Burns Night celebrations with gin
PEOPLE around the world could celebrate Burns Night with a Scottish gin or craft beer rather than a traditional whisky as exports continue to grow.
Whisky remains the “driving force of the UK food and drink industry”, accounting for nearly a quarter of all exports each year, but gin and beer are following suit with strong growth over the last year.
Between January and October 2016, UK gin exports were worth £392million, an increase of 11% in the same period in 2015.
Two-thirds of UK gin is produced in Scotland, with a further 22 distilleries opening last year, the same number of new beer breweries.
Between January and October 2016, exports of beer rose from £413m to £479m , with the US, France, Ireland and South Korea the biggest markets.
The figures still trail far behind whisky with £2.8billion of exports between January and September last year.
The UK Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) said beer, whisky and gin form a key part of plans to further boost food and drink exports over the next five years, particularly in the US and Canada.
Scottish Secretary David Mundell said: “Whisky is one of Scotland’s greatest success stories and tonight, like many Scots, I’ll be enjoying a wee dram.
“Whisky is a vital part of any Burns Night celebration – and these statistics show the industry is going from strength to strength.”