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As the beer industry settles into its prime time sales part of the calendar year, beer buyers from pubs to package stores remain focused on keeping the right balance of products on hand to meet a difficult-to-predict demand from consumers. Sales of bigger brands, including volume leaders Budweiser and Bud... Read More

“It’s better thanit’s ever been.There’s never been better bourbon made than right now.”-Wayne Rose Mr. Rose, Group Brand Director, Brown-Forman, isn’t talking about his brand, Woodford Reserve, or even the whole Brown-Forman portfolio.  He’s talking about bourbon, about American straight whiskey, an entire category that has benefited from the same... Read More

The Scoff Law COCKTALE Prohibition beget some decidedly unsavory things in the United States: racketeering, a black market economy regulated with violence, the rise of organized crime, the death of a burgeoning wine industry.  Fortunately, it also spawned some delicious cocktails, such as the Scoff Law. The Scoff Law was... Read More

In the beginning, there was rye. The early colonists made it – particularly around Pennsylvania and Virginia – because rye was a bountiful crop. Even George Washington distilled it when he wrapped up his presidency and settled at Mount Vernon. His still house was completed on the vast property in... Read More

PROFILE: JOY SPENCEMaster BlenderAppleton Estate Thirteen years ago, Jamaican-born Joy Spence was appointed Master Blender at Appleton Estate, making her the first female Master Blender in the spirits industry.  A hot, heady summer night found Spence in Boston introducing her premium rums to a small audience of the press.  Rum... Read More

RAIMUND PRÜM  6OS.A. Prüm Owner/WinemakerMosel, Germany The winemaker from the Mosel’s distinguished Prüm family is known as “Raimund the Red”.  As his flaming scarlet hair is a beckoning beacon of fine Riesling, friends affectionately nicknamed him “Der Specht” or “Il Pico” – the woodpecker!  Prüm has slowly grown his father’s... Read More

In my fortified wine classes at Boston University, Marsala rarely gets more than a mention or a sip. Hardly any can be found in retail shops beyond the inexpensive Marsala Fine category usually purchased for cooking rather than drinking. Marsala wine was born in the port of Marsala on Sicily’s... Read More

It’s easy for veteran retailers or bar managersto be blindsided by the Next Hot Thing.  To wit: it’d have been impossible to foretell that an elderflower liqueur would take the market by storm, let alone stay on consumers’ radars years after it launched; meantime, brands that spiked in sales when... Read More

Organic spirits and those made using green production practices continue their transition into the mainstream as consumers put a higher value not only on taste but on the increasingly important issue of sustainability and environmental impact. Conversations with local retailers, regional and national brands all speak to raising the bar... Read More