It’s gin o’clock for HMRC as Mother’s Ruin boosts the coffers

Not since the days of William Hogarth has Mother’s Ruin featured so prominently in the national consciousness. In the 21st century, gin is seriously big business as evidenced by the slew of pop-up bars and festivals devoted to this elixir of the gods as well as the number of bottles weighing down supermarket shelves. Just this week Sainbury’s launched two new gins aimed at connoisseurs while Lidl continues to sell inordinate amounts of its award-winning tipple. Now the juniper-flavoured favourite has reached another milestone. Figures from HM Revenue & Customs reveal that sales of gin have helped spirits overtake beer for the first time. The Treasury earned an extra £225 million in revenue from spirit drinkers last year thanks to a freeze in spirits duty in the 2016 Budget, taking its total spirits duty to nearly £3.38 billion. Beer duty was also frozen and led to a contribution of £3.32 billion. According to The Wine and Spirit Trade association (WSTA), sales of gin have soared by 12 per cent, the fastest growth rate of any spirit drink.

Miles Beale, chief executive of the Wine and Spirit Trade Association, said: ‘The WSTA dubbed 2016 the year of gin and the gin boom has had a large part to play in the windfall now being enjoyed by the Treasury.