Exports of British gin have risen 37 per cent in the last five years, thanks to the James Bond and Downton Abbey effect
James Bond may be known for his vodka martinis, shaken not stirred obviously, but the spy is responsible for a boom in British gin exports too.
Over the last five years, global exports of British gin have risen 37 per cent, with sales worth £1.76bn in 139 countries, according to the Wine and Spirit Trade Association (WSTA). Two-third of gin distilled in the UK goes to export, according to government figures.
The US is the biggest export market for British gin, accounting for 45 per cent of exports. There's been a 41 per cent increase in the value imported to the US over the last five years, up to £145m last year.
WSTA puts this down to the popularity of "all things British," from James Bond, to Downton Abbey, to Adele.
Miles Beale, chief executive of the WSTA, said:
The Americans are in love with all things British and what’s more British than gin? Americans are drinking more gin than ever before, [and] British gin is proving it can excel where whisky has ploughed a furrow.
Gin has a strong, vibrant British heritage which is now being enjoyed globally. The Bond effect has helped to secure its renaissance and ensure its future as a quintessentially British, internationally recognised spirit.
The success of British gin follows in the footsteps of Scotch Whisky, which has grown and grown in popularity in the US in recent years.
Whiskies currently sell more than double the volume of gin to the States, worth £770m to the UK this year.
Andrew Cowan, UK managing director of spirits maker Diageo, said:
Gin is a 'hot' category at the moment. People are drinking it in new ways and it's a spirit that can be as versatile as the consumers who are drinking it.
Gin sales in the UK rose five per cent last year, but vodka is still the most popular drink in Britain.
Vodka accounts for 30.3 per cent of the UK spirits market, compared to gin's 9. 4 per cent, behind Scotch and flavoured spirits including liqueurs and aperitifs.
But while vodka is the tipple of choice for Britons out and about, when at home they turn to whiskey as this chart shows:
Source: Wine and Spirits Trade Association