Champagne exports to the US in 2023 dropped 20% on the previous year to around 27m bottles according to Comité Champagne.

Budweiser Brewing Group’s Samblesbury brewery, in partnership with Protium, has announced its plans to cut carbon emissions by developing a green hydrogen energy production facility at the site.

Premium beer company, Bira 91, has raised $10m from MUFG Bank, Ltd. (MUFG Bank), Japan's largest bank, as the brand continues to grow at a rapid pace, tripling its market share from pre-covid levels.

Diageo has announced it has reached an agreement to acquire Don Papa Rum for an initial €260 million.

Louisville-based Sazerac will invest US$600 million in new barrel warehouses in London, Laurel County, Kentucky.

The global mezcal market is expected to reach $2.1 billion by 2031, new data by Straits Research has revealed.

Irish Distillers has outlined a €250 million investment plan to build a new distillery in Midleton Co. Cork.

Diageo has unveiled the new visitor experience at its Caol Ila Distillery on the Isle of Islay, following a multi-million pound transformation.

Wine production in France has been forecasted to rebound this year following the frost-hit 2021 harvest but the ministry of Agriculture and Food has warned that worsening drought could curb volumes.

Super-premium gin Brockmans has announced that one million bottles were sold within a 12-month period, a milestone for the brand.

Viña Concha y Toro has reported that profits rose by 26.7% in 2021 with sales of premium wines accounting for more than half of company revenues for the first time.

South African Wine Rebounds

17 February, 2022

Strong demand from the UK, the US and China helped South African wine exports increase by 12.1% in value to R10.2bn in 2021.

Diageo is investing £73 million in a Guinness microbrewery and “culture hub in the heart of London.

Sales in the first nine months of 2021 of sparkling wines made under the protection of the DO Cava have increased by 16.45% on the same period in 2020.

UK gin producers have called upon Chancellor Rishi Sunak to freeze duty on spirits after revealing that exports have plummeted 35% as a result of the pandemic.

Ice Wine's Asian appeal

24 August, 2021

Sometimes accidents breed innovation. In 1928 Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin by chance, having thrown away a bacteria sample he thought was spent.

Edrington has reported that pre-tax profit decreased 21% year-on-year to £178.4 million for the year ending 31 March 2021.

Ardgowan Distillery has announced a new one million litre single malt distillery and visitor centre, built on the Ardgowan Estate in Inverclyde, Scotland.

Naked Wines stock decreased by 3% this morning after the online retailer posted an annual pre-tax loss of £10.7 million.

Stock Spirits Group increased volume sales by 2% to 8.3 million 9-litre cases in the six months to March 31.

Organic net sales at Campari Group increased by 17.9% to reach €397.9 million in the first three months of 2021.

Leading Chilean wine producer Concha y Toro has reported an 8.2% revenue increase in the first three months of 2021.

Lucas Bols has reported an estimated 32% year-on-year decline in revenue for the 2020/21 financial year after widespread on-trade closures and travel restrictions due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Henkell Freixenet has reported that net sales decreased by 7.4% year-on-year in 2020 after the Covid-19 pandemic caused bars and restaurants to close for several months.

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.

on 03 August, 2012

There’s something quite transfixing – almost hypnotic – when it comes to looking at the latest brand figures for spirits around the world. You cannot stop. More particularly so as there seems to be so much cause for celebration in the 2011 round-up. There’s Johnnie Walker scotch whisky on an incredible 18 million cases; the Irish whiskey Jameson’s posting a 20%-plus increase and now nudging the 4 million case-mark, well I could go on, and on. But one result has really warmed the cockles of my heart – and that’s William Grant’s single malt scotch whisky Glenfiddich.

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