Issue No. 5 · October 2026
The Budget Edition
Hello,
Budget Day is Monday, October 12. A lot of you have asked me the same question: will drinks get cheaper? Short answer, probably not. And there's a second change coming behind it. The drinking age is heading to 21.
The budget hasn't been read yet, so treat this issue as an outlook, not a report. It covers what to expect on the 12th, what the age bill means for your door and your crowd, and why a strong mocktail menu is now one of the best margin moves on your list.
Marcus Sun Kow, Founder, Barddies Cocktail Mixers
Budget Day Is October 12. Don't Expect Cheaper Drinks.
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Finance Minister Davendranath Tancoo presents the 2027/28 budget on Monday, October 12 at 1:30 PM. If you're hoping for relief on alcohol prices, don't plan around it. Last year's budget went the other way. Excise on spirits doubled from $79.25 to $158.50 per litre of pure alcohol. Beer duty doubled from $5.14 to $10.28. The government expected roughly $1 billion in revenue and pointed to a public-health benefit. The duties hadn't moved since 2016.
Shelf prices moved fast. Carib went from about $10 to $13 a bottle, roughly 35%. Guinness and Heineken hit $22, up from just under $16. Angostura 1919 (750ml) went from $299.99 to $349.99.
Will the duties be rolled back? A full rollback looks unlikely. The government is still consolidating, with the deficit down to about 4% of GDP, and the duties are a meaningful revenue line. Tancoo has said Budget 2027 will provide for pending union wage settlements. And the same government is pushing an age-limit bill framed as public health, which fits the logic of the duty hike.
A partial adjustment is possible. Tommy Brewing's CEO has called for "a balanced structure" that treats local manufacturers fairly against importers. A local-manufacturer differential would be the signal to watch on the 12th. It's not a forecast.
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THE TAKEAWAY
Plan for high prices to last into 2027. Guests are already trading down and rationing. Don't build your Christmas list on the hope of cheaper stock. Build it around serves that hold margin without a premium pour, and make sure your non-alcoholic options can carry real revenue.
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Recipe: Barddies Grenadine, Three Ways for the New Bar Crowd
Higher prices and a higher drinking age point in the same direction. Here's Grenadine carrying a zero-proof, a half-strength serve for guests rationing spend, and a fete punch you can batch for the designated drivers.
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Zero-Proof
1 oz Barddies Grenadine
¾ oz fresh lime
½ oz orange juice
Top 4 oz soda | Lime wheel
Ruby Fizz. Build over ice in a highball. Looks like a cocktail, priced like one, no excise attached.
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Half-Strength
¾ oz white rum
2 oz pineapple juice
1 oz orange juice
½ oz Barddies Grenadine
½ oz fresh lime
Half-Pour Punch. Half the usual rum, full glass, full flavour. For the guest rationing a bottle across the night.
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Fete Batch
1 oz Barddies Grenadine
2 oz pineapple juice
1 oz orange juice
½ oz fresh lime
Top 2 oz ginger beer
DD Punch. Built for the under-21 and designated-driver crowd at Christmas fetes and Carnival.
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PRO TIP (HIGH-VOLUME SERVICE): Batch the DD Punch base the morning of the event at 2 parts Grenadine, 4 parts pineapple, 2 parts orange, 1 part fresh lime. Keep it cold and pour 4½ oz over ice per glass, then top with 2 oz ginger beer to order so it stays lively. Serve it in the same glass as your alcoholic punch. Nobody feels singled out.
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Three Things to Plan Around This Quarter
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01 / REGULATION
The drinking age is heading to 21. The House passed the Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 23 to 10 on September 30, raising the legal age for alcohol and tobacco from 18 to 21. A Senate vote was scheduled for October 2. Implementation isn't expected before 2027. Sellers will have to check national photo ID. 18 to 20-year-olds can still work in venues that sell alcohol, but can't buy or drink it. Start planning your ID process and staff briefing now.
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02 / CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR
Your customers are already trading down. The Barkeepers and Operators Association says roughly 2,000 bars are watching patrons switch to cheaper rum and beer, ration bottles, and save their spending for weekends. Brewers and distillers raised prices where they said it was "absolutely necessary." Add the age change, and the on-premise crowd gets smaller and different. A tighter list with a strong half-strength and zero-proof tier keeps that guest at your bar.
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03 / WHAT TO WATCH OCT 12
Three budget signals that hit your costs. First, any change to spirit or beer excise, or a local-manufacturer differential. Second, new or extended duties on mixers, soft drinks or sugary beverages, which would hit non-alcoholic serves too. Third, any licensing or ID-compliance costs tied to the age bill. We'll break down what was actually announced in next month's issue.
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Mocktail Menu in a Box
Premium zero-proof serves are selling at $15 to $18 in global bar data, with no excise attached. We want to help you build that tier. Ask us for a Mocktail Menu in a Box: three or four signature non-alcoholic serves built on Barddies mixers, with costings, ready for your list. We're also lining up Christmas fete and Carnival offers for the under-21 and designated-driver crowd, and sampling for bars through the Barkeepers and Operators Association. The full Barddies six is in stock through Massy in T&T and ACADO in Barbados. Strawberry Daiquiri, Peach Daiquiri and Triple Sec Syrup are on the way.
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T&T
Massy Distribution
Island-wide retail, on-trade & foodservice
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BARBADOS
ACADO Barbados
FMCG distribution island-wide
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FOLLOW ALONG
@barddiescaribbean
Cocktail content, product launches, and bar tips, straight from Trinidad.
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