Thiruvananthapuram, Jul 26 (IANS): Kerala's popular toddy, often known as the poor man’s scotch, has got the nod from the state government when the Pinarayi Vijayan cabinet on Wednesday decided to brand all toddy produced in the state as Kerala Toddy.

Another boost to toddy came when sanction was accorded for all hotels which are three star and above besides resorts located in tourist spots to tap fresh toddy and serve it to guests. There was a time when the toddy shops in the state were known more for their unclean environment, than the toddy. Around 3,500 such shops will now get a classification depending on the facilities that they will be offering.

A decision has also been made to promote planting of trees to increase toddy production in the state. Toddy tapped in Kerala is available in two varieties, one from the coconut trees and the other from the palm trees. Toddy tapped from the coconut bunches is collected in a mud pot. Due to the sediment in the pot, the juice which is similar to the colour of milk that gets collected in four hours time gets fermented, has an alcohol content of 5 to 8 per cent. About 1.5 litres toddy is collected both in the morning and evening from one bunch. This is available in toddy shops at a price ranging around Rs 70 for a 750 ml bottle. For the farmer , for each bunch of toddy tapped on a coconut tree, he gets an income of around Rs 500 for a 45 day period, when the bunch gets fully tapped. But in the case of toddy tapped from palm trees, which too is collected in mud pots, the total production is around 40 litres from one bunch in one day.