At Press Time

HEAVEN HILL DISTILLERIES WON both the “Distiller of the Year” and “Visitor Attraction of the Year” awards during the presentation of whisky magazine’s “Icons of Whisky-USA” which are “designed to celebrate the people and places behind the greatest whiskies in the world,” according to the organizers. The winners of the... Read More

BENJAMIN FRANKLIN FAMOUSLY DECLARED that in life “nothing is certain but death and taxes.” That certainly is true, but it can also be added that, in times of recession, one thing is certain: drinking. According to a recent Nielson Company trends report, consumers continue to see alcoholic beverages as an... Read More

ON JANUARY 2O 2OO9, at precisely the time that President-elect Barack Obama takes the oath of office in Washington, DC, the Jack Daniel Distillery in Lynchburg, Tennessee, will stop and set aside a barrel of Tennessee Whiskey to mark the swearing-in of the 44th President. The distillery will call this... Read More

A MASSACHUSETTS JUDGE has overturned legislation that put a production cap on wineries that were allowed to ship directly to consumers.  The ruling will permit wineries of all sizes to ship directly to residents of legal drinking age in Massachusetts. Judge Rya Zobel’s decision in Family Winemakers of California v.... Read More

LEBLON CACHAÇA HAS COMPLETED THE PURCHASE of its state-of-the-art distillery in Brazil. Located in the heart of the fertile Minas Gerais region the distillery was inaugurated as the “Maison Leblon” and will be a showcase for Small Batch Alambique Cachaça production in Brazil. “With our new dedicated distillery, we can... Read More

JOHN PAUL DEJORIA Co-Founder of Patrón Tequila has announced the completion of a transaction that makes him principal owner of Patrón Spirits International AG (formerly Caribbean Distillers Corporation, Limited), the parent company of The Patrón Spirits Company. A subsidiary of Bacardi Limited now holds a significant minority stake in the... Read More

IT’S THE END of an era. Zima one of the first “malternative” drinks will soon be no more. MillerCoors LLC has stopped brewing Zima because of “challenging” sales a nd “declining consumer interest” in the flavored malt beverage segment, according to a statement by Andy England, chief marketing officer. The... Read More

MEMBERS of Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of America (WSWA) have reached out to their local communities and distributed more than 1OO,OOO POS materials to retailers as part of the “We Don’t Serve Teens” campaign, a public-private national initiative to combat increased underage drinking.“This campaign has been effective not only in... Read More

A NEW STUDY by Agavero and Ipsos Public Affairs claims Americans still have a negative view of Tequila after surveying 12OO men and women spirit drinkers.  38% said that they’ve had a bad experience when drinking tequila and nearly 1O% said they don’t drink tequila anymore because of the unpleasant... Read More

DIAGEO’s new global online resource, DRINKiQ.com is intended for all interested parties to share programs and tools designed to fight alcohol misuse and help individuals make responsible choices about drinking – or not drinking.  A key feature of this website is The Responsibility Channel, an online community where consumers, parents,... Read More