Wetherspoons have banned everyone’s favourite energy-boosting drink. They’re no longer selling Jagerbombs, and we only have Brexit to blame ironically.
The popular pub is going to remove Jagermeister, Hennessy and Courvoisier from its shelves and replace them with non-EU alternatives ahead of the Britain’s move out of the EU.
Wetherspoon’s boss Tim Martin, a Brexit campaigner, has said he wants to show Brits the ‘sunlit uplands’ that are supposedly coming our way once we’re on our own.
Our favourite Jager is being replaced by British brand Strika, a herbal liqueur which, when combined with Red Bull, would theoretically produce the much more threateningly named ‘strikabomb’.
It’s just not got the same ring to it.
Popular brandies Courvoisier and Hennessy will be swapped for US-produced E&J Brandy and Australian brand Black Bottle.
While the drink swaps might cause some outrage, they are resulting in cheaper prices for Spoons-goers, so at least there’s some solace to be taken from the situation.
Martin has also mentioned that the replacement drinks have proved successful in a blind taste test, so maybe the changes won’t actually be so bad, once we’ve got used to them.
I don’t know if I can say the same for Brexit as a whole, but one thing at a time.
According to The Sun, Martin explained:
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.
Many commentators talk of a ‘cliff-edge’ if the UK ‘crashes out’ of the EU without a deal.
He continued:
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.
The changes are reportedly set to take place later this month, though according to the Mirror the chain has already replaced champagne with sparkling wines from the UK and Australia, and German wheat beers with UK-produced brands.
We’ll have to see how the alternatives fare. I suppose once you’ve had a few, you won’t really be able to taste the difference anyway.
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Emily Brown first began delivering important news stories aged just 13, when she launched her career with a paper round. She graduated with a BA Hons in English Language in the Media from Lancaster University, and went on to become a freelance writer and blogger. Emily contributed to The Sunday Times Travel Magazine and Student Problems before becoming a journalist at UNILAD, where she works on breaking news as well as longer form features.