How a nice wee dram is the new pint

NIPPING to the pub for a quick pint has long been a favourite British pastime.

These days, however, the tipple of choice is increasingly likely to be something a little stronger ... malt whisky.

Sales of the spirit have soared 20 per cent in pubs in the last year. Meanwhile, beer sales fell by five per cent according to the Wine and Spirit Trade Association (WSTA).

The figures come as around 20 pubs a week are closing as they struggle to compete with cheap supermarket deals.

But things may be looking up as 32 per cent of men preferred to drink in pubs than at home, up one per cent on the year before. WSTA chief executive Miles Beale said that there were ‘signs of improving consumer confidence’.