Gin just the tonic for Scotland, the world home of whisky

Scotland is renowned as the world capital of whisky, but a British Government minister said Wednesday more gin production could be the perfect tonic for the Scottish economy.

The British government wants to more than double gin exports in a move that will create jobs and bring investment to Scotland, Scottish Secretary David Mundell the Scottish Secretary said on a visit to a gin distillery in the ski resort of Aviemore.

Britain is already the biggest gin exporter in the world, with 70 percent of it made in Scotland. Last year, the equivalent of 1.6 billion units of gin and tonics were sold, worth more than 2.7 billion U.S. dollars to the British economy.

Now the government wants to boost gin sales even further to bring them into line with the 6.2 billion U.S.dollars earned by Scotch whisky exports.

Visiting the Inshriach Distillery, the home of Crossbill Gin in Aviemore, Mundell said he will work with government departments like the Foreign Office, The Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and UK Trade and Investment to promote gin even more at home and abroad.

The Scottish Secretary said he will promote Scottish gin at Dover House, the Scotland Office's London HQ and his own overseas visits to personally promote the thriving Scottish gin sector.

Mundell highlighted the action the British Government is taking to support the gin industry.

He said cutting duty on gin by 2 percent - saves the industry 155 million U.S. dollars a year in new tax liabilities.

The opening up of more than 100 new international food and drink markets in the last year helped the gin industry export to a record 139 countries, said Mundell.

He also said British produced gin is also being served at key overseas British embassies in countries where increased exports are being targeted.

Mundell said the appointment of Britain's first ever food counsellor in China, Karen Morgan, based in Beijing, is tasked with opening up more food and drink export markets.

The Scottish Secretary added: "Everyone knows Scotland is the world leader in whisky. People are usually more surprised to learn that we are also a world leader in gin.

"The Scottish gin sector is going from strength to strength and the excellence of the product is clear to see here at the Inshriach Distillery in the Cairngorms. The UK Government wants to help gin match the superb exporting strength of Scotch whisky and I will work with Cabinet colleagues at home and UK embassies abroad to make sure we are doing all we can to help quality Scottish gin reach bars and homes throughout the world."

The US, Spain, Germany and Canada enjoyed more than 1 billion units of British gin and tonics last year and the British Government is targeting growing markets like India, Brazil and the Far East. Endit