Anyone else fed up with rising alcohol prices?

Also adding that I drink so infrequently I wouldn’t usually mind one £9 gin and tonic. But at least chuck in a bit of ice and garnish.

I bought a lime and soda and a small Diet Coke for a friend in the local last night. £6. I was surprised but guess we have to chalk it up to ‘use it or lose it’ as places are struggling to stay afloat.
For context we used to be affirmed G and T fans but knocked that on the head when it hit £9 with one ice cube and no fruit.

I think the whole policy around alcohol consumption is muddled… ie use taxation to discourage abuse but then wonder why pubs close!

Same for transport. Everyone should cycle everywhere. But we still need to buy shed loads of cars.

Councils discourage private motoring with parking charges and pedestrianisation.But we still need to buy shed loads of cars.

Planners discourage car ownership with little to no off road parking for a single car. But we still need to buy shed loads of cars.

Cocktail are the biggest con ever. A group of us who rarely do such a thing went to a city bar 'for cocktails'.

I picked one that sounded nice but in reality was a single gin, a thimble full of cava, half a bottle of fever tree and a slice of orange poured over so much ice that I couldn't actually drink it. For about £12. I asked if I could have the rest of the Fever Tree and was refused.

Fortunately we all agreed it was nonsense and went to a quieter pub round the corner where normal drinks like double spirits or glasses of wine were little more than half the cost of the cocktails, the music wasn't as loud and we could actually sit round a table and talk to each other.

I'm in London so used to fairly extortionate prices.

Even I was gobsmacked when we went out for dinner over the weekend - local style restaurant - not remotely high end, the sort with bench seating outside.

£10 for a (plastic) glass of (warmish) house white and a rum and ginger was £12!!

I, hiccup, dukgfd fre a di#df😥

No I still think £10 for a cocktail is making a huge markup.

A lot of bars are too posh nowadays, there aren't the spit & sawdust places like there used to be.

It’s partly a an economies of scale thing. Less people drink Guinness zero and I was told it actually costs more to make Thant the regular stuff.

But that's not what people are saying is it? They're talking about being ripped off, about it being extortionate, about profiteering, like the prices in hospitality have just risen in isolation, not with the backdrop of the cost of everything increasing to everyone. Most people know that everything has increased but would rather talk about extortion and being ripped off.

I totally get that people have less disposable income, I'm one of them, and I'm not suggesting for a minute that people martyr themselves to support their local boozer, and "It's just too expensive" is totally understandable in the current climate.

If these are the prices being charged by lots of different businesses within the same industry then doesn't it stand to reason that the prices have risen in line with the costs? Rather than a whole industry has unilaterally decided to extort their customers? Places like 'Spoons are cheap because they're so massive, supply a lot of their own stock and have huge buying power, smaller businesses cannot compete.

There's no easy answers because keeping prices affordable means not making enough to cover the cost to supply it, and increasing the prices means people can't afford it and don't come.

Either way it means the same thing, the business doesn't make enough money and the doors close.

Yes. I’ve stopped drinking wine or G&T when we have lunch or drinks. Today we went out and ended up having roast dinner in a pub. I would have liked to have wine, but I’ll have a glass at home later.

Yep, I’m in a village outside York and a large wine is now £9.50 at the pub, I’ve switched to cider for pub visits! Cheaper at places in town 😲

Im glad i hardly drink, have a drink once every few months. I can't be arsed with it now ,but blame that on the menopause, not the prices.
I cant deal with the headache the next day even on 2 drinks

Our local pub is one of these posh "pubs" where you can't even order at the bar.

For one afternoon out with DH we usually spend a minimum of £100, have occasionally spent more. Obviously we can afford this, or we wouldn't spend it and the pub is always heaving but it does seem a crazy amount of money. It's around £17 for a cocktail, £9.95 for a glass of wine. But, the food is INCREDIBLE! haha

It’s not just the alcohol - my husband likes Guinness 0 and it’s often more expensive than the alcoholic version!

Drinking is becoming increasingly unfashionable, drinkeries are relying on the older clientele who will moan about the prices but still pay them.

I hate drinking out in Edinburgh these days...and watch out for those places in town (Angels Share..Old Pal..) who add service charge to drinks bought at the bar! I'm sure they do it to rip off the tourists who don't know any better...I have found a pizza place in Leith which charges £5 for 250mls of decent Primitivo...and does great pizza...I did query it..but no, that's the price the owner wants!

I don’t get why soft drinks cost as much as a pint of beer. £4.50 for a tomato juice, same for an orange juice or a pint of lemonade/ cola. I know alcohol is taxed, I know there is now a sugar tax on juices but tomato juice doesn’t have any added sugar, admittedly I like a blob of Worcestershire sauce in it, but not for £4.50!

I disagree with your first sentence but you are right about the rest. However, it’s taxes and tariffs that add to the cost rather than the quality of production.

I think the whole policy around alcohol consumption is muddled… ie use taxation to discourage abuse but then wonder why pubs close!

The pub a family member drinks in is £6 pint. A backstreet pub and I joined them the other week. I don't drink alcohol, 1 half pint of lemonade on tap not a bottle , £5.80!

Yes this is true. My kids in their 20s hardly drink any alcohol. Never on a night out as too expensive they have a couple of prees instead.

I’d agree with you about cocktails but lots of them aren’t made by hand anymore it’s all sugary premixed stuff just add ice. I was in a bar that had an espresso martini on tap. It was vile.