Brexit-backing pub company JD Wetherspoon is about to get even cheaper.
The group is going to increase its range of drinks from UK and non-EU producers from later this month, which will lead to lower prices across its nearly 1,000 pubs, according to an announcement issued today.
Wetherspoons will stop serving Jägermeister (a herbal liqueur from Germany), which means no more ‘Jägerbombs’ for students, as well as French brandies Courvoisier VS and Hennessy Fine de Cognac
Instead, Tim Martin’s discount boozers will stock E&J Brandy (the number two selling brandy in the US), Black Bottle (the number one selling brandy in Australia), and Strika, a herbal liqueur produced in England.
So there’ll be ‘Strikabombs’, presumably.
Wetherspoons made waves earlier this year when it said it would be replacing champagne with sparkling wines from the UK and Australia, and German wheat beers with similar beverages made in the UK.
The switch from champagne to alternative sparkling wines was not as significant as some suggested, given the fact it will continue to buy prosecco, by far the brand’s best-selling fizz. But it sent a clear message nonetheless. Chairman Tim Martin has today sent another one.
Mr Martin, a firm supporter of Brexit, said: “The three new products will be offered at a lower price than those they are replacing.
“This is a significant move by us and highlights our commitment to offering an excellent range of UK and world products, with the emphasis on quality and value for the two million customers who visit our pubs each week.
“In blind tastings conducted by Wetherspoon, the new products were more popular than those they are replacing.
“Many commentators talk of a ‘cliff-edge’ if the UK ‘crashes out’ of the EU without a deal. In reality, there is no cliff-edge, only sunlit uplands beyond the EU’s protectionist system of quotas and tariffs.
“All EU products have UK or non-EU replacements, often at equal or better quality and price.”
It seems, then, that more menu changes are to come.
