Scotch in France

[sailorman]

£10 cheaper than the UK
another rip off

 

[A1Sailor]

How much is the cost of the whisky, and how much is tax?

 

[[70521]]

£10 cheaper than the UK
another rip off

Would that be Glen Campbell or Scotch Collie? I always have a giggle in the French shops at the strange brands we dont see for sale in the UK.

I tried some Breton Whiskey a few years ago and do not recommend it

 

[macd]

Butane in France
£10 dearer than the UK.
Not another rip-off.

On the other hand the butane's probably matured in the barrel longer than the cheap scotch.

 

[ITH]

Excise costs

How much is the cost of the whisky, and how much is tax?

Below from evidence submitted to Parliament by the Scotch Whisky Association:

"Spirit drinks in the UK are subject to a high excise duty rate of £23.80 per litre of pure alcohol, which is the fourth highest level of duty applied in the EU. As a result, once VAT is applied, over 70% of the average retail price of a bottle of Scotch Whisky is tax."

 

[A1Sailor]

Below from evidence submitted to Parliament by the Scotch Whisky Association:

"Spirit drinks in the UK are subject to a high excise duty rate of £23.80 per litre of pure alcohol, which is the fourth highest level of duty applied in the EU. As a result, once VAT is applied, over 70% of the average retail price of a bottle of Scotch Whisky is tax."

Good news for Gideon Osborne then...

 

[Blueboatman]

The Englishman, the Scotch and the French? Aha, the price is the punch line.

 

[Sybarite]

How much is the cost of the whisky, and how much is tax?

Some years ago I proposed Scotch whisky before taxes to French supermarkets at less than £1 per bottle. It was too dear for them.

Taxes on spirits in France are €1514/hectolitre of pure alcohol, plus a fixed €1.60 per litre. In addition there is a small charge which goes to social security. All of this is then subject to TVA at 19.6%.

 

[A1Sailor]

Some years ago I proposed Scotch whisky before taxes to French supermarkets at less than £1 per bottle. It was too dear for them.

Taxes on spirits in France are €1514/hectolitre of pure alcohol, plus a fixed €1.60 per litre. In addition there is a small charge which goes to social security. All of this is then subject to TVA at 19.6%.

Clear as a good malt!
For those of us who don't have a degree in maths, how many litres are in a hecto? 100?
So €15.14 tax plus €1.60 per litre plus 19.6% of possibly less than £1 per litre of alcohol?

 

[Sybarite]

Clear as a good malt!
For those of us who don't have a degree in maths, how many litres are in a hecto? 100?
So €15.14 tax plus €1.60 per litre plus 19.6% of possibly less than £1 per litre of alcohol?

4 observations :

You miss the mark-up by the supermarket.
A standard bottle is 70 cl.
The duty is paid on the pure alcohol content ie 40° = 40%
The TVA is charged on the total including the other taxes.

EG Cost of bottle to supermarket £1 = € 1,20
On cost and supermarket's margin say 6.00
S/T 7.20
Alcohol duty (1514 /100) x 0.7 x 0.4 = 4.24
€1.6 x 0.7 = 1.12
S/T 12.56
TVA @ 19.6% 2.46
Total 15.02 (Normal range €12 - €25 / bottle)

 

[wotayottie]

the thing that always disappointsme about scotch abroad is that we allow it to be priced cheaper than brandy. Its in our national interest to make it more upmarket than brandy but yet we allow it to be shipped cheaply in bluk to places like India or Japan to be polluted with local brews and sold cheap.

 

[Deleted member 36384]

I understood that the 100° proof figure represented the fraction of a pure alcohol plus distilled water mixed in equal measures. This understanding didn't come from a reliable source, I got it from an old hooch book called "The Blue Flame". It was very clear: distill the liquor (4 times if I remember correctly) to achieve pure alcohol, this is 200° proof, now cut with the same volume of water to get 100° alcohol. A fascinating book which caused me to lose my eyebrows one untypical summers day with nothing better to do. Thank goodness I didn't understand just how little distillate would be produced.

 

[DaveS]

I understood that the 100° proof figure represented the fraction of a pure alcohol plus distilled water mixed in equal measures. This understanding didn't come from a reliable source, I got it from an old hooch book called "The Blue Flame". It was very clear: distill the liquor (4 times if I remember correctly) to achieve pure alcohol, this is 200° proof, now cut with the same volume of water to get 100° alcohol. A fascinating book which caused me to lose my eyebrows one untypical summers day with nothing better to do. Thank goodness I didn't understand just how little distillate would be produced.

As I understand it the 50% ABV = 100 proof bit is an Americanism. Wikipedia confirms this, and also says:

From the 18th century until 1 January 1980, the United Kingdom measured alcohol content in terms of "proof spirit", which was defined as the most dilute spirit that would sustain combustion of gunpowder.[1] The term originated in the 18th century, when payments to British sailors included rations of rum. To ensure that the rum had not been watered down, it was "proved" by dousing gunpowder in it, then tested to see if the gunpowder would ignite. If it did not, then the rum contained too much water and was considered to be "under proof". Gunpowder would not burn in rum that contained less than approximately 57.15% ABV. Therefore, rum that contained this percentage of alcohol was defined to have "100° (one hundred degrees) proof".

Thus 40% ABV is equivalent to 70° proof.

 

[Deleted member 36384]

As I understand it the 50% ABV = 100 proof bit is an Americanism.....

"The Blue Flame" is an American book. It's an instruction manual that has been around the oil patch for generations. I don't know its origins but suspect it was compiled by Expats from America living in the Middle East where alcohol is prohibited. Everyone I know who knows about the book, all worked in the M.E. So I guess what your saying makes sense.

Thanks,

BlowingOldBoots