Festive spirits: shoppers gain in bottle battle

IRELAND is in the grip of booze wars as retailers fight to win vital Christmas custom by offering rock-bottom prices on drink.

Last week Tesco began its heavy promotional campaigns offering below-cost spirits, half-price wine and discount beer.

Within days, SuperValu had slashed the price on eight market leaders to match the prices in Tesco’s advertisements while Dunnes has made reductions on six popular drinks.