PricesData study
Whisky prices vs inflation
Spirits bought to drink at home got 1.0% cheaper in the year to September 2026, while prices overall rose 3.5% (ONS).
−1.0% spirits to drink at home in the year to September 2026, while all prices rose 3.5% (ONS)
- All items
- Spirits
ONS consumer price indices, 2015 = 100. CPI figures before 1996 are ONS estimates.
- All items
- Alcohol
- Spirits
Alcohol is CPI 02.1, drinks bought to drink at home; spirits is its 02.1.1 component.
- All items
- Pub nip
The nip series is an RPI average price for a pub serve, not a bottle; its last published value is for January 2025.
Official ONS price indices for spirits and for everything, monthly since 1988. Switch period, hide a line, and hover or use the arrow keys for each month.
| Measure | Index (2015 = 100) | Change over 12 months | ONS series |
|---|---|---|---|
| All items (CPI) | 144.1 | 3.5% | D7BT, D7G7 |
| All items (CPIH) | 144.0 | 3.6% | L522, L55O |
| Alcoholic drinks, at home | 122.5 | -1.1% | D7CA, D7GM |
| Spirits, at home | 119.6 | -1.0% | D7DG, D7HS |
Our own shelf-price index only started on 28 September 2026, so it sits beside the official figures rather than on the chart. ONS October figures are due on 18 November 2026.
| Measure | Period | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Our shelf-price index | 28 September to 14 October 2026 | -1.0% |
| Our index, delivered | 28 September to 14 October 2026 | -0.9% |
| Our index, monthly | October 2026 against the month before | -0.73% |
| ONS spirits (D7DG) | August to September 2026 | -0.9% |
| ONS all items (D7BT) | August to September 2026 | 0.3% |
Yearly averages behind the charts
| Year | CPI all items | CPIH all items | CPI alcoholic drinks | CPI spirits | Pub nip of whisky |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 | 49.6 | 48.2 | 55.6 | 51.9 | 71p |
| 1989 | 52.2 | 51 | 57.8 | 53.7 | 76p |
| 1990 | 55.9 | 55.1 | 62.4 | 58.6 | 83p |
| 1991 | 60.1 | 59.2 | 69.4 | 66.8 | 95p |
| 1992 | 62.6 | 61.9 | 73.1 | 71 | 102p |
| 1993 | 64.2 | 63.5 | 75.1 | 72.6 | 106p |
| 1994 | 65.5 | 64.9 | 75.3 | 72.7 | 109p |
| 1995 | 67.2 | 66.6 | 76.9 | 73.9 | 117p |
| 1996 | 68.8 | 68.5 | 78.7 | 74 | 122p |
| 1997 | 70.1 | 70 | 79.2 | 73.3 | 129p |
| 1998 | 71.2 | 71.3 | 80.9 | 75 | 134p |
| 1999 | 72.1 | 72.6 | 81.7 | 75 | 137p |
| 2000 | 72.7 | 73.4 | 81.7 | 75.6 | 142p |
| 2001 | 73.6 | 74.6 | 82 | 75.9 | 148p |
| 2002 | 74.5 | 75.7 | 82.1 | 76.7 | 156p |
| 2003 | 75.5 | 76.7 | 81.6 | 76.5 | 164p |
| 2004 | 76.5 | 77.8 | 81.2 | 76.2 | 171p |
| 2005 | 78.1 | 79.4 | 80.6 | 75.6 | 174p |
| 2006 | 79.9 | 81.4 | 80.9 | 75.2 | 180p |
| 2007 | 81.8 | 83.3 | 81.6 | 76.2 | 187p |
| 2008 | 84.7 | 86.2 | 84.2 | 80.3 | 196p |
| 2009 | 86.6 | 87.9 | 88 | 83 | 204p |
| 2010 | 89.4 | 90.1 | 90.8 | 87.1 | 214p |
| 2011 | 93.4 | 93.6 | 96.1 | 92.2 | 226p |
| 2012 | 96.1 | 96 | 98.8 | 96.5 | 234p |
| 2013 | 98.5 | 98.2 | 102.2 | 102.3 | 245p |
| 2014 | 100 | 99.6 | 102.6 | 101.3 | 254p |
| 2015 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 260p |
| 2016 | 100.7 | 101 | 96.8 | 96.8 | 269p |
| 2017 | 103.4 | 103.6 | 99.1 | 98.6 | 279p |
| 2018 | 105.9 | 106 | 100 | 98.3 | 287p |
| 2019 | 107.8 | 107.8 | 101 | 97.6 | 296p |
| 2020 | 108.7 | 108.9 | 102 | 99.5 | – |
| 2021 | 111.6 | 111.6 | 103.3 | 100.5 | – |
| 2022 | 121.7 | 120.5 | 105.8 | 102.8 | 312p |
| 2023 | 130.5 | 128.6 | 114 | 110.4 | 378p |
| 2024 | 133.9 | 132.9 | 119 | 115.5 | 384p |
| 2025 | 138.4 | 138 | 123.2 | 120.1 | – |
Indices are 2015 = 100, annual averages as published by the ONS. The nip is an average price in pence.
