Consumers spending big on booze for home

15-Jul-2017 - Last updated on 17-Jul-2017 at 08:10 GMT

That's the spirit: consumers spending more on home drinking

Brits, on average, are spending almost £1,500 on alcohol a year for the home, with premium spirits among their top choices, a new report has claimed.

The average monthly spend on alcohol for home-drinking is £113.79 per household, equating to £1,365.48 a year, according to a Franklin & Sons tonic drinks mixers survey of 2,000 homes.

Commissioned to mark the height of the summer gin and tonic season, the report found the average British home now has a selection of spirits worth £63.20.

Gin, whisky, vodka and rum top the nation’s favourite spirits and consumers are curating a collection of premium variants, it showed.

‘Premium or craft options’

“Consumers are clearly becoming more discerning, with more than half of spend on spirits now going on premium or craft options costing more than £15 a bottle,” the report said.

According to the survey, premium spirits in the home are no longer considered a luxury, with more drinkers than ever opting to buy from the category.

“Just like a Michelin-starred chef wouldn’t use the finest ingredients and pour granulated gravy over the top of their creation, drinkers don’t want to cheapen their premium spirits with sub-par mixers,” said the report.

Some 67% of drinkers, the survey results showed, would pay more for premium drinks and more than a third (37.6%) insisted on buying only premium brand mixers to create their cocktails with.

Almost a third (29%) of respondents said they consistently spent at least £10 a month on mixers.

A cocktail party

Three out of 10 respondents said they had recently hosted or attended a cocktail party and seven out of 10 said they regularly mixed cocktails at home.

Around 29 popular creations make up the nation’s home drinks menu, including the Dark ‘N’ Stormy (dark rum and ginger beer served over ice and garnished with a slice of lime), a Woo Woo (vodka, peach schnapps, and cranberry juice), and even a Cuba Libre (cola, lime and dark rum).

World’s Best Spirits drinks consultants Joel Harrison and Neil Ridley, said: “It’s clear from Franklin & Sons’ findings that, as a nation, we are becoming increasingly discerning, knowledgeable and adventurous about what we are drinking.

“Yet despite our heightened sense of adventure, the trusted old favourites are among the cocktails that are still most in demand, including gin and tonic (34.3%), rum and cola (24.25%), and vodka and coke (29.75%).”