Pernod Ricard reported a -3% decline of both organic sales and organic profit from recurring operations for the first half of the financial year 2024.

Fine wine and spirits retailer Berry Bros. & Rudd has released plans to open a new spirits shop in London this April.

Massively popular in its domestic market, this spirit hasn’t so far held the global imagination to the same extent.

Maura and Alex Lawrence Milia and Walter Meyenburg have announced the formation of a Mexico City-based bar group, MWA. 

Argo at Four Seasons Hong Kong – number 34 in The World’s 50 Best Bars - will take over Amaro bar in London’s South Kensington on 30 January.

One company dominates this list, being the owner of ­five of the bestselling brands.

­The often-hidden ingredient in many cocktails, bitters’ lack of visibility doesn’t mean they don’t hold a meaningful place.

While Italian brands dominate, other countries are producing top-class vermouths to round out the o­ffering for bartenders.

Although a relative newcomer to international bars, mezcal has certainly broadened its reach in this year’s list.

Familiar faces continue to dominate although there has been a bit of a reshu­ffle for this category’s rankings.

Porto Cruz has launched Cruz Fresco Pink & Tonic, a ready-to-drink, low-abv drink made with Porto Cruz Pink port and tonic water with natural aromas.

The Wine & Spirit Education Trust has announced its first beer courses which are set to begin February 2024.

Michter’s knocks Tanqueray off the top spot as the favourite brand among those behind the stick.

This is a category which has fallen out of favour with consumers but found its place in bartenders’ repertoires.

For eight years running one brand has topped the chart, but bars are split over preference for Peruvian or Chilean brands.

We’ve been running ­the Brands Report since 2010 – the year after Agile Media launched ­the World’s 50 Best Bars – and, while it has evolved since then, taking in new categories and drawing data from an ever-rotating panel of bars, it still seeks to answer the same question. Which brands do the best bars buy – and why?

The Drinks International Brands Report 2024 has launched, offering the industry insights into the buying habits of the world’s best bars.

Jigger & Pony Group has announced the opening of Cosmo Pony in Jakarta in 2024, the company’s first overseas venture, Drinks International can exclusively reveal.

Chivas Brothers has brought forward a new pay package to suspend strike action threatened by Unite, a 500-member union.

The team at Little Red Door in Paris have announced strike action due to an ongoing legal dispute between co-owner Timothée Prangé and the bar’s majority shareholders.

Malibu has partnered with anti-spiking charity Stamp Out Spiking to train 2,000 on-trade staff and consumers about dealing with a dangerous spiking situation.

The team behind Milroy’s of Soho and Silverleaf have opened a new whisky bar, Dram, on London’s Denmark Street.

New figures from hospitality trade body UKHospitality, in partnership with CGA by NIQ, have revealed that Britain’s number of licensed premises has fallen by nearly a third (31%) in the last two decades.

Drinks International's Global Bar Edition featuring the official guide to The World's 50 Best Bars has launched in digital form. 

Sips from Barcelona has taken top spot at The World’s 50 Best Bars sponsored by Perrier – announced in Singapore tonight - with Double Chicken Please from New York and Handshake Speakeasy in Mexico City completing the top three of the annual bar ranking. 

Moe Aljaff and Juliette Larrouy, formerly of Two Schmucks in Barcelona, are set to open a New York bar next year, after signing the contracts on a new site in the Lower East Side of Manhattan.

Little Red Door in Paris, which made its name through highly creative cocktail menus – from Remy Savage’s Evocative Menu in 2016 to the more recent Farm to Glass trilogy (2021-23) – has announced it will no longer launch thematic menus, instead focusing on seasonal serves.

The team behind The Dead Rabbit has launched The Irish Exit at Moynihan Train Hall opposite Manhattan’s Penn Station.

Holly Graham is to open Tokyo Confidential in the Japanese capital’s Azabujuban neighbourhood tomorrow (Oct 11th).

Mexico’s chief competition regulatory agency, Cofece, has accused the mezcal governing body, CRM, of previous monopolistic practices.

Jacob Martin of Canada was named Diageo World Class Global Bartender of the Year 2023 at the global finals in Sao Paolo on Thursday, 28 September.

Mr Lyan is hosting a takeover of Sea Containers in London to celebrate 10 years since the opening of the company’s first venue.

Glenfiddich Perpetual Collection has been crowned Supreme Champion Product at the Drinks International Travel Retail Awards 2023, the most authoritative, respected and premier drinks award for the Global Travel Retail sector.

The Barback Games, Fernet-Branca’s annual obstacle course bartending competition has announced its return to London for a fifth year.

Beam Suntory and Frucor Suntory have joined to form Suntory Oceania, a new AU$3bn partnership across the premium spirits and non-alcohol segments in both Australia and New Zealand.

Altamura Distilleries has announced the UK and US arrival of its flagship vodka, a product believed to be the first wholly made from Italy’s protected Altamura durum wheat.

New government regulations have been introduced in the UK from August 1 which will see alcoholic beverages now taxed on strength.

Sips, the Barcelona bar founded by Simone Caporale and Marc Alvarez, was named World’s Best Bar at the 17^th annual Spirited Awards at Tales of the Cocktail in New Orleans.

Coa from Hong Kong has been named the best bar in Asia for the third year in a row at the eighth edition of Asia’s 50 Best Bars in a live ceremony held in Hong Kong.

Asia’s 50 Best Bars has released a third edition of the 51-100 list, one week ahead of the live awards ceremony in Hong Kong.

Agile Media, owner of Drinks International, has agreed an exclusive deal with Imbibe Live to bring back The Sommelier Wine Awards for 2024.

Korean soju brand Jinro has launched the first of three activations in Europe planned for 2023 after breaking 100m 9-litre cases.

Monica Berg has been named the most influential person in the bar industry, according to Bar World 100 2023 in association with Perrier.

Bar World 100 in association with Perrier is a list of the industry's most influential, but how is the list assembled? Hamish Smith talks us through the methodology. 

Singapore’s Sago House has been named the winner of the Michter’s Art of Hospitality Award as part of Asia’s 50 Best Bars 2023.

The IWSR Drinks Market Analysis reported that the global spirits category grew 5% in volume in 2022, driven by whisky, rum and brandy. 

Chief executive officer of Diageo, Sir Ivan Menezes, has died at age 63 after a brief illness.

Brown-Forman has reported a net sales increase of 8% to $4.2bn for the fiscal year ended April 30, 2023, with a fourth quarter performance of +5% to $1bn.

US rapper Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs has sued Diageo over racism allegations and undermining the partnership with Combs Wines and Spirits.

Multi-award-winning bartender and operator Monica Berg will curate and host Le Bar Rouge, the educational platform at Cocktails Spirits in Paris, in her role as creative director at the Campari Academy.