Pulse insights, MRP guides and data stories from every TASMAC shop in Tamil Nadu — written from the same sweeps that power the app.
220% VAT at the counter, excise at the still, and a third levy underneath. Split with the state's own published rates, the best-selling bottle in Tamil Nadu hands ₹4 of every ₹5 straight back to the state.
The 24×7 helpline that went live on 31 August, the grievance form that will not submit without a photograph, and the High Court ruling that lets you go straight to the police.
GuidesSame hours in all 38 districts, and they have not changed. Why FL3 bars run to midnight, why no TASMAC is open round the clock, and the eight days in 2026 the shutters never went up.
Data stories199 Elite shops, 70 of them in Chennai, nine districts with none — and 102 of the 199 had nothing above ₹3,000 on the shelf. The deepest Elite shops in the state, by number.
GuidesAll 4,852 shop numbers from TASMAC's live list, by district — not a scanned PDF. Why the numbers don't follow districts, and how to look any shop up.
Pulse insightsTamil Nadu pours 69% brandy. Kanniyakumari pours 19% — and replaces it almost entirely with rum. All 38 districts mapped by what they actually drink.
Data stories228 identical bottles priced against Puducherry's official MRP list. Median gap 1.27×, beer runs to 2.95× — and 15 bottles are cheaper in Tamil Nadu.
GuidesFixed by law and identical in every shop. The real bands for brandy, whisky, rum, beer and wine — from the live 1,498-product catalogue, not a stale PDF.
GuidesTASMAC’s click-and-collect, from the official launch: 21+, OTP, pick a shop within 5–25 km, pay online, show the QR, collect the same day. No delivery, ₹10 if you don’t collect — and why to check stock first.
GuidesAll eight dates this year — Thiruvalluvar Day to Gandhi Jayanti, including four days lost to the election — plus the one our stock data caught unannounced.
Data storiesThe cheapest thing on the shelf is a ₹75 beer. The dearest is a cognac at ₹6,98,060 — nine thousand times more. Everything in between, measured.
Pulse insightsBrandy is 69% of every bottle sold statewide. Wine is 30% of the TASMAC catalogue and 0.3% of sales. 109 million bottles, 13 trading days, 3,956 shops.
GuidesThe four fixed dry days, how election dry days differ, and the surge our data caught the morning after — 59% above a normal day.
Pulse insights1.84 crore bottles, ₹346 crore, five brands in a photo finish — and the month's five loudest days were three Sundays and the two eves of dry days.
GuidesEvery bottle carries a ₹10 refundable deposit on top of the fixed MRP. What the rule says, why getting it back is hard, and what it adds up to statewide.
GuidesThe Full often works out ₹50/L cheaper than the Quarter — but not always. When the small bottle genuinely wins, with real catalogue examples.
Data storiesChennai's beer league has had one winner every week on record — a lakh-plus bottles from the OMR's fridges, while the north pours brandy four in five.
Data storiesFolklore says Friday. Counted across 3,950+ shops, the week runs flat and Sunday erupts +36% — and only the eve of a dry day beats it.