Beefeater has announced Beefeater Botanics Lemon & Ginger, a 27.5% abv spirit drink.

Non-alcoholic spirits brand Strykk has secured new distribution agreements in the Netherlands and Canada.

Avallen has announced a global partnership with UK-based Charter Brands to drive new routes to market beyond Europe, Hong Kong & Australia.

Diddy, David Beckham and Ryan Reynolds have donated $1 million to several organisations that support the bartending community.

The Wine and Spirit Trade Association has produced new guidance around the labelling of low and no alcohol drinks in the UK market.

Drinks company Avallen Spirits is now a member of 1% for the Planet, the charitable platform created by Patagonia founder Yvon Chouinard.

We asked our sample of 100 of the best bars in the world to rank their bestselling classic cocktails. Hamish Smith provides the commentary. 

If the other lists in this report speak of the bestselling and the trending brands in the world of elite bars, this ranking is different. Here we ask about bartenders’ favourite spirits.

The rise in non-alcoholic alternatives has led to the sector’s inaugural list in the Brands Report 2021, with Diageo’s Seedlip sitting pretty in the rankings.

Stoli Group has agreed on a new distribution deal with Amber Beverage Group for its brands in Mexico through local distributor Bodegas La Negrita.

Italian vermouth brand Molinari has launched a limited edition bottle design to mark its 75th anniversary.

Campari UK has taken over the distribution rights of chilli liqueurs Ancho Reyes and mezcal brand Montelobos with immediate effect.

Finnish low alcohol spirit Kåska has targeted Hong Kong after its first batch sold out domestically within hours.

Non-alcoholic aperitif brand Everleaf has seen a direct-to-consumer (DTC) online sales spike, with sales in the four weeks leading up to 21 April 2020 up by 950% year-on-year.

Research conducted by IWSR Drinks Market Analysis showed that the value of the status spirits market (brands that retail for US$100 or more) is $8.3bn, excluding baijiu.

The Brands Report is a snapshot of the buying habits of the best bars in the world.

You can’t beat the classics, but every year there’s change within their ranks somewhere. Hamish Smith rounds up this year’s top 50

Brands Report 2020 launches

06 January, 2020

The Drinks International Annual Brands Report 2020 has launched in digital form.

Altia has set out plans to make its production carbon-neutral by 2025. Its goals cover both Altia’s direct fossil emissions and those generated by purchased energy.

Heaven Hill has appointed Proof Drinks as its UK distributor to look after its spirits portfolio.

Amber Beverage Group has made Spirit France the distributor of its fill portfolio in France.

David Wojnar, VP of state government relations for the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States, has called for increased spirits outlets across the US state of Pennsylvania.

BrewDog Distilling Company CEO David Gates joined Drinks International to discuss the new direction the company has taken with its spirits in 2019.

Strike action has been halted at Diageo’s Scottish distilleries after GMB Scotland and Unite unions settled with the spirits company.

Ryan Chetiyawardana has been ranked as the world's most influential bar industry figure in the new Drinks International magazine Bar World 100.

No.3 London Dry Gin from Berry Bros & Rudd was last night hailed as this year’s International Spirits Challenge ‘Supreme Spirit’, as chosen blind by ISC judges from the Challenge’s trophy winners.

Comte de Grasse who own 44°N Gin, will be opening a new distillery visitor centre in Grasse, the perfume region of France.

Holiday operator Virgin Holidays will send one British bartender to the Caribbean to swap grey skies for Jamaican sun.

Bacardi Global Travel Retail (GTR) has announced two senior team changes: Vinay Golikeri is promoted to managing director, GTR while Mike Birch will now focus entirely on Bacardi’s digital commerce business.

Bar owner and vodka expert William Borrell has launched Willow, a low-alcohol (4.4% abv) spirit.

New HMRC figures have revealed that England has more distilleries registered than Scotland for the first time in history.

When it comes to the bestsellers, the roster of classic cocktails is subject to the vagaries of fashion in tastes. Angel Brown rounds up this year’s top 50

Edrington announces new CEO

06 December, 2018

Edrington has announced that chief executive officer Ian Curle is retiring in March and will be succeeded by Scott McCroskie, who is on the Edrington board and managing director of The Macallan.

The number of distillery businesses in the UK jumped 30% in a year from 131 in 2016, to 170 in 2017, says UHY Hacker Young, the national accountancy group.

Manhattan is hosting its first British Spirits and Sparkling Wine Week to increase awareness and drive sales of UK products in New York City.

Alexandrion Group, Romania’s largest spirits producer, has announced site plan approval by the planning board of the town of Carmel for the construction of its first US distillery in Mid-Hudson, Putnam County, NY.

Alex Carlton, founder of Funkin Cocktails has launched Stryyk, a new range of non-alcoholic spirits available in the UK.

Bacardi has announced that Amsterdam will be the host city of the Bacardi Legacy Global Cocktail Competition Grand Final 2019.

Foursquare 2005 has become the first rum brand in history to win the Supreme Champion award at the International Spirits Challenge.

David Gosnell, the executive chairman of Bushmills Irish Whiskey, has been awarded the OBE (Officer of the Order of the British Empire), in the Queen’s Birthday 2018 Honours List. 

Tortuga Brands is the name of a new UK-based sales, marketing and distribution agency drinks company, representing spirits brands in the on and off trade in the UK, as well as offering a wider global distributor network for brands.

Crown Cellars, the specialist wine and spirits division of Carlsberg UK, has launched an integrated spirits offering, Distilled.

Quintessential Brands Group has announced the appointment of Shane Hoyne as its new chief marketing officer.

Entries for the Diageo Reserve GB World Class Competition 2018 are now open and the Global Final will take place in Berlin later this year.

Hamish Smith takes the pulse of the top bars to discover which classics will be feeding into the mainstream

What are the top choices when it comes to making the classics? Hamish Smith reveals our poll’s favourites

It’s those brands that endure for the long haul that make it into the top tables each year. Hamish Smith tallies up this year’s winners and losers

Brands Report: Champagne

31 January, 2018

Hamish Smith says it’s all about the big names when it comes to the classic fizz

Brands Report: Water

31 January, 2018

Bottled water hasn’t lost its sparkle, but the names have barely changed. Shay Waterworth reports

Brands Report: Tonic Water

31 January, 2018

It was inevitable that tonic water’s rise would continue to chase gin. Hamish Smith reports

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La'Mel Clarke

Service isn’t servitude: the skill of hosting

La’Mel Clarke, front of house at London’s Seed Library, looks at the forgotten art of hosting and why it deserves the same respect as bartending.

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