Budget gin is a real winner

BUDGET supermarket Aldi has proved that you don’t need to spend a fortune to get a good gin.

Aldi’s own brand label won a series of accolades at the prestigious International Spirits Challenge, beating rivals costing up to six times the price.

Aldi’s Oliver Cromwell London Dry Gin 70cl - which costs £9.97 - underwent a series of rigorous taste tests to claim a silver medal, beating Beefeater’s Burrough’s Reserve Gin 70cl which sells for £63.35.

Its upmarket Topaz Premium Gin - which costs £13.99 - beat the competition and also took home a silver medal.

Both gins beat well-known brands such as Hendrick’s Gin, Tanqueray Rangpur and Beefeater London Dry Gin.

Aldi picked up four awards in total, including a silver for its Specially Selected Creme de Cassis - priced at £7.99 - which has won five medals in the past year.

Tony Baines, joint managing director of corporate buying at Aldi said: “Gin sales have soared in the UK in the past year, something that was recognised by the Wine and Spirit Trade Association in October, when they hailed 2016 as the ‘Year of Gin’.

“We are delighted to be able to meet the demand of our customers and offer them not just one, but two award-winning gins.”

The awards come at a time when gin drinking in the UK has hit an all time high. In 2016, sales of the spirit increased by 16% with 40 million bottles being sold across the nation.