Diageo’s announcement that it is re-entering the booming Irish whiskey sector with a brand new brand, Roe & Co, caught most of us by surprise.
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Modern wine packaging’s in the bag
Most studies suggest they're considerably better for the environment. They’re more convenient, too, if you want to keep your wine fresh for more than a couple of days.
Mine’s a passion fruit martini’
"I’ll have a couple of passion fruit Martinis, love. Actually, make that four."
Clooney tunes
Have you heard the one about George Clooney’s four-year-old tequila brand selling to Diageo to the tune of $1bn?
What the ‘f’ is wrong with being polite?
Couple of months back Sam Smith’s Brewery in Yorkshire, England, issued an instruction to its 200 or so pub managers to refuse to serve customers who swore in their pubs.
How gin made the headlines
When I first arrived here I was the whisky man who was making gin as a sideline,” says Daniel Szor, founder and owner of the Cotswolds Distillery, which lies close to Banbury in the no-man’s land between the west, the south and the middle of England.
China aims for a slice of duty free pie
For the best part of two decades the western duty free business has looked east, pandering to the whims of the emerging mainland Chinese traveller.
Making the most of the winery experience
Tourism is an increasingly important part of the wine business.
Seizing the Brexit opportunity
A year ago I tentatively suggested the upcoming UK referendum on EU membership might have enormous ramifications for the European travel retail business.
Chalking up success
I’ve always been amused by old pubs, bars and restaurants which have the words ‘fine ale, wine and spirits’ or similar painted on their wall or written across their window.
The end of craft?
If you want to know where the spirits industry is headed, you could do worse than look at beer.
When is a wine not a wine?
Most wineries go out of their way to tell you how natural their wines are.
Can duty-free develop a killer app?
It is one of the most pressing issues facing the travel retail business today.
Three gins that are a real gas
A few years ago, just after the british government had deregulated the gas industry, I spoke to a marketing director tasked with targeting pubs and clubs.
What makes a real airline?
It was rock guitarist Frank Zappa who famously said: “You can’t be a real country unless you have a beer and an airline.
Emerald isle’s precious jewels
Love the sound of hyperbole in the morning. So how about this? Ireland has the world’s most exciting and dynamic drinks market right now. I know, I know…that’s some statement. So let’s see how it stacks up.
Looks can be deceptive
At the beginning of the year, British supermarket Sainsbury’s quietly introduced a new Chilean wine brand.
High demand for California vineyards
In November 9, 2016, an historic change happened in the us that could have far-reaching ramifications for the wine industry.
What does Trump mean for duty free?
By even the soberest of assessments it’s been a crazy few weeks since Donald Trump began his presidency.
Threat that could destroy industry
Few years ago I attended a press conference hosted by the new chairman and deputy chairman of the Scotch Whisky Association.
In the family
Like the Mafia and Royalty, the wine trade sets a great deal of store by the concept of family.
Will the Rooster crow for HKIA?
It's a safe bet that a recovery of the Asian market was on the New Year’s wish list of pretty much everybody who has a stake in the duty free retail business
Is scotch in danger of falling from grace?
Don't look now but there are stirrings of rebellion on the Twittersphere as online whisky lovers rail against escalating single malt whisky prices and say ‘enough is enough’
On-trade needs to move with the times
For reasons I won't bore you with here, I spent the month leading up to Christmas visiting some of England’s finest pubs and bars
A tough climb for Chinese wine
When doomed British mountaineer George Mallory was asked why he wanted to climb Everest, his now legendary answer was “because it’s there”
Don’t write off travel retail just yet
As the new year gets underway there’s a lot of doom and gloom surrounding the travel retail liquor business
Where’s wine headed in duty-free?
I was never top of the class at maths at school. The teacher only had to mention the dreaded ‘m’ word and start writing numbers on the board and my eyes would glaze over
So, Danish brewer is spending £15m on revitalising its flagship Carlsberg Export brand (see news story) and at the core of activity is emphasising the company’s Danish origins.
Getting to grips with the new normal
When Erik Juul-Mortensen tells you that business conditions in travel retail are as tough today as he’s ever seen, you’d better sit up and listen
The next big wine thing?
Like many people who work in what might be called the ‘non-productive’ side of the wine business (from sommeliers to merchants to writers), i’m often asked if i’d like to try my hand at making the stuff myself.
A brave new world of whiskies
It’s like a dream. Five years ago we didn’t have a whisky. Now we’re pouring to enthusiastic drinkers at the whisky show in London. It’s hard to believe we’re here.
Bigging up bulk wine
It's not exactly glamorous. Indeed, as tempting invitations go, it’s up there with the World Remaindered Books Conference, or the Reconstituted Meat Product Exhibition
The games: a Carnival for Brazil duty free?
I should really know better. It’s the same old story every four years. It’s sunny outside, the lawn needs mowing, the car needs a wash and upstairs in my office I have numerous articles and stories to be getting on with.
Power to the co-ops
Considering all the different ways that wine gets to be made, the co-operative is the one that seems, at first glance, most out of step with the modern world
Can rum punch its weight in duty free?
Every centimetre of shelf space has to pay its way in travel retail.
Heading off the Christmas avalanche
So here we go again – I got my first Christmas press release on July 25.
The force is strong with single malt
It’s all too easy to forget these days that blended scotch whisky remains top dog, accounting for more than 90% of the whisky sold worldwide.
The chief executive of the world’s largest premium drinks company expressed satisfaction at the company’s progress at a briefing to journalists and city analysts yesterday (July 28) following the announcement of its end of year results.
The schlock of the new
It may go against my better nature and political persuasion, but I have to admit that I love new stuff
What a difference a year makes
Do you have a recurring nightmare? Mine is very specific. I am speaking before an audience who are just staring at me in total silence. I finish my speech and everyone just stares. I ask for questions. Nothing. I start going red, and redder, and redder…
Uncertain times
These are certainly uncertain times we are living in - 51.9% of those who voted in the UK referendum voted for us to leave the European Union
At the airport it’s always five o’clock
Every time I take an early morning flight from a UK airport in the peak summer travel period it’s always the same
Spirit of Brazil has its day
Have you noticed just about every alcoholic drink has its own designated day? What’s that about? Do the people who create these days think it makes a blind bit of difference in the way their target consumers treat the drink on its own special day?
None of the fun of the fair
What is the point of a wine trade fair? it’s a question that can take on an almost existential quality when, let’s say, you’re wrestling with the 3am demons in a hotel room with wafer-thin windows overlooking a roaring périphérique in the light-industrial banlieues of a Fench city.