PhD student names brandy UK’s favourite Christmas spirit

University of Warwick PhD student Nathan Cunningham turned to Google search statistics to name brandy the UK’s favourite Christmas spirit.

Brandy has been named the UK’s favourite Christmas spirit

In order to find Britain’s favourite Christmas tipple, Cunningham analysed the number of Google searches for gin, vodka, rum, brandy and whisky over the festive period

Cunningham found that in each of the last five years, the number of searches for some of the most popular spirits peaked dramatically around the week of Christmas.

Cunningham said: “I didn’t want to simply pick the spirit with the greatest search volume at Christmas, as that will likely only say which one is the most popular in general.”

Instead, in order to pick the country’s favourite Christmas spirit, Cunningham calculated which spirit’s Christmas search volume had the greatest difference from its average search volume, the spirits standard deviation.

After naming brandy the nation’s favourite, Cunningham said: “It’s hardly surprising given its association with Christmas puddings and mince pies.”

However, he added: “Christmas dessert in my house has always been my mum’s delicious lemon cheesecake. I also don’t drink brandy, so by my own reckoning I’m completely lacking in Christmas spirit.”

Earlier this month, SB listed the brandy and Cognac brands to watch in 2018, guaranteed to boost the Christmas spirit even further.