After Brexit, Britain might be rocked by a nationwide shortage of gin

LONDON: Gin-lovers, hold onto your juniper berries: a shortage of your favourite spirit could be on the horizon thanks to Brexit.

According to the Wine and Spirits Trade Association (WSTA), the government’s recently-unveiled doomsday no-deal scenario - which predicts severe food shortages within two weeks of leaving the European Union - would have adverse effects on juniper supplies, making the nation’s favourite tipple significantly harder to produce. British distillers rely on EU shipments for a whole host of botanicals including juniper, most of which come from the Mediterranean.

Other gin ingredients, such as orange and lemon peel, angelica root and liquorice, are also typically imported.

If the no- deal scenario unfolds as predicted, a source told The Sunday Times that in the second worst-case scenario Dover would be critically-affected and would “collapse on day one”, meaning gin distillers would not have access to the imported goods they rely on that typically arrive via the British port.

There are now more than 315 distilleries in the UK producing the juniper-based spirit, which was officially crowned at Britain’s favourite spirit in an annual poll by the WSTA in 2017. More than 55 million bottles of gin were sold last year, the WSTA’s latest market report reveals, meaning the possibility of a shortage is likely to break the hearts of many. AGENCIES