Britain uncorked: how the nation drinks

British supermarket Waitrose has shed light on the drinking habits and booze preferences across the UK in its latest food and drink report.

The supermarket’s fifth annual food and drink report, based on 2017 sales, consumer research and insight from Waitrose’s retail experts, dissects the drinking preferences across the nation with interesting results. Click through to find out which drinks trends are taking hold in your neck of the woods.

Scotland – Scottish beers

Scots love their local brew – the top five Waitrose outlets selling the most regional beer are all north of the border.

Glasgow – Champagne

Glaswegians clearly have good taste – Taittinger Brut Reserve Champagne is the top selling wine here on Waitrose Cellar.

Northern Ireland – wine

Wine lovers in Northern Ireland were found to be generous with their friends, splashing out the most on wine when it was bought as a gift.

The northeast – gin

While the gin boom has gripped the whole of Britain, those living in the northeast were found to be most likely to add mother’s ruin to their cocktails.

The midlands – cider

The cider boom is a slower burner than the gin craze, but midlands dwellers are helping to fuel its fire, with cider seeing the biggest growth here.

Cambridge – fortified wines

In not entirely surprising news, given the city’s links to academia and tradition, Cambridge dwellers showed a particular fondness for Port and Sherry – perhaps because they are both incredibly good value for their quality, giving penny pinching students more bang for their buck.

Wales – wine based on recommendations

Proving the growing popularity and importance of peer to peer recommendations, Welsh wine lovers were found to be most likely to take advice on the best drops to buy from wine writers and bloggers.

The southwest – wines on offer

Shoppers in the southwest were outed as the most bargain hungry in Britain, and were most likely to buy wines when they were on offer.

The Channel Islands – cider

While cider is going strong in the midlands, shoppers at the St Saviour Waitrose in Jersey spend more on cider than in any other branch.

The Isle of Wight – Pimm’s

Most likely fuelled by festival-goers, Pimm’s and lemonade proved the hit of the summer this year as the most bought boozy drink on the island.

London – gin

With the gin boom showing no sign of slowing in the UK capital, Londoners showed they had moved beyond a simple twist of lemon, and were found to be garnishing their G&Ts with herbs.

The south – bag-in-box wine

Proving that prejudices are being smashed and wine lovers are becoming ever more open-minded to new drinking experiences, customers in the south showed a big interest in bag-in-box wine, which has steadily been making a comeback at forward-thinking restaurants and bars down south.