Milk wine and Sri Lankan alcohol rules

Arrack and other spirits are sold in licensed wine stores and supermarket liquor counters. Buyers must be 21 or over, and shops may ask for identification.

Shops are usually open from morning to evening, with hours varying by area. They close on poya days, the monthly full moon public holidays, which are important Buddhist observances. They may also close on other declared dry days, such as during elections or certain religious events.

In December, the poya day falls near the middle or end of the month, depending on the lunar calendar. Buy arrack for milk wine in good time.

Poya days are public holidays at each full moon, when Buddhists visit temples and observe religious practices. Sales of alcohol and meat are restricted, and many bars and wine stores close. Hotels may not serve alcohol in public areas, though rules for guests vary.

If a poya day falls close to Christmas, families who need arrack for milk wine or Christmas celebrations plan ahead. Christian households continue to serve milk wine at home, which is private.

Visitors should check the poya calendar for December and January and plan purchases and nights out accordingly.

Making milk wine at home, from bought, licensed arrack or brandy, for your household, is a long-standing family practice. It involves no distillation and no fermentation; you are mixing a licensed spirit with milk, sugar, citrus and spice.

Home distillation of spirit is illegal in Sri Lanka, and illicit spirit, known as kasippu, is a serious problem. It has nothing to do with milk wine, and no reputable family would use it.

Visitors who want to make milk wine during a long stay should simply buy a sealed bottle of arrack from a licensed shop.

Selling alcohol in Sri Lanka requires a licence. Milk wine sold by home bakers or at church fairs is therefore in a grey area, and practice varies. Some fairs sell it openly, others discreetly, others not at all.

Visitors buying milk wine should choose established sellers and not press anyone who does not offer it. The responsibility for licensing lies with the seller, but buying from reputable sources is sensible.

Hotels and bars that serve milk wine or clarified milk punch do so under their liquor licences.

Drinking alcohol in public places, such as streets, beaches and parks, is restricted in Sri Lanka, and visitors should drink in licensed premises, hotels or private homes. Rules on beaches vary by area and are enforced from time to time.

Drink-driving is illegal, and police checks are common, especially on Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve. Never drink milk wine before driving.

Lankan Stays & Trails builds December itineraries with a hired driver, which takes the road out of the equation.

Bars and hotel restaurants also close or stop serving alcohol on poya days in many areas, so a festive evening out that falls on a poya should be planned around the hotel's own rules.

Taking a bottle or two of milk wine out of Sri Lanka for personal use is generally not a problem. Pack it in checked luggage and check your home country's customs allowance.

At roughly 15 to 20 per cent alcohol, milk wine falls below the 24 per cent threshold for the airline five-litre limit, though airlines may have their own rules.

If you are also carrying arrack, the five-litre airline limit applies to it.