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INDUSTRY & TRADE

Out of stock: Spain’s nightlife faces alcohol shortages

At the Cafe Comercial, one of Madrid's oldest cafes whose marble columns and ornate chandeliers draw throngs of tourists and locals, bottles of some popular drinks are in short supply.

Published: 14 November 2021 09:51 CET
Filled shot glasses on a tray
Supply chain issues are making it hard for bars and restaurants to keep up with demand for certain brands of alcoholic drinks. picture alliance / dpa | Axel Heimken

“It is hard to get deliveries. Certain brands of gin, tequila and whisky are impossible to find,” the manager of the emblematic cafe, Raul Garcia, told AFP.

“The lack of stock is affecting well-known international brands we never would have thought would one day be unavailable.”

He is not alone.

Due to supply chain issues caused by the pandemic, bars and nightclubs across Spain have struggled to stock their shelves since Covid-19 restrictions on social life were fully lifted last month.

This is raising hackles in a country where social life is concentrated outside of the home, and big groups often meet up for tapas or dinner followed by rounds of drinks.

“The shortage is not generalised, but is concentrated on some brands. The problem is that these are brands people are very attached to,” said Roberto Ucelay, the manager of the Los Olivos Beach Resort in Tenerife, part of Spain’s Canary Islands.

Among the popular names affected are Beefeater gin, Absolut vodka and Patron tequila.

‘Problem of delivery’
The shortages are due to the global shipping crisis, sparked by an uptick in demand from China and the United States which “affects all international trade”, Spain’s association of spirits makers, Espirituosos Espana, said in a statement.

Suppliers have struggled with shortages in bottles and cardboard boxes needed to package alcohol, as well as a lack of drivers, containers and trucks to ship it.

“It is not a problem of the availability of products, it is a problem of delivery,” said a spokesman for France’s Pernod Ricard, the world’s number-two spirits maker.

Other European nations like Britain have also been hit by alcohol shortages, but in Spain the problem is compounded by the country’s consumption patterns, he said.

Bars and restaurants account for almost half of all alcohol sales in Spain, compared to just one-fifth in France, where supermarkets account for the bulk of sales, the spokesman said.

When business picked up in Spain after virus restrictions were removed, this more complicated supply chain “had to get up and running again” — a process that takes time, he said.

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‘There are alternatives’

Daniel Mettyear, analyst at London-based alcohol industry consultancy IWSR, agreed, saying Spain’s supply system “is fragmented and involves many players”, which adds to the difficulties.

“Spain is the country in the world with the most bars and restaurants per inhabitant,” he said.

During the months that virus restrictions on social life were in place, bars reduced their orders and liquidated their stocks of alcohol and it will take time to replenish them now that business has picked up, he said.

“They have a long way to go,” he said.

Spain’s association of spirits makers predicts the problem will not last long, but with the busy Christmas holidays fast approaching, businesses are worried.

Ucelay, the manager of the Los Olivos Beach Resort, said he has been told it will take six months to get some brands of champagne.

“That is too long,” he said.

Vicente Pizcueta, spokesman for Noche de Espana, an association which represents the nightclub sector, said the problem will continue “as long as the market is not more fluid”.

“We have a problem with certain brands, not with types of alcohol. Spain is an important spirits maker and has brands that remain available in all categories,” he said. “There are alternatives.”

 

 

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SPANISH TRADITIONS

Everything you need to know about Mother’s Day in Spain

Here's how and when in May Mother's Day is celebrated in Spain, and why it owes its roots to religion and a Valencian poet.

Published: 3 May 2024 13:37 CEST
Everything you need to know about Mother's Day in Spain

This year, Mother’s Day (El Día de la Madre) is celebrated in Spain on Sunday May 5th. It’s always celebrated on the first Sunday of the month of May.

On this day, young children in Spain give their mothers manualidades (crafts) they’ve made at school as a token of their love.

Husbands and older sons and daughters may buy their wives/mothers a present to say thanks for all that they do as matriarchs, which usually takes the form of a detalle (smaller present than for a birthday or Christmas), and will come accompanied by a message such as te quiero, mamá (I love you, mum).

According to experiences website Aladinia, the average Spaniards spends €65 on gifts on Mother’s Day. 

Other mums may send out text messages to wish each other ¡Feliz Día de la Madre! (Happy Mother’s Day!).

As it’s always celebrated on a Sunday, many shops will be closed but you can expect plenty of restaurants to be open for lunch and perhaps dinner. 

Depending where you’re from, the first Sunday of May may or may not be when you’re used to celebrating Mother’s Day in your home country.

Around the world over 100 countries celebrate Mother’s Day (or Mothering Sunday, more on the difference below) – 77 in May, 13 in March, and 14 at other times during the year.

Some countries, like the UK, celebrate Mothering Sunday on the fourth Sunday during Lent, meaning that the date changes each year. This is because Mothering Sunday was originally a Christian holiday in some European countries.

READ ALSO: How a female teacher campaigned for Spain to have a Father’s Day

Spain, however, celebrates Mother’s Day on the first Sunday in May each year, meaning that it doesn’t have a fixed date either. But it wasn’t always like that.

The history of Mother’s Day in Spain

The first Mother’s Day in Spain was celebrated in Madrid all the way back on October 4th, 1926. Much of the impetus for establishing a day to celebrate mothers came, rather fittingly, from a poet.

Julio Menéndez García, a Valencian poet and public servant, pushed for a special day to celebrate mothers. Spanish newspaper La Libertad published a short section on Garcìa’s efforts in October 1925:

“A Levantine poet, Julio Menéndez García, has had the happy initiative that in Spain and in the Spanish-speaking nations a day should be consecrated to extol the love of mothers. The establishment of Mother’s Day is something tender and sympathetic, which deserves to be welcomed by governments, the press and public opinion, as it involves the highest tribute to women in their most august representation.”

After the Civil War, the church moved the date to December 8th to coincide with the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, a key holiday among Catholics. 

Civil War-era poster urging Madrid mothers to leave the Spanish capital with their children before the arrival of Franco’s troops. (Photo by AFP)

But it wasn’t until 1965 that Mother’s Day was celebrated in May in Spain. The reason for this change of date was to separate the celebrations (both were considered important enough to have their own day) but also the influence of other countries, namely the United States.

The campaign for a Mother’s Day was originally started by Anna Jarvis, an American wanting to honour her mother, in 1908. By 1914, US President Woodrow Wilson officially signed it into law, establishing a May date. 

However, for many years in Spain department store El Corte Inglés maintained the date of 8th December, meaning that Spain Mother’s Day was celebrated twice a year for a while, commercially speaking at least.

In 1936 a local council in Breña Baja, on the Canary island of La Palma, became the first in Spain to move Mother’s Day to May.

However, in 1965 the church authorities officially decided to move Mother’s Day to May, a month consecrated to the Virgin Mary. May is also the month of female gods in the classical world, and in Catholicism is dedicated to the Virgin Mary.

Interestingly, Jarvis herself later campaigned against the day, arguing it had become overly commercialised, something Spaniards often bemoan about other imported American customs like Halloween and Valentine’s Day. 

READ ALSO: How a female teacher campaigned for Spain to have a Father’s Day

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