Features

Gin: Growing category is spirit of the moment

August 16, 2018

GIN continues to go from strength to strength in Scotland’s pubs and bars, with value sales rising from £77.6 million in 2017 to £97.3m this year.

Innovation remains one of the big trends in the category, with several of the leading producers having added to their ranges in the past year.

These launches have included the introduction of pink gins from both Gordon’s and Beefeater in the course of the last twelve months.

The top seven brands have had a consistent year between 2017 and 2018, with each brand retaining its place in the top ten.

It’s been another strong year for Diageo in gin terms, with two of the top three brands in Scotland (Gordon’s in first place and Tanqueray in third) owned by the company.

Bacardi Brown-Forman Brands takes the second spot in the gin top ten with Bombay Sapphire, and William Grant & Sons-owned Hendrick’s takes fourth position.

Pernod Ricard-owned Beefeater is the fifth biggest-selling gin in the Scottish on-trade.

From there on we’re in the domain of the small-batch producers.

Blackwoods, produced by Distil and distributed by Hi-Spirits, takes the number six spot on the list, followed by Boë, from Stirling-based VC2 Brands, in seventh.

After its first full year in the ownership of Ian Macleod Distillers, Edinburgh Gin moves up one place to number eight, knocking English craft gin Martin Miller’s into ninth place.

A strong year for another English gin, London-based Hayman’s, has seen the brand move into the top ten.

Outside of the top ten a number of Scottish names were cited in CGA’s data, including Arbikie Kirsty’s Gin, Caorunn, Eden Mill Love Gin, Pickering’s and The Botanist.

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