The partnership arrives with the centring of the brand’s inaugural age statement expression as its flagship expression. “This is a bold new partnership for us and is designed to firmly establish Kavalan as the leading luxury single malt from a world whisky region,” said YT Lee, chairman of King Car Group, which owns Kavalan. “Central to this new era will be a focus on Kavalan’s…
The sales result comes after three quarters of top-line growth tempered by the three months to the end of December where sales declined by 4.4%. The group has attributed its growth performance to the strength of its premium and above brands which saw value sales rise by 4.3%, “During 2025, Viña Concha y Toro demonstrated the strength of its business strategy,” said chief executive Eduardo…
Nationally and regionally consumed spirits are among the most culturally important and precariously positioned categories on the planet. A narrower market means that the attitudes towards alcohol and the pressures of taxation and economic conditions hit without spreading their impact. Take Turkish raki as an example. In the 21st century, Turkey has placed stricter regulations and higher duties on the production and sale of alcohol…
The new five-figure bursary will sit within The Drinks Trust’s Develop educational programme and follows a commitment made by the VCL in November to support 30 students each year to achieve the Certificate in Scotch Whisky in collaboration with the Edinburgh Whisky Academy. “At VCL, we believe in investing not only in whisky, but in the people who make the industry what it is,” said…
Founder Ryan Chetiyawardana explains: “There were certain things that we knew we wanted to transport from London, but a lot of it has been about embracing where we are. We haven’t necessarily changed the profile of the drinks – what we try to do is have clarity of flavour and clarity about where something hits emotionally, and that’s a human thing that doesn’t change with…
Last November, Mr Lyan group opened Seed Library in New York’s Nomad neighbourhood, a sibling to the Shoreditch, London, bar that shares the same name. Despite ostensibly being a sequel venue, its launch marks a couple of momentous firsts for its troupe of serial bar operators. First, it’s the only Lyan bar concept to coexist in multiple locations, but more significantly, it’s the group’s first…
While there is plenty of flux in the now 40-strong list, Louis Roederer’s consistent success is mirrored across the top four, which remains unchanged since 2024. Louis Roederer has topped each list since 2018, with Krug and Bollinger completing the podium for the third year in a row. To collate the list, Drinks International polls several hundred of the world’s most knowledgeable champagne voices, including…
The 4% decline takes total alcohol duty receipts for the provisional 2025 to 2026 financial year to date to £7 billion. Receipt for the period showed that alcohol duty from wine and other declined by £100 million (4%), duty from beer sales declined by £59 million (3%), while receipts from cider increased by £30 million (21%). Spirits were the hardest hit category with duty declines…
In total, the group saw an organic sales decline of 5.9%, outpaced slightly by a 7.5% decline in organic profits from recurring operations. The Americas led the decline with a 12% drop across the region, driven by a 15% fall in sales in the US. The group attributes the performance to the US “spirits market conditions remaining soft” and some adjustments in inventory. Individual markets…
The duo has built extensive experience across the international bartending landscape, with Castaldo having worked at London’s Baccarat Bar at Harrods and Kwãnt Mayfair, as well as heading up the Kwãnt By The Sea project. Mora brings 15 years of experience in the Latin American hospitality sector, including most recently a seven-year tenure at Alquímico in Cartagena. “With Gem Studio, we want to create experiences…
