Taiwan Tobacco and Liquor Corporation (TTL; Chinese: 臺灣菸酒股份有限公司; pinyin: Táiwān Yān Jiǔ Gǔfèn Yǒuxiàn Gōngsī), is a state-owned manufacturer and distributor of cigarettes and alcohol, and also formerly (until 2002) a state-sanctioned alcohol beverage brewing and retailing monopoly, in Taiwan.
[1] TTL was established as a government agency during Japanese colonial rule and was renamed the Taiwan Tobacco and Wine Monopoly Bureau (菸酒公賣局) in 1947.
[2] As World War II reached its conclusion in the 1940s matches, petroleum and standard weights and measures also came under the Monopoly Bureau's authority.
In 2002 the Monopoly Bureau gave way to its successor, the Taiwan Tobacco and Liquor Corporation (TTL, 臺灣菸酒公司).
The brand, an icon of Taiwanese culture, began as a monopoly product but has remained the best-selling beer on the island in the era of free trade.
The newest lager, Draft, appears most often in bars and restaurants, where it is available on tap or in its signature solid green bottle.
[9] TTL produced Koxinga Gold Rum from local sugar cane until 2002 when they switched to cheaper Thai molasses.
TTL marketing strategies include advertisements featuring celebrity endorsements by popular Taiwanese figures such as A-Mei.
A basketball team named Taiwan Beer, popularly nicknamed 'The Brew Crew,' is sponsored by the company.