The price of alcohol in Ireland increased overnight on January 4 as a result of minimum unit pricing, sending the price of cheap booze soaring.
A few months ago the cheapest bottle of wine cost less than €5 but is around the €7 mark.
However, since then, inflation has affected the cost of many daily purchases so we hit the shelves to find out if it has also had an effect on the price of beer and wine.
The Irish Mirror went shopping in Tesco today to find out if the cheapest alcohol being sold there has also been hit with inflation four months after the January price hike.
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We compared prices now to those gathered for an article written on January 17, 2022 - just after minimum unit pricing had come into effect.
All prices below were correct at the time of writing but are subject to change.
Four cans of beer
Hufi Beer Cans (4.2%), 4 pack (500ml)
January price: €7.00
May price: €7.00
Verdict: Same price
Eight cans of beer
Prazsky (4.2%), 8 pack (500ml)
January price: €9.00
May price: N/A - Prazsky no longer appears to be for sale in Tesco. The cheapest equivalent is an Carling Lager, 8-pack (500ml), for €14.
Verdict: Increased by €5
Twelve cans of beer
Budweiser Cans, 12 pack (500ml)
January price: €22.00
May price: N/A - Budweiser cans sold in a 12-pack (500ml) no longer appear to be for sale in Tesco, however the same amount of alcohol (6l) can be purchased in a 20-pack of 300ml Budweiser Bottles for €22.
Verdict: Same price
Six bottles of beer
Sol Mexican Beer, 6 bottles (330ml)
January price: €9.99
May price: €11
Verdict: Increased by €1.01
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Twelve bottles of beer
Heineken, 12 bottles (330ml)
January price: €17.00
May price: €16
Verdict: Decreased by €1.00
White wine
Cheapest bottle of white wine in Tesco
January: €7.50 - Taparoo Valley Australian Chardonnay (12.5%) 75cl
May: €6.51 - Vineyards Zesty White Wine (11%) 75cl
Verdict: Decreased by €0.99
Red wine
Cheapest bottle of red wine in Tesco
January: €7.50 - Isla Negra Merlot (12%) 75cl
May: €7.11 - Casa Mana Tempranillo (12%) 75cl
Verdict: Decreased by €0.39
Overall verdict
While alcohol prices were greatly affected by the minimum unit pricing in January, the price of the cheapest alcohol in Tesco doesn't appear to have been hugely hit by inflation so far.
Of the seven items compared, three items went down in price, two stayed the same and two increased in price.
