Bakers in Lock-down Spain Fuel Sales of ‘monkey man’ Liqueur

Bakers in Lock-down Spain Fuel Sales of ‘monkey man’ Liqueur.

Aniseed liqueur, of one of Spain’s most famous drinks for over 150 years, has been graced by the monkey man label. Now, the enigmatic monkey may wish to pour himself a decent measure and raise his glass to the nation’s home-bakers. Lockdowns and other restrictions mean sales of spirits in bars and restaurants have fallen by 42.7% in 2020 as Spaniards have been forced to live a less convivial life.

However, retail sales of Anís del Mono, the aniseed liqueur known for its distinctive simian symbol and diamond-patterned bottle, have increased by almost 17% over the lockdown period. Figures from Spain’s food and agriculture ministry show that retail sales of alcohol in the second week of April, when the country was in lockdown, were up 85% on the same period in 2019. Beers sales rose by 86.5%, wine by 73.4% and spirits by 93.4%

Laura Díaz, the brand manager for Anís del Mono at the Osborne drinks group, said: “We think it’s very probably partly due to the increase in baking. A lot of people spent lockdown making pastries and desserts, which is why we saw shortages of flour and yeast. But Holy Week also fell in lockdown, and in Spain, a lot of traditional Holy Week cakes and pastries, like rosquillas [or Easter doughnuts], are made with anís.”

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