Lidl aims to lift Christmas spirits

By Mathew Lyons

Published: 23 October, 2015

Discount supermarket Lidl is expanding its spirits range ahead of the Christmas rush.

Speyside single malt, Ben Bracken, will now be available in both a 22-year old and a 28-year old expression, retailing for £44.99 and £49.99 respectively. Ben Bracken is produced for Lidl by White & Mackay.

Three additional blended whiskies will also be ranged for the first time under Lidl's Glenalba brand. These will be a 22-year-old, priced at £29.99, a 25-year-old at £34.99 and a 34-year-old sherry cask finish at £49.99 respectively.

The new whiskies will be the highest ticket items in the discounter's 600-plus stores.

Also new for the festive season are a Black Forest vodka named Ignis and a craft gin named Hortus.

Hortus has been developed for Lidl by Michelin-starred chef Kevin Love, who joined the discounter earlier this year from Heston Blumenthal's gastro pub, The Hind's Head.

Both Ignis and Hortus will retail at £15.99.

Lidl's own brand Castelgy London Dry Gin - priced at £9.99 - recently came second in a Which gin taste test.

In the beer aisle, Lidl is introducing eight new craft-ale style bottles under the Hatherwood brand, which is brewed for the supermarket by the Oxfordshire-based Wychwood Brewery.

These include a porter and a Winter Warmer. Prices range from £0.90 to £1.99.

Lidl's sales grew 18.3% year on year in the 12 weeks to 17 August. It now has a market share of 3.6 per cent.

Last year, the discounter turned over £3.3 billion in the UK. Its aim is to break £4 billion in 2015.

Lidl is waiting until the new year to extend its core wine range.

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