This year’s spirits news was full of big names and bold moves: warring tequilas, sudden closures, celebrities popping in and out of the industry, and even an intern blowing things up. Here are the top 10 BevNET spirits stories, as ranked by popularity.
In the biggest news for the fast-emerging adult non-alc industry (ANA), pioneering retailer Boisson filed for bankruptcy and sparked ripple effects in the sector.
The company’s leadership team put together a plan to rebuild under the type of bankruptcy that allows small business owners to reorganize debt and pay back creditors without ceasing operations. While many ANA brands and industry stakeholders have found other opportunities in a growing landscape, Boisson has now reemerged as an importer and e-commerce retailer.
9. Getting Smashed: How an Intern’s Viral Marketing Campaign Sparked Mixoloshe’s Brand Makeover
Anything can go viral these days, even smashing a can. In this fun marketing success story, non-alc cocktail Mixoloshe got a new name, SMASHD, paying homage to its viral social media campaign that amassed over 120 million views and gained a half million followers on Instagram.
The campaign— which began with an intern putting a baseball bat to one of the company’s cocktails— cracked the viral code by staying product-agnostic and tapping into a storyline that would resonate with a millennial and Gen Z audience, according to its orchestrators.
After a 50-year run in BevAlc that saw him launch New Riff Distilling and The Party Source, Kentucky’s largest spirits retailer, Ken Lewis retired in March – but not before sharing some wise parting words. Lewis prides himself on building a great “small” distillery, so before “last call” we chatted with him about why he believes small is better, how the bourbon boom’s consequences have caught up to producers, and his best career advice for founders.
“Our mission statement, from the very beginning, states that we wish to become one of the great small distilleries of the world, and deliberately eschews the sole pursuit of profits,” he told BevNET.
7. Ex-Patrón, Southern Glazers Execs Launch Texas-Based Round 2 Spirits
The co-founder of Patrón Tequila and a group of former Southern Glazer’s Wine and Spirits (SGWS) leaders teamed up to launch a Texas-based spirits company that several months later introduced its first product, Weber Ranch Vodka, the first vodka made with agave. Round 2 Spirits comes from billionaire John Paul DeJoria, who helped create both Patrón and Paul Mitchell hair products.
“The focus is really to identify that whitespace for disruption and build the brands at scale,” president and COO Lee Applbaum, former chief marketing officer of Patrón Tequila and Grey Goose Vodka, told BevNET.
6. Asahi Group Backs NA Retailer The Zero Proof To Boost Wholesale Business
Dry January ended on an up note for ANA online retailer and importer The Zero Proof, which secured funding from Asahi Group Beverages & Innovation, the U.S.-based venture arm of Asahi Group Holdings.
Launched in 2019, The Zero Proof began as a blog by co-founders Trevor Wolfe