On a cool evening in September the proverbially great and good of the cognac industry gathered in the magnificent grounds of the 17th century Château Chesnel, a few kilometres from the city of Cognac in west central France, which gives its name to the most prestigious brandy-producing region in the world. They were there to dine and participate in an annual charity auction, known as…

The announcement that 11 premium Italian wine producers have formed the Italia del Vino-Consorzio and called for a co-ordinated campaign to “construct and enact a national strategy to attack emerging markets for wine” is excellent news for winemakers in Tuscany. Although Italy is one of the largest producers of wine in the world, both the country overall and its various regions lack effective,…

Consumers are not bartenders. In the main they want their drinks to arrive with the minimum of fuss. Complicated serving rituals, measures and alcohol-to-mixer ratios involve input, effort and knowledge. Having it pre-mixed makes life easy. People like easy. So why has it taken the spirits world so long to realise this? Why only now, in the past few years of a few hundred-year-old…

Although many bartenders love to hate the neutral charm of vodka, it remains the consumer’s tipple of choice in the US.  According to the Beverage Information Group’s Liquor Handbook 2012, the category’s market share reached 33.5% in 2011. This is 7%, or 4.4 million cases, up on the previous year. Total vodka consumption for 2011 was a massive 66.5 million nine-litre cases. To…

As the title of James Pilditch’s seminal book tells us, packaging is The Silent Salesman. That was written 50 years ago but Pilditch’s assertion still cuts to the crux of consumerism. Packaging is the link between brand and consumer – without saying a word it speaks to us, influencing our purchasing decision. Packaging is at its most loquacious in the augmented, parodied world of gifts.

“All of my close friends love limoncello,” says Danny DeVito. “You know who they are…” Not many people can get away with a line like that, but he’s right, I could probably guess at a few. “…From George Clooney, to Michael Douglas to Jack Nicholson…” he obliges, erasing any conceivable doubt.  Danny Devito’s Limoncello is not only the toast of Hollywood’s inner circle.

With the gin market in a state of positive flux there is a clear polarisation between the classics – the big juniper brews, such as Tanqueray, and the more fragrant new kids on the block, led by Hendrick’s. The intense activity of recent years which has seen so many gins coming on stream means there is now a rich panoply of different tastes on…