UK gin exports decreased by £100 million in 2020 as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, according to new figures from HM Revenue & Customs.

Pubs across the UK will miss out on 14 million sales of pints this St Patrick’s Day due to lockdown closures, the British Beer & Pub Association has reported.

More than 31 million bottles of the I Heart wine brand were sold in 2020 after it enjoyed significant growth in several international markets.

Campari Group has reported that net adjusted profit decreased 24.4% year-on-year to €202.1 million in 2020 as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The tequila industry enjoyed record levels of production and exports in 2020, according to the Consejo Regulador del Tequila (CRT).

U.S. online retailer Wine.com has revealed that revenue increased 119% year-on-year to reach $329 million during 2020.

Johnnie Walker has announced a commitment to plant one million trees across Scotland in the next five years.

Leading US online retailer Wine.com has reported a 217% year-on-year revenue increase for the six months to September 30.

Naked Wines enjoyed 79.6% revenue growth in the six months to September 28 after demand for online wine purchases soared during the lockdown.

Restaurants and bars in the US added 192,000 jobs in October, according to a new report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Canada’s third largest cannabis company has agreed a $300 million deal to purchase Atlanta-based brewer SweetWater.

Alcohol free beer and cider specialist Drynks Unlimited has secured an additional £1 million investment in order to ramp up production.

Australian winemakers look set to receive just $20,000 of the $2 million they are owed after The Wine Society plunged into administration.

A strong domestic performance ensured that Brown-Forman net sales decreased by just 2% year-on-year in the three months to July 31, 2020.

Brewdog claims to be the world’s first carbon negative international beer producer after announcing plans to plan a million trees in the Scottish Highlands.

Diageo will purchase Aviation Gin and several sister brands in a deal worth up to $610 million.

The South African government has been urged to scrap its alcohol prohibition in order to avoid “devastating consequences” at home and abroad.

Campari has reported that organic sales declined 11.3% in the first six months of 2020 as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Spanish producer Chivite has launched a barrel-fermented rosé made from Garnacha grapes sourced from the Legardeta estate in northern Navarra.

Naked Wines has reported 81% year-on-year revenue growth during April and May as online orders spiked during the coronavirus lockdown.

Diageo Australia is giving away 130,000 free drinks to help bars across the country get back on their feet following the coronavirus lockdown.

Carlsberg UK will merge with Marston’s to form a British brewing giant worth around £780 million.

Bacardi has set up a $3m fund to help bar owners and bartenders make ends meet during the global coronavirus lockdown.

Guinness producer Diageo has launched a £1m St Patrick’s Day fund to help bars pay their staff during these difficult times.

AB Inbev has drawn down the entirety of a $9bn loan facility from global banks as it bids to ride out the coronavirus outbreak.

Inver House Distillers, the Scotland-based spirits arm of International Beverage Holdings has reported a 28% increase in turnover for the year ending December 2011.

Pernod Richard is raising the stakes in scotch whisky after a week in which it hosted a ‘Capital Markets Day’ of presentations up at its flagship Glenlivet distillery on Speyside.

Diageo, the world's leading premium drinks business, has announced that it has reached agreement with Ypióca Agroindustrial Limitada to buy cachaça brand, Ypióca, and certain production assets.

The Champagne Bureau has reported increased shipments in 2011. Total shipments worldwide rose from 319.5 million bottles in 2010 to 323 million in 2011.

The Diego Zamora group has reported that its Licor 43 brand finished 2011 with sales of 500 000 cases worldwide, 4.2 million liters, which represents an increase of more than 25% over 2010.

Gruppo Campari plans to build a US$44m bottling facility at the Wild Turkey distillery in Kentucky, US.

US consumption of imported sparkling wine will reach new heights in 2012 due to the increased penetration of prosecco and cava, says Wine Intelligence. 

Irish Distillers Pernod Ricard has confirmed it will spend €100m on the 2012 expansion of its Midleton Single Distillery, the site where Jameson is produced.

Diageo subsidiary East African Breweries Limited (EABL) has opened a $55 million brewery in Moshi, Tanzania. 

Pernod Ricard has announced net sales (excluding tax and duties) of €1.987 million for the first quarter of 2011/12 (July 1 – September 30, 2011).

Diageo has announced plans to step-up its multi-million dollar strategic partnership with social media website Facebook.

Vietnam: Global drinks giant Diageo has closed a Public Offer to acquire an additional 5.07% stake in Hanoi Liquor Joint Stock Company (“Halico”) for approximately £6.4 million. 

Africa: Heineken has purchased two breweries in Ethiopia for a total of US$163 million. 

US: The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has found Diageo to have made “hundreds of illicit payments” to foreign government officials in India, Thailand and South Korea.

Bacardi Brown Forman Brands has launched a new vodka under the Eristoff brand.

Drinks International and Euromonitor International have published the Millionaires Club 2011. The report lists spirits brands that sell over one million nine-litre cases. A record 172 brands feature in this year’s edition and figures are based on 2010 sales volumes.

Ian Macleod Distillers has purchased the Tamdhu distillery in Speyside, from the Edrington Group.

Chinese regulators have approved Diageo’s acquisition of an additional 4% stake in Sichuan Chengdu Quanxing Group (Quanxing) from Chengdu Yingsheng Investment Holding Co (Yingsheng).

Scotland: Diageo is to invest £20 million in its Speyside whisky facilities.

Diageo subsidiary East African Breweries (EAB) has purchased all of SAB Miller’s 20% shareholding in Kenya Breweries (KB). The transaction is worth US$225 million. The deal is subject to EAB disposing of its 20% shareholding in Tanzania Breweries – by way of public offer through the Dar-es-Salaam Stock Exchange.

Canada: Brick Brewing Company has acquired the Canadian rights to the Seagram Coolers brand from Corby Distilleries. The transaction closed upon signing.

Brown-Forman has sold its Fetzer wine business to Concha y Toro for US$238 million. The transaction is expected to close in April 2011.

Diageo has struck an agreement to acquire Turkey's "leading" spirits company, Mey Içki.

Nemiroff has reported strong growth in 2010. The Ukrainian vodka brand said sales volumes rose to $473.6 million – $56.8 million (13.6%) up on the previous year. The company said the largest growth areas were Ukraine and Poland.