For centuries the G&T has been a staple fixture on bar menus, but new data from Stirlingshire-based brand, Boë Gin, suggests it may have a new challenger.
Across the UK over half (53 per cent) of gin drinkers aged 18-34 now prefer lemonade as a mixer, or a G&L, with just a quarter (29 per cent) opting for tonic, rising to 57 per cent in favour of lemonade amongst the 18-24 age range.
However tonic remains more popular is Scotland than in any other region of the UK, with almost three fifths of drinkers (59 per cent) remaining true to gin’s traditional companion and only just over a quarter opting for lemonade (28 per cent).
The nation is also home to the UK’s highest number of gin liqueur fans with almost one in 10 gin drinking Scots preferring liqueurs to full strength products.
Gin is a favourite for most, with almost 70 per cent of Scots saying that they enjoy drinking gin,
The study from Boë Gin also revealed that an aversion to tonic could actually be the reason why many younger drinkers are turning away from a G&T – as two fifths (43 per cent) of 18-24 year olds who don’t like gin and tonic thought it was the gin they hated before sampling another mixer.
The data also suggest that t’s not just young drinkers. The rapid rise of flavoured gins, now a third (according to IRI and Kantar data) of the overall gin market, is also helping to knock the G&T from the top spot.
Lemonade is the preferred mixer for more than half (52 per cent) of all flavoured gin drinkers.
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Meanwhile, it was England’s North East and Northern Ireland which proved to have the highest number of G&L drinkers overall.
With the emergence of the G&L, Boë Gin recently made the decision to create its first full-strength flavoured gin, Apple & Lime, to work better with lemonade than tonic as a delicious citrus drink.
Andrew Richardson, director at Boë Gin said: “We’ve certainly seen the citrus in premium lemonade blends really nicely with flavoured gins, particularly with our Violet and now Apple & Lime flavours.
"There will always be a place for a classic G&T, but G&L’s are increasing across the category and becoming far more normal to order at a bar, or to enjoy at home.”
Scots who didn’t like tonic felt so strongly about their distaste that over a fifth said they’d rather drink cold tea (19 per cent).
The debate has spilled over to Boë Gin’s Instagram page where drinkers have been sharing pictures of their favourite serves alongside the hashtag #TeamGandT or #TeamGandL.
To find out more about Boë Gin and the new expression, visit their website.
Scran episode 4: The botanics of gin - with Hamish Martin of the Secret Herb Garden
