Anyone else fed up with rising alcohol prices?

[Lucytheluckyone]

So for those who drink alcohol, anyone shocked by how expensive drinks are when out these days? I was out for a nice dinner with my husband last night - the place we were in was a ‘higher end place’ but the general bars (I’m in Edinburgh) are much the same. The cheapest glass of wine was £11.95 (175mls) and cocktails started at £14.00! We opted for a bottle of wine because on working it out had we gone with glasses it may have been £50 alone without even eating! In Edinburgh a cocktail has gone from £7(ish) 2 years ago to over £10! Anyone have this where they live?

Don't get that at all, the minimum unit price affects pubs and bars too. No happy hours etc.

£4 for a lime and soda? FFS!!!

Unless they're trying to sell a pint of beer or medium glass of wine for under £1.30 then how does the minimum negatively affect them?

I can safely say that three out of my four sons are definitely holding up that tradition as I, their aunt and uncles did before them in the 80/90s!
pub crawls, clubbing, house parties, local stag do’s, Traffic conage, loss of personal items, returning home shirtless with one shoe, forgetting keys and falling asleep in summerhouse/garage/on grass and then getting up for overtime on a Saturday/sunday morning after two hours sleep.
Nailing the lot sigh….

That’s why we’ve bought a pool table and a dart board and we have our friends round here instead. There’s a pub at the end of our street but even a tame evening in the village pub can easily cost £100. Fuck that! No wonder pubs are closing left, right and centre. I suppose it’s a vicious cycle though, the fewer people that go, the more expensive drinks need to be to keep the pub going!

Fellow scot here,we do the same straight to the morrisons at the border 😂

great idea for Xmas!!

I don’t really drink anything other than wine but I wonder if spirits, vodka/coke etc that younger generations might drink in nightclubs, are cheaper? Yeah no deals whatsover in Scotland 🙄

Same in Leeds, £10 for a espresso martini!
Disgusting
I just don’t get drunk anymore, budget for a few and then done. Don’t let men buy me any as they feel even more like you owe them something.

I don’t think £10 for a cocktail is unreasonable at all because in addition to the cost of the alcohol they take a significant amount of time and (in some cases) a bit of skill to make. Ingredients, eg fruit & base mixes, need to be prepared. Staff need to be trained to make them. And in hospitality time is money, as in any other industry.

£10 for a glass of wine which takes 10 seconds to pour is a different matter, though…

I probably drink more as a result I can get 2 bottles of chicken wine (when on deal) for the price of a large glass in my local. As such we rarely stop off in the pub for a drink anymore, just open a bottle at home.

Have you ever made your own wine or beer? It's quite a lot of effort to make something that tastes good, but it is increasingly worth the trouble!

The sad thing about all of this, is that the high costs make socialising more difficult. Of course you have have friends round to your home, or go for a walk and talk. But sometimes it is lovely to get out of the house and relax with friends, with someone else hosting and taking care of things.

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.

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.

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!

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!

I do get it, and it’s hard for everyone. The hospitality industry is paying out more and more (living wage/bills etc). Everything is more expensive so they have to pass that onto their customers. I do wonder how much of that tactic works though as I think people then just don’t going into these establishments at all, or definitely less than they did before. That’s the running theme among my friends anyway. As someone said above, we are way more likely now to buy a bottle and have it in the house with friends! in saying that, I do genuinely believe that some places are just taking the p*ss with their prices 🤣

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 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!

Will need to find that place! Agreed - the service charge when someone has literally poured you a glass of wine is laughable

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

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

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

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

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 😲