Gin is the drink on everyone’s mind this year, as sales of the spirit have been at a record high. According to HM Revenue and Customs and the Wine and Spirits Trade Association (WSTA), the UK now has 315 distilleries in operation, which is more than double the 152 in operation five years ago.
Atomik Research polled 2,000 people for Maverick Drinks to find out exactly why gin is so popular. 59% of gin drinkers said that they prefer the spirit because of the variety of flavours available, and 42% feel that there is a larger variety of gin on offer than any other spirit.
In fact the most popular drink from the last 12 months were gin (32%) and vodka (32%) – officially tying them for first place. Whisky was another front runner, with 30% of people putting that at the top of their lists. And with Christmas in mind, gin comes in third for people’s choice of alcohol – narrowly being beaten by cream liqueurs such as Baileys.
The survey also compared how different age groups feel about gin. Unsurprisingly, the majority of over 45 year olds agreed that their favourite spirit is gin – and the over 55’s have drunk more gin in the last 12 months than any other age group, with 30% choosing gin over any other spirit.
And when it comes to how different age groups approach drinking gin, the survey found that 25 – 34 year olds prefer to drink gin while out and socialising, but in comparison, those over 44 prefer to drink it when at home relaxing (46%).
There was also a gender divide when it comes to gin consumption. More women prefer gin to men, and twice as many women choose gin as their favourite spirit (26%) to men (13%). More women are also influenced by the gin on offer when choosing a venue than men.
And when it comes to flavoured gin, men are more likely to keep things simple by choosing a classic London dry gin and tonic. In comparison women are more experimental, with 2 in 5 choosing a flavoured gin as their drink of choice.
View the full case study here to find out how we carried out this research and the coverage it generated.
