The Press and Journal (Inverness, Highlands, and Islands)
Gin’ s squeeze on whisky
Retail: Discount stores report spirit outsells national drink by nearly 38%
Gin is outselling Scotland’s national drink at a discount supermarket’s stores around the country.
Figures from Aldi yesterday reflect a UK-wide boom in gin drinking which has prompted new distillery start-ups galore.
Aldi said gin was currently outselling whisky in its Scottish stores by nearly 38%.
Gin is by far the retailer’s top-selling spirit north of the border, with more than 9,300 bottles going into customers’ shopping baskets every day.
And in a further blow for Scotland’s iconic whiskymaking industry, vodka is Aldi’s second best-selling spirit at 7,460 bottles a day.
Around 6,700 bottles of whisky pass through Aldi’s checkouts daily, with rum next in demand at 4,780.
Elsewhere in the UK, Scotch whisky continues to outsell other spirits to remain the tipple of choice for shoppers in the northwest of England and Midlands.
Graham Nicolson, group buying director for Aldi in Scotland, said: “Our latest sales data has shown a resurgence in the popularity of gin.
“We’ve invested heavily in our range of gins from Scotland and recently held
“The popularity of gin shows no signs of slowing down”
our first in-store Scottish Gin Festival to give even more distilleries the chance to showcase their products to our shoppers.”
He added: “The popularity of gin shows no signs of slowing down, with a gin-aissance well and truly under way.
“In spite of this, whisky remains a firm favourite and rightly so.”