The news of Pernod Ricard’s restructuring is just the latest sign that premium spirits are struggling. Redundancy numbers within the French giant haven’t yet been declared but it’s not alone. Earlier this year Moët Hennessy announced a 13% cut (around 1,200 jobs) while Diageo suggested in May that it was seeking to identify “substantial” brand disposals from its portfolio. When the big guys show vulnerability,…

When the New World first began to disrupt the hegemony of Old World wine, among the viticultural reasons it was a clever marketing decision to have a varietal calling card. Forgive the massive generalisations here but, largely, New Zealand had its Sauvignon Blanc, Australia its Shiraz, South Africa produced Pinotage. For the unfamiliar drinker, it helped to have a specific way in. Today, there’s an…

In early May, a class action lawsuit was filed in the US District Court of the Eastern District of New York that accused Diageo North America of falsely marketing its tequila brands as 100% agave. In the filing, plaintiffs Avi Pusateri, Sushi Tokyo Inc and Chaim Mishulovin alleged that the spirits group had sold “adulterated tequila to consumers” and that an investigation of Casamigos and…

In the competition’s 30th year, The International Spirits Challenge 2025 has awarded 21 Double Gold medals to the category’s best representatives. 2025 was another strong year in terms of volume of entries, with the expert panel, chaired by Gordon Motion and David Stewart, judging around 1,000 whiskies across a week of blind tastings held at The Balmoral, Edinburgh. And it was Scotch whiskies that received…

Herds of grazing gelada monkeys in the Ethiopian planes allow wolves to openly mingle, despite, in nature’s terms, being an all-inclusive buffet to the predators. However, rather than eat the monkeys the wolves kill the rodents grazing among the herd and it is suggested the return for the monkeys is that the wolves act as olfactory sentinels to warn off even bigger predators. Symbiotic relationships…

The May cover of Drinks International read ‘Global wine in crisis’. Alarming data confirmed the dwindling of global wine consumption, yet sparkling remains a shining light. Post-pandemic celebratory moments saw a spike in fizz consumption which has more recently been muffled by global inflation, yet according to Global Market Insights the future looks bright. “The sparkling wine market was valued at US$290.1bn in 2024 and…

While whisky can be shaped by a variety of factors during its creation, from the techniques used to the barrels it’s aged in, some Scotch producers are taking things back to the beginning and concentrating on the grain it starts from. Results for rye In Islay, Bruichladdich has, for a long time, focused on barley for the production of its whiskies, typically using organic barley…