Wetherspoon to stock premium spirit brands

Pub-goers may not be able to swear in a Wetherspoon pub anymore, but they can now get their laughing gear round some b****y good spirits!

In a move that is bound to make those trendy style bar folk choke on their Lychee Martini, the pub company for whom value for money and competitive pricing is higher on the agenda than most, now stocks the kind of premium spirit brands seen in top-end outlets.

The news that the company's pubs and Lloyds No.1 bars will be making room for the likes of Stolichnaya vodka, Absolut Mandarin, Havana Club white rum and Tanqueray gin on the back-bar is evidence that cocktail culture is wheedling its way into the mainstream pub market.

John Hutson, managing director for JD Wetherspoon, said: "It's a growing category and we think there's an opportunity to offer both the household brands as well as premium alternatives. There's an increasing tendency for people to trade-up and become more adventurous.

"I think it's a category that has perhaps been taken for granted and we're trying to respond to what is an obvious change in consumer demand."