In December, Bacardi took majority control of Teeling Whiskey – six years after the Bermuda-based spirits group first invested in the brand in a move that has always appeared to be a shrewd one. Since it began producing in its Dublin city centre distillery in 2015, Teeling has been the most likely of Irish whiskey’s new wave to challenge the hegemony of the Pernod-backed Irish…

April is traditionally the month the duty free industry turns its collective head to the Americas and the annual Summit of the Americas trade show, organised by the US-based International Association of Airport & Duty Free Stores (IAADFS). This year, the smallest of the duty free industry’s three major trade shows will run from 14-17 April at the Palm Beach County Convention Center in sunny…

What is Naked Malt’s vision for the future? Duff: “Our vision is for bartenders across the world to choose Naked Malt as a great whisky for their cocktails and furthermore to recommend Naked Malt to their guests as a whisky that not only tastes great, but also shows the versatility of the whisky in their serves. As part of our ambition to be the go-to whisky for sour serves, we want to…

Before getting into the nitty-gritty of the South African wine industry, and in particular the women behind it, it’s useful to gauge the scale of the country’s operations. According to South Africa Wine Industry information & Systems (SAWIS) 2023, an estimated 1.8m tonnes of grapes were crushed, producing 917 million litres of wine. In 2022, 18 million glasses of SA wine were consumed worldwide every…

Ribera del Duero is one of Europe’s youngest DOs, yet it is evolving faster than most. Since its inception in 1982 it has undergone an identity change, first establishing itself with rich, full-bodied wines dominated by the oak barrels with which Spanish reds are synonymous. In my report on the region last year I talked about the conversion towards fresher, fruit-forward wines which today’s younger…

The history of aged spirits is well documented. Brandy traders in the 11th or 12th century discovered that their tradeable commodity came out of the oak barrels a completely different colour with new aromas and a rounder palate. What was considered a convenient vessel for transporting goods inadvertently improved them significantly and today, oak barrels play a key role in the ageing of dark spirits…

When it comes to drinks that define nations, it’s tough to get more representative than sake is to Japan. It’s such a staple in its homeland that it more commonly goes by ‘nihonshu’ meaning simply ‘Japanese alcoholic drink’. But despite the history and tradition that sake shares with its domestic market, its popularity has been in a prolonged freefall. According to Japanese market research company…