At Press Time

When it comes to cocktails, everything old is new again. DRINKS INTERNATIONAL (DI) has released its annual list of the world’s best-selling classic cocktails in its January issue and the list is dominated by classics. DI asked bartenders from 127 of the best bars in 38 countries around the world... Read More

As if fake Scotch wasn’t bad enough, the recent holiday season saw an online company scamming customers out of bourbon barrels from Lexington, Kentucky. The state’s Attorney General Andy Beshear issued a Scam Alert in December for the website OakWoodBarrels.com. The website claimed that The Oak Wood Barrel Co. sold... Read More

While counterfeit wine is a massive concern for the industry, fake high end spirits are becoming equally problematic. Case in point: More than a third of vintage Scotch whiskies tested recently at a specialist laboratory were found to be fake. Twenty-one out of 55 bottles of rare Scotch were deemed... Read More

The Sazerac Company is kicking off the new year with a slew of brand acquisitions. The close of 2O18 saw the completion of the sale of 19 brands from Diageo. The brands purchased are Seagram’s V.O., Seagram’s 83, Seagram’s Five Star, Myers’s, Romana Sambuca, Yukon Jack, Booth’s, Goldschlager, Popov, Relska,... Read More

Baijiu . . . it’s the most valuable spirit in the world yet so little is known about it in the U.S. According to a recent report, the Chinese spirit has once again dominated the world’s most valuable spirits list. In the 2O18 Brand Finance Spirits 5O report, Moutai grew... Read More

Because you can never talk too much about bourbon…Fred Minnick and his BOURBON+ magazine team are debuting the very first bourbon talk show, called “Bourbon Up.” Episodes will feature interviews with bourbon personalities, master distillers, executive chefs, musicians, and artists. The first episode features Buffalo Trace tour guide and Bourbon... Read More

Scottish drinks company Edrington has sold its Cutty Sark blended Scotch whisky brand to French spirits group La Martiniquaise. Edrington, which owns Scotch brands including The Macallan, Highland Park, The Glenrothes and The Famous Grouse, first announced that it was putting Cutty Sark up for sale earlier this year. The... Read More

And the records keep shattering. The only bottle of 1926 Macallan featuring a hand-painted design by Irish artist Michael Dillon has broken the world record for the most expensive whisky after fetching £1.2 million (US$1.5m) at auction on November 29. Termed the “holy grail” of Scotch, the one-of-a-kind single malt... Read More

THERE SEEMS TO be no limit to what people will spend on opulent spirits these days with Scotch connoisseurs often leading the way.  The Macallan is betting that their newest release will be intriguing enough to pique the palates of drinkers, and they’re probably right.  The distiller has introduced The... Read More

THE MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS trend of 2O17 is continuing right into the New Year. The Pendleton Round-Up’s branded whisky from Hood River Distillers has been sold to Becle (the parent company of the Jose Cuervo) for $2O5 million. Pendleton is one of a growing number of brands under the Mexico-based... Read More