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The Vodka Martini on paper is simple – just two ingredients with a choice of garnish. But there are seemingly endless variables which affect flavour, including temperature, dilution, ratio of vermouth and even glassware. But for this piece, the focus is on the heart of the drink, the vodka. In this year’s edition of Drinks International’s Cocktail Report, the Vodka Martini was the highest climber.

From 1 October Archers will be available across select independents and wholesale channels throughout the country. “Given the cultural connections between Britain and Australia, combined with Australians’ strong appreciation for cocktails, makes this an incredibly promising market for us,” said Leo Evers, De Kuyper CEO. “We’ve identified Australia as one of our high-potential growth markets. The country boasts an impressive 3.17 million cocktail drinkers with…

Barré is entering retirement after eight years at the Cuban rum brand while Merolli has worked for parent company Pernod Ricard for nearly three decades, most recently as CEO of House of Tequila since 2020. A statement from Pernod Ricard said: “After 28 years of dedicated service at Pernod Ricard, Christian Barré retires from his role as CEO of Havana Club International – marking the…

Gen Z – those born between 1997 and 2012 – has been labelled the “generation that doesn’t drink”. Yet in July this year International Wine & Spirits Research (IWSR) released a report suggesting that Gen Z’s drinking habits are now largely falling in line with the broader population. What transpired were news headlines such as “Gen Z is drinking as much as older generations”,…

Drake’s One Dance has more than three billion downloads on Spotify, meaning the Canadian has rapped the word Hennessy about 20 billion times on the one platform. Pete Doherty, the former frontman of British indie band The Libertines, released a song called Calvados in spring this year, which at time of writing had 370,000 hits. This gulf in listens mirrors the global reach of cognac…

First opened in 2021 in Lima, Peru, Lady Bee ranked number 16 in the 2024 edition of The World’s 50 Best Bars and earlier this year it moved to a new site in Barranco. “We’re honoured to receive such an amazing award, particularly for hospitality which is central to Lady Bee,” says co-founder Alonso Palomino. “In our new space we can see every one of…

This time last year, Oli Dodd looked at the swarm of celebrities moving into the rosé sector and concluded that Provence sells. Kylie Minogue’s ‘Kylie’ brand is Provençal, the bestselling rosé over £7 in the UK and the number one prosecco rosé. The Duchess of Sussex is the latest celebrity to join the rosé hype with her As Ever brand, but Meghan’s wine comes from…

The statement gave an update on various industries but no alterations to the spirits trade, leaving EU spirits exports to the US exposed to a 15% import tariff. “We commend the administration for safeguarding US spirits from tariffs in the short term but without a permanent return to zero-for-zero tariffs on spirits, American distillers do not have the certainty to plan for future export and…

Symington will be responsible for sales, customer strategy and marketing of the London-based distributor, reporting to CEO Emma Fox. “I have huge admiration for Berry Bros & Rudd – a family business which combines the best of British heritage with a thoroughly modern and dynamic outlook,” said Symington. He was previously co-CEO of Portugal-based Symington Family Estates where he oversaw commercial strategy, sales & marketing,…

When it comes to cocktail trends Drinks International is an authority. For almost 20 years we’ve collected data from the world’s top bars to track their bestselling classic cocktails. In 2023 this became its own supplement called the Cocktail Report, centred around a list of the 50 bestselling classic cocktails in the world’s best bars. The current top nine (Negroni, Old Fashioned, Margarita, Espresso Martini,…