SCOTCH on the ROCKS
The Scots are angry and they’re letting people know. About 2O,OOO people have taken part in demonstrations against Diageo’s plans to close its Johnnie Walker bottling plant in Kilmarnock and a Glasgow distillery. Earlier this summer, Diageo announced plans to close the bottling plant at Kilmarnock and the Port Dundas... Read More
MASSPACK KEEPS UP THE FIGHT
The fight is not being given up so easily. The Massachusetts Package Stores Association has filed an initiative for the 2O1O ballot to make liquor sold in package stores exempt from sales tax. Now that the proposal has been filed, it goes before Attorney General Martha Coakley who will determine... Read More
TASTE for the FINER THINGS LIVES ON
Slowly but surely consumers are beginning to open their wallets. According to a new survey by the IRI (Independent Research Institute) consumers are still cutting back but not as much as they were last fall. In fact, many shoppers are increasing their purchases on premium consumer brands overall. The latest... Read More
The BI-PARTISAN BOURBON CAUCUS
When it comes to Bourbon and politics party lines seem to dissolve. US Representatives John Yarmuth and Brett Guthrie have formed the bipartisan Congressional Bourbon Caucus an officially recognized Congressional Member Organization. They will serve as co-chairs of the caucus. Yarmuth, Kentucky’s Third District representative, and Guthrie, the state’s Second... Read More
COMINGS & GOINGS
Beam Global Spirits & Wine has acquired the Effen Vodka brand from the Sazerac Company. Named after the Dutch word for smooth Effen is a super-premium brand produced in Holland with a patented distillation process. The product line includes the original vodka Black Cherry Vodka and a limited edition Raspberry... Read More
MARTIGNETTI COMPANIES ACQUIRES COMMONWEALTH WINE & SPIRITS IN MASSACHUSETTS
On July 1O Martignetti Companies completed its acquisition of Commonwealth Wine & Spirits. In addition to a portfolio of fi ne wines and spirits Commonwealth is the exclusive distributor of E&J Gallo Winery brands in Massachusetts. This acquisition creates a new strategic relationship between the third generation-owned Martignetti Companies and... Read More
DIAGEO STIRS UP AN INVESTMENT
Massachusetts-based Stirrings established back in 1997 by local entrepreneurs Gil Maclean and Bill Creelman is now a Diageo brand. Diageo will increase its investment of Stirrings, LLC, makers of Stirrings, a premium cocktail mixer portfolio to 1OO percent. In 2OO7, Diageo made a 2O percent minority investment in Stirrings. As... Read More
The WHISKY DETECTIVES
The vintage whisky business is big money – but the counterfeit whisky industry is even bigger. With a tremendous demand for rare vintage whiskies, the market has been flooded with fake bottles of worthless spirits. But even with all of the bogus whisky out there, collectors will go to great... Read More
JUST THE TAX, MA’AM . . .
The Massachusetts Senate voted in favor of a bill to increase the sales tax from 5% to 6.25% and for lifting the state sales tax exemption on alcohol sold at package stores. The House approved the measure in April. Both produced the veto-proof majority for the sales tax in opposition... Read More
A PASSPORT to BUY
There’s a new form of acceptable ID for buying alcohol in Massachusetts: a US passport card. Similar in size to a driver’s license the cards are authorized by the State Department and a substitute for the standard passport book. Liquor ID cards can be used for travel between the United... Read More