.

GUINNESS

It's more difficult to compare stouts and beers across the border, as the standard size of can/bottle differ from north to south. Typically Guinness comes in 500ml cans in the South compared to 440ml cans in the North; and also the number they are sold frequently differ when it comes to multi packs.

So on the Tesco UK website you can buy 15 cans of Guinness Draught (440ml) for £16.00 (€19.72), or a four-pack at £4.49 (€5.54). The Cavan Tesco prices eight cans of Guinness Draught (500ml) at €15.

In Cavan Dunnes a tray of 15 cans of Guinness draught (500ml) cost €25, 12 pack is €19.90; whereas an 8 pack of the 440ml cans in Enniskillen Dunnes costs £9.99 (€12.32).

In ASDA, you can pick up 10 of the slightly smaller cans for £10 (€12.33) or 15 for £15 (€18.49).

BEERS

A snap shot of beers shows, 15 cans of Heineken (440ml) costs £14.00 (€17.26) on Tesco's UK website, whereas 15 of the larger 500ml cans cost €28 in their Cavan store. Twelve bottles of Corona Extra (330ml) costs £10.99 (€13.55) compared to €17 in Tesco Cavan.

For the more budget conscious drinker a four pack of Ashfield British Lager (440ml) costs a mere £2.25 (€2.78) in Tesco. It wasn't available in Cavan Tesco, however the cheapest a 500ml can of normal strength lager can now legally sold for is €1.70.

In Cavan Dunnes a box of 20 bottles of Heineken (330ml) in Cavan Dunnes costs €23, as does its counterpart in Coors, while a box of 18 (330ml) bottles of Miller Genuine Draft costs €22.05.

Dunnes Enniskillen didn't have Miller on the day we visited but had a box of 12 bottles (330ml) Hop House 13 at £12 (€14.79); the same size box of Heineken at £10.50 (€12.94) and 15 bottles (300ml) Budweiser at £10 (€12.33).

The real surprise is you can still get eight Dutch Gold for €10 in Dunnes, Cavan. It comes in the smaller - 440ml cans, and at 3.5% has a lower alcohol volume than most main stream beers which would have approximately 4% strength.

In ASDA 15 cans of Heineken Lager Beer (440ml) costs £14.00 (€17.26). Twelve bottles of Corona Extra (330ml) costs £13 (€16.03) in ASDA. For the very price conscious, ASDA had an offer of two Brooklyn Lager Beer 4 Packs (330ml) cans, which have 5.2% vol at £9 (€11.09); while 18 (440ml) cans of Fosters (4% vol) cost £12.97 (€15.99).

WINE

For wine, the cheapest a 750ml bottle of wine (with 12.5% vol) can now cost in the south is €7.40. Tesco website has Lateral Chilean Cabernet Sauvignon 75Cl available at £3.89 (€4.80), but it was not available on the Cavan shelves. When it comes to popular brands such as Barefoot Cabernet Sauvignon 75cl the prices are £6.75 (€8.32) in Tesco UK compared to €10 in Cavan, and Yellow Tail Merlot 75cl differs, £7.00 (€8.63) as compared to €12 in Cavan Tesco.

The Yellow Tail range in Dunnes costs €10 in Cavan Town; and £6.50 (€8.01) in Enniskillen.

ASDA meanwhile offers McGuigan Classic Cabernet Sauvignon at £4.99 (€6.15) and the cheapest 75cl bottle we could find was Rich & Ripe Red Wine for a mere £2.99 (€3.69).