The price of hard liquor in B.C. is going up by $1.33 per litre in April. (CBC)

In these tough economic times, it's going to get more expensive for British Columbians to drink their sorrows away.

The province's Liquor Distribution Branch will hike the minimum price for hard alcohol on April 1, by $1.33 per litre to $30.66 per litre. The minimum price of a 750-ml bottle will rise by $1 to $23.

The price hike is expected to boost government revenue by about $7 million. It will apply only to spirits, and will not affect the price of wine or beer.

The price hike came to light this week when retailers received notification, but there was no public announcement, prompting NDP MLA Mike Farnworth to refer to the change as a hidden tax increase.

"It is a sneaky, underhanded, back door way in which this government is gouging consumers in the province of B.C. They didn't have the nerve to say we're going to increase liquor prices in the budget, so they're doing it a back door way," he said Tuesday.

But B.C.'s Minister of Housing and Social Development Rich Coleman, who is responsible for the Liquor Distribution Branch, denies doing anything sneaky.

The LDB is following the same practice it has in the past, notifying retailers directly about increases, Coleman said Tuesday.

The last price increase for spirits was in February 2008, when booze was boosted by $1 a litre. Before that, the previous increase was in October 2006 when the price was increased by $1.33 per litre.