Harpers Wine & Spirit Trade News

Gin sales boom with 45% growth at Christmas

Published: 04 January, 2018

Gin was the runaway success of the last minute Christmas booze run, with shoppers buying a huge 45% more in the week before the big day than 2016.

Durham Distillery confirms whisky production to start this year

Published: 03 January, 2018

Craft distillery Durham has confirmed it is to start whisky production this year.

WSTA predicts rum sales to have smashed £1bn barrier

Published: 02 January, 2018

UK rum sales are predicted to have broken the £1bn barrier at the end of last year for the first time.

Hayman’s Gin creates UK sales team

Published: 20 December, 2017

Hayman’s Gin has revealed plans to create a UK sales team to support its ambitions for the home market.

Trends of 2017

Published: 20 December, 2017

There has been no shortage of evolution in the drinks world over the past year, providing canny operators with plenty of openings for upping customer engagement. Andrew Catchpole reports

Gin sales soar by 7m bottles in 2017 as Brits vote juniper juice their favourite tipple

Published: 18 December, 2017

Gin sales have continued to soar as Brits bought over 47 million bottles over the last 12 months according to the Wine and Spirit Trade Association’s latest market report.

Majestic predicts ‘unusual’ year for wine in 2018

Published: 13 December, 2017

Majestic Wine has predicted an “unusual” year for wine in 2018 as part of its ‘eight trends’ report.

Virgin Wines adds boozy crackers and baubles to Christmas menu

Published: 31 October, 2017

Virgin Wines has taken Christmas gifting to a new level beyond the advent calendar with the launch of Prosecco, wine and gin Christmas Crackers and Boozy Baubles.

Litmus Wines expands international trail for Ginking

Published: 26 October, 2017

Litmus Wines has expanded the international reach of its hybrid wine and gin Ginking brand to Switzerland just a year after launch.

Tory backbenchers team up with the WSTA to produce their own gin

Published: 05 October, 2017

The WSTA has continued its rallying cry to the government to support producers of British gin, by convincing the 1922 Committee on board to make its own blend.

Gin: A larger slice of the pie

Published: 02 October, 2017

The boom in gin start-ups and thirst for premium brands is driving growth at all levels of production. But is there room for everyone? Jo Gilbert reports

WSTA calls on Labour MPs to champion gin industry

Published: 26 September, 2017

The Wine and Spirit Trade Association (WSTA) last night called on Labour MPs to champion the booming British gin industry at its 'Fringe' event.

Durham secures £250,000 investment

Published: 21 September, 2017

Craft distillery Durham has received a £250,000 investment from the Finance Durham fund managed by Maven Capital Partners.

Bartenders head to Morocco for finals of international gin competition

Published: 18 September, 2017

Ten bartenders are arriving in Marrakech today ready for the world finals of the Opihr World Adventure Cocktail Competition.

Pernod creates stand alone division for gin brands

Published: 06 September, 2017

Spirits giant Pernod Ricard has announced it is moving three of its flagship gin brands into a dedicated division in order to concentrate on the growth opportinities within the category.

Rum set to break £1 billion barrier

Published: 26 August, 2017

Hot on the heels of gin, rum is the latest spirit set to reach sales of £1 billion later this year.

Collagin responds to watchdog’s calls for buyers to boycott its products

Published: 24 August, 2017

The owners of Young in Spirit, the producer of CollaGin, has hit out at The Portman Group for damaging its business after a Retailer Alert Bulletin was issued against its product.