Quick answer
The history of arrack in Sri Lanka runs back many centuries. Toddy has been tapped from the island's palms since ancient times, and distilled arrack was well established by the time European traders arrived in the sixteenth century. The Dutch East India Company exported it from Galle and Colombo in the 1600s and 1700s, and the British taxed it heavily through a system of auctioned arrack rents. A temperance movement arose in the early twentieth century, state distilleries were formed in the 1970s, and the industry was privatised in the early 1990s.
Key takeaways
- Palm toddy has been tapped in Sri Lanka since ancient times, and arrack was established well before European arrival.
- The Dutch East India Company exported Ceylon arrack through Galle and Colombo in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.
- Under British rule, auctioned arrack rents became one of the colonial government's largest sources of revenue.
- A Buddhist-led temperance movement against arrack taverns gathered force from 1904 and again in 1912.
- Sri Lanka's state distilleries were established in the 1970s and privatised in the early 1990s.
Early history: toddy and the first arrack
The early history of arrack in Sri Lanka begins with toddy. Tapping the sap of coconut, palmyrah and kithul palms is an ancient practice across South Asia, and fermented palm wine was drunk on the island long before anyone distilled it.
Arrack itself is harder to date. Distilling knowledge spread through the Indian Ocean world with Arab and Indian traders, and by the later medieval period spirits called arrack were made in many ports. Arrack is often described as one of the world's oldest distilled spirits, a claim that is plausible but not precisely documented.
The Portuguese and Dutch periods
The Portuguese, who controlled the island's coasts from the early 1500s, found arrack being made and drunk and taxed it. The Dutch East India Company, which displaced them between 1638 and 1658, turned it into an organised trade.
- →Arrack was distilled along the south-west coast between Colombo and Galle.
- →Casks were shipped to Batavia, the Indian coast and Europe.
- →Sailors and soldiers received arrack as part of their rations.
- →The right to sell arrack locally was farmed out for a fee.
- →Ceylon arrack became a known ingredient in European punch.
The British period and arrack rents
The British took over the Dutch territories in 1796 and the whole island in 1815. They kept and expanded the system of arrack rents, auctioning the exclusive right to sell arrack in each district to the highest bidder.
Arrack rents made a small group of Sri Lankan entrepreneurs very rich and supplied the colonial treasury with a large share of its income for much of the nineteenth century. The number of taverns grew with the plantation economy, and so did unease about drinking.
Temperance and the Excise Ordinance
A temperance movement took shape in Ceylon in the early twentieth century, closely tied to the Buddhist revival and to early nationalism. Campaigns in 1904 and from 1912 opposed the spread of taverns and drew large crowds.
The Excise Ordinance of 1912 replaced the old renting system with direct government control of production and licensing. The framework it created, much amended, still underlies the regulation of arrack today, including the tax stamps on every bottle.
From state distilleries to today
The modern history of arrack is one of consolidation. Private distillers such as Rockland, founded in the 1920s, and Mendis, in the 1940s, built brands in the late colonial period.
- →1970s: the State Distilleries Corporation is formed to run government distilling.
- →Early 1990s: the corporation is privatised as the Distilleries Company of Sri Lanka.
- →2000s: premium pure coconut arracks are launched for export.
- →Today: a handful of houses supply the market under tight excise control.
- →Constant: the sap is still tapped by hand, twice a day.
Where to see arrack's history on a trip
Arrack's history can be traced in places most itineraries already include. Galle Fort and Colombo Fort hold the Dutch warehouses and hospitals of the export era, and the mansions of Moratuwa, Panadura and Colombo's Cinnamon Gardens were built in part on arrack fortunes.
Lankan Stays & Trails can add this thread to a guided walk in Galle or Colombo, ending with a glass of the spirit itself and a tapping visit on the Kalutara coast.
- →Galle Fort: Dutch warehouses, the Old Gate and the harbour.
- →Colombo Fort: the seventeenth-century Dutch Hospital.
- →Cinnamon Gardens, Colombo 7: mansions of the renter families.
- →Kalutara coast: groves that have been tapped for centuries.
Frequently asked questions
How old is arrack?
Arrack is many centuries old, though its exact origin is undocumented. Palm toddy has been tapped in South Asia since ancient times, and distilled arrack was well established in Indian Ocean ports, including Sri Lanka, before Europeans arrived in the sixteenth century.
Is arrack the oldest spirit in the world?
Arrack is often described as one of the oldest distilled spirits, and it certainly predates rum and modern whisky. The claim to be the single oldest cannot be proved, since early distilling in Asia and the Middle East is poorly recorded.
Did the Dutch export arrack from Ceylon?
Yes. The Dutch East India Company, which held Sri Lanka's coastal regions from the mid-seventeenth century until 1796, taxed arrack and exported it by the cask from Galle and Colombo to Batavia, India and Europe, where it was used in punch.
What were arrack rents?
Arrack rents were exclusive rights to sell arrack in a given district, auctioned by the colonial government to the highest bidder. The system operated under Dutch and British rule, generated a large share of government revenue and enriched a class of local renters.
When was the arrack industry nationalised?
The government had controlled production since the Excise Ordinance of 1912. A State Distilleries Corporation was formed in the 1970s to run it, and in the early 1990s it was privatised as the Distilleries Company of Sri Lanka, now the largest producer.
Why is it called Ceylon arrack?
Ceylon was the name by which Sri Lanka was known under British rule and until 1972. Arrack exported from the island was sold as Ceylon arrack, and the phrase survives as a general term and as the name of a modern export brand.