Quick answer
Kasippu is the Sri Lankan name for illicit, home-distilled liquor, a form of moonshine made illegally from fermented sugar, fruit or other materials, outside any licence or quality control. It exists because legal alcohol is heavily taxed and unaffordable for many. Kasippu can contain methanol and other contaminants and has caused deaths and blindness. Travellers should never drink it. Avoid it by buying only sealed, tax-stamped bottles from licensed shops, bars and hotels, and by refusing unlabelled spirits or offers of alcohol on dry days.
Key takeaways
- Kasippu is illegal, unregulated spirit distilled in secret in Sri Lanka, and is not arrack.
- Kasippu may contain methanol and other toxic contaminants, and has caused deaths and permanent blindness.
- High excise duty on legal alcohol is the main reason an illicit liquor trade persists in Sri Lanka.
- Legal bottles carry a government excise security sticker and an intact seal, and are sold only by licensed outlets.
- Offers of cheap alcohol from touts, especially on poya days, should always be refused.
What kasippu is
Kasippu is illicit liquor. The word covers any spirit distilled illegally in Sri Lanka, typically in makeshift stills hidden in scrub, marshes or back yards, and sold in unmarked bottles or plastic bags.
Kasippu is not a traditional craft drink and should not be mistaken for a rustic version of arrack. It is usually made from a wash of sugar and yeast with whatever else is to hand, and it is produced for cheap intoxication, not flavour.
Why kasippu exists
Kasippu exists because of price. Legal arrack and beer carry high excise duty, and a bottle can cost a labourer several days' wages. An untaxed spirit sold at a fraction of that price finds buyers.
The authorities raid stills regularly, and the trade persists, mostly in poor rural and urban areas far from the places tourists visit. It touches travellers mainly through touts who claim they can supply cheap drink or drink on a dry day.
Why kasippu is dangerous
Kasippu is dangerous because nobody controls what is in it. Careless distilling and deliberate adulteration both produce poisons.
- →Methanol: can cause blindness, organ failure and death in small amounts.
- →Additives: battery materials, fertiliser and other substances have been reported in seized batches.
- →Unknown strength: far stronger or weaker than expected.
- →Dirty equipment: stills made from drums and scrap.
- →Delayed symptoms: methanol poisoning may not show for 12 to 24 hours.
How travellers avoid illicit liquor
Avoiding illicit liquor in Sri Lanka is easy with a few fixed habits. Visitors who buy and drink only through licensed channels are at very low risk.
- →Buy bottles only from wine stores, supermarkets, hotels and duty free.
- →Check for the excise security sticker and an unbroken seal.
- →Drink in licensed bars, restaurants and hotels.
- →Refuse spirits poured from unlabelled or reused bottles.
- →Refuse any offer of alcohol on a poya day.
- →Be wary of prices far below the printed retail price.
Warning signs and what to do
Warning signs of methanol poisoning are different from an ordinary hangover and need urgent attention. They often begin many hours after drinking.
Blurred or snowy vision, severe headache, vomiting, abdominal pain, rapid breathing and confusion are the signals. Go to a hospital at once and say that contaminated alcohol is suspected. Colombo and the main towns have capable private hospitals, and early treatment makes a great difference.
Keeping the risk in proportion
The risk from kasippu should be kept in proportion. Sri Lanka's legal arrack is made by long-established distilleries under excise supervision and is as safe as branded spirits anywhere. Problems arise almost entirely outside the licensed trade.
Lankan Stays & Trails guides and drivers will always take you to licensed outlets and will tell you plainly if a place or an offer is one to walk away from. If you are ever unsure about a bottle or a bar, ask before you drink, not afterwards.
- →Licensed arrack: regulated, sealed and tax-stamped.
- →Hotel and restaurant bars: supplied through the legal trade.
- →Kasippu: found in informal settings that visitors rarely enter.
Frequently asked questions
What is kasippu?
Kasippu is illicit, home-distilled liquor made and sold illegally in Sri Lanka. It is produced in hidden stills from fermented sugar and other materials, with no licence or quality control, and is sold cheaply in unmarked containers. It is not arrack.
Is kasippu dangerous?
Yes. Kasippu may contain methanol and other toxic substances, and its strength is unknown. It has caused deaths and blindness in Sri Lanka. There is no safe way to judge a batch by look, smell or taste, so it should never be drunk.
Is arrack the same as kasippu?
No. Arrack is a legal spirit produced by licensed distilleries under government excise control and sold in sealed, tax-stamped bottles. Kasippu is illegal and unregulated. The danger arises only when illicit spirit is passed off as, or offered in place of, the legal product.
How can I tell if alcohol in Sri Lanka is legal?
Legal bottles carry a government excise security sticker, a factory seal, proper labelling and a printed retail price, and are sold by licensed shops, bars and hotels. Avoid anything unlabelled, refilled, sold by touts or priced far below normal.
Has methanol poisoning affected tourists in Sri Lanka?
Reported cases in Sri Lanka have overwhelmingly involved local consumers of illicit liquor, not visitors drinking in licensed premises. The risk to travellers who buy sealed, tax-stamped bottles and drink in hotels and licensed bars is very low.
What should I do if someone offers me cheap alcohol?
Decline politely and walk on. Offers from beach touts, drivers or strangers, particularly on poya days when legal sales stop, are the main route by which illicit or counterfeit alcohol reaches visitors. Wait and buy from a licensed shop.