- About 21% cheaper in real terms than in 1988. The ONS spirits index rose 135% since January 1988; all prices rose 198%.
- Duty reform jump. Spirits went from 108.1 in July 2023 to 114.4 in September 2023, around the 1 August 2023 duty change.
- Pubs went the other way. The ONS average pub nip of whisky rose 441% from 1988 to 2024, against 170% for CPI.
Source: ONS D7BT, CPI index 00: all items (2015=100), retrieved 23 October 2026. Updated 23 October 2026. Free to reuse with a link to this page.
About this data: method, downloads and sources
How we did it
Reading the charts. The indices meet at 100 in 2015. Spirits start above the all-items line and end below it: either way round, spirits rose less than prices in general. The pub nip is a different thing from a bottle on a shop shelf: it includes the pub’s costs, pub measures are not all the same size, and the ONS’s last value is for January 2025. A duty line shows when a change took effect, not how much of a move it caused, and a single month’s change is not a trend.
Official series. Every line on this page except our own index is an ONS series from the Consumer price inflation dataset (MM23), downloaded on 23 October 2026 from the September 2026 release (published 21 October 2026). The indices use 2015 = 100, as published. CPI 02.1 covers alcoholic drinks bought to drink at home; 02.1.1 is its spirits component, which covers all spirits, not only whisky. Drinks bought in pubs and restaurants are in a different part of CPI, which is why the pub nip is shown separately.
What we calculated. Percentage changes between published values; “against everything else” is the spirits index divided by the all-items index; the pub-nip chart rebases both series to 1988 = 100 using ONS annual averages. Nothing is estimated, smoothed or filled in.
Duty changes. The dates come from HMRC policy papers on GOV.UK (rates are in our duty and VAT calculator). A line on a chart marks when a change took effect; it doesn’t show how much of a price move it caused.
Our index. Shelf prices for the same bottles at the same UK retailers we check, from 28 September 2026 (see the method). It covers weeks, not years, and whisky only; the ONS spirits index covers a month at a time and all spirits. Read the two side by side, not as one series. Real-terms figures for our index need more months of data.
CPI before 1996. The ONS publishes CPI back to 1988, but the official series started in 1996, and the earlier figures are ONS estimates.
Download the data
Free to reuse with a link to this page.
Sources
- ONS D7BT, CPI index 00: all items (2015=100), retrieved 23 October 2026
- ONS D7G7, CPI annual rate 00: all items, retrieved 23 October 2026
- ONS L522, CPIH index 00: all items (2015=100), retrieved 23 October 2026
- ONS L55O, CPIH annual rate 00: all items, retrieved 23 October 2026
- ONS D7CA, CPI index 02.1: alcoholic beverages (2015=100), retrieved 23 October 2026
- ONS D7GM, CPI annual rate 02.1: alcoholic beverages, retrieved 23 October 2026
- ONS D7DG, CPI index 02.1.1: spirits (2015=100), retrieved 23 October 2026
- ONS D7HS, CPI annual rate 02.1.1: spirits, retrieved 23 October 2026
- ONS CZMR, RPI average price: whisky per nip (pence), retrieved 23 October 2026
- HMRC, Changes to Alcohol Duty rates (from 1 August 2023)
- HMRC, Changes to the rates of Alcohol Duty (from 1 February 2025)
- HMRC, Alcohol Duty: rates change (from 1 February 2026)
- Uisge Beatha UK whisky shelf-price index
- Just Drinks / GlobalData, Whisk(e)y price rises yet to keep pace with inflation, July 2022 (earlier analysis)
Prices are the shelf prices we recorded at UK retailers on the dates shown and change daily. Uisge Beatha compares prices; it does not sell whisky or give investment advice. Please enjoy whisky responsibly: drinkaware.co.uk.