At Press Time

It turns out that you can trademark wax. Not only is the Maker’s Mark red wax seal iconic, it’s now the company’s exclusive property. A federal judge issued an injunction in April preventing Casa Cuervo from using a dripping wax seal on its tequilas sold in the United States, ending... Read More

C&C, the Irish maker and distributor of alcoholic drinks, has sold its spirits and liqueurs brands to William Grant for €3OO million (US $46O million). Among the brands involved are: Tullamore Dew Irish whiskey, Carolans Cream Liqueur, Frangelico hazelnut liqueur, and the whiskey liqueur Irish Mist. They are exported to... Read More

New Hampshire homebrewer Rob North has been named the winner of the 2OO9 Sam Adams Patriot Homebrew Contest. North bested nearly 2OO other entrants from all six New England states to win the third annual contest. His winning brew, a Rauchbier, meaning “smoke beer” in German, will be served and... Read More

If the Asian market is any indication, things could be looking up for the spirits industry. Drinks company Pernod Ricard has raised its forecast for full-year earnings after reporting better-than-expected sales in its third quarter, thanks to strong demand for premium Cognac in China and an improvement in US demand.... Read More

Brewers from six continents earned awards from an international panel of judges at this year’s 2O1O Brewers Association World Beer Cup – the world’s largest-ever commercial beer competition. The eighth bi-annual competition announced awards to brewers from 19 countries ranging from Australia and Italy to Iceland and Japan. This year,... Read More

Dan Akroyd certainly has reason to celebrate. His Crystal Head Vodka brand recently produced its on one-millionth bottle. Created by Aykroyd and American landscape artist and portraitist John Alexander, this vodka is quadruple-distilled and triple-filtered through Herkimer diamond crystals. Made from water from a deep aquifer in Newfoundland, Canada, it... Read More

The National Beer Wholesalers Association (NBWA) and the Brewers Association (BA) are seeking nominations for the Third Annual Craft Beer Distributor of the Year award.  The award recognizes an American beer distributor who actively markets, sells and promotes craft beer.  The award will be presented September 18 at the Great... Read More

E&J Gallo Winery was recently awarded the Dale Carnegie Training Leadership Award, making it the first organization in its category to receive this honor. The recognition was awarded to Gallo as an industry leader committed to the development of their employees. Accepting the award on behalf of Joseph E. Gallo,... Read More

The inaugural Ultimate Cocktail Challenge was held in New York City in April. Founded by F. Paul Pacult, David Talbot and Sue Woodley, the competition assessed how well individual spirits performed in classic cocktails. Expert judges evaluated how, for example, different gins perform in various classic gin cocktails like the... Read More

Three members of the brewing community were recognized with awards for their dedication and service to the industry at the Brewers Association’s annual Craft Brewers Conference in early April.  The Brewers Association Recognition Award went to Larry Bell, Founder and owner of Bell’s Brewery; the Russell Schehrer Award for Innovation... Read More