Séighin Ó Ceallaigh

They say a rising tide lifts all boats, and this may be a saying that will apply to minimum unit pricing in the near future. Minimum unit pricing will mean that you'll be hard pushed to find a can of beer for less than €2, and a bottle of spirits for less than €25, based on their percentages of alcohol. Even when buying bulk offers, the price won't dip much below the mentioned prices. Already, just days after the introduction of MUP, prices are exceeding the mandatory minimum, unsurprisingly. While in a supermarket doing some shopping, I took a detour into the segregated alcohol section, only to find 6,8, and 12 packs quite a bit above the MUP. The only value I found, and I use that term lightly, was with full slabs and boxes of 20 bottles. Then I took a turn into the spirits section, cheaper own brands had disappeared, and as a regular whiskey drinker, I noticed that the prices had risen sharply over the past week. A bottle of my beloved Jameson now just shy of €30...