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Pub company JD Wetherspoon is to increase its range of drinks from UK and non-EU producers across its 880 pubs from Wednesday September 26 in the run up to Brexit.
As part of this decision, the company’s pubs will stop serving German liqueur Jagermeister French brandies Courvoisier VS and Hennessy Fine de Cognac. JD Wetherspoon claimed the move will result in lower prices for customers in its pubs.
The drinks will be replaced with American brandy E&J Brandy, Australian brandy Black Bottle and Strika, a herbal liqueur produced in England. E&J Brandy and Strika will be available in all Wetherspoon pubs from September 26, while Black Bottle will be available from the start of November.
Wetherspoon has already replaced Champagne with sparkling wines from the UK and Australia in its pubs and substituted German wheat beers with UK brands.
Wetherspoon founder and chairman, Tim Martin, is openly in favour of Brexit and in August launched beer mats in support of a no-deal trade.
Martin 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. We will continue to review all products over the next 24 months, with the object of making the business more competitive and offering the best choice and value for customers.
He added: “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’s important to remember that 93% of the world is outside the EU.”
