Small distilleries on the rise as drinkers turn to trendy gins
THE growing popularity of trendy gins – dubbed a ‘ginaissance’ – has led to a sharp rise in the number of distilleries operating in Britain.
A report by accountancy group UHY Hacker Young reveals that the total jumped by a third last year, from 21 to 28.
There has also been a surge in the number of vineyards and breweries opening up across the country as discerning drinkers turn to small independent producers and away from big international brands.
Supermarkets are now expanding their ranges to cater for changing drinking habits, with discounter Aldi planning to stock 18 craft beers.
Gin – which is also known as ‘mother’s ruin’ – now comes in a range of flavours including rhubarb, cocoa and raspberry as well as the mysterious ‘Unicorn Tears’ variety. Cambridge-made Anty Gin is said to contain the ‘essence’ of 62 wood ants in each £200 bottle.
Earlier this year, Surrey-based Silent Pool Distillers unveiled what is believed to be the world’s most expensive bottle of gin. Its £5,000 nine-litre bottle is hand-painted and signed by artist Laura Barrett. It took the title from the £2,000-abottle Japanese Watenshi Gin produced by Cambridge Distillery.
‘The popularity of boutique alcohols such as craft beer or artisan gin has been a factor in the strong numbers of newly licensed producers over the past five years,’ said the UHY report. It found that 37 new wine producers have set up in England over the past year while some 285 new breweries have sprung up in recent years – piling pressure on well-established players such as Heineken and Carlsberg.
Scottish micro-brewery Brewdog, known for its beers and ales, recently set up a distillery named Lone Wolf which will produce vodka, gin and whisky. Its 32pc proof Tactical Nuclear Penguin beer retails for £106 per 375ml bottle, while the limited edition 55pc End Of History beer cost £500 per 330ml bottle and came encased in a taxidermy squirrel or stoat.
Kent-based English wine producer Chapel Down – which supplied wine to the Royal Wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge – has raised £1.7m to build its own brewery for its Curious Drinks beer and cider business.