This is how much alcohol Heathrow Duty Free sells in one day

Drinks, anybody?

Even though leaving behind your holiday in the sun is a devastating thought, there’s one more thing to look forward to at the airport - Duty Free. With all the VAT-free cosmetics, sweet treats and more that your heart desires, it’s no surprise that Heathrow Airport’s World Duty Free makes some serious money and they’ve just released a little peek into just how much alcohol they sell.

According to Heathrow, they sell an eye-watering 250,000 bottles of gin a year. That’s an average of nearly 700 bottles a day. With over 40 varieties of gin on their shelves, three quarters of their offerings are unsurprisingly British brands.

It turns out that it’s not just the Brits who are partial to a good old gin and tonic. In fact, it was the Americans who were most likely to buy gin at Heathrow last year, followed closely by people flying out to the UAE and Canada. Brits were actually the fifth most likely to buy gin from Duty Free and there’s a list of the most avid gin-buying countries below ranked.

Countries most likely to buy gin from Heathrow

1. USA
2. UAE
3. Canada
4. Sweden
5. UK
6. Germany
7. Switzerland
8. Ireland
9. India
10. Norway

The popularity of gin hasn’t been lost on Heathrow Airport either and they’ve actually launched their very own gin festival, which started on July 1. To celebrate, they’ve started retailing special destination-themed G&T bags filled with everything you need for the perfect after-work drink, with country-specific flavours such as Sweden’s rose jasmine infusions and India’s sweet and spicy tastes with cardamom and oranges dominating.

Chris Annetts, the retail and service proposition director at Heathrow, explained the surge of gin fanaticism: ‘Gin is a quintessentially British drink and a really popular choice with our passengers and the Gin Festival is a great way to celebrate this fantastic spirit.’

We'll drink to that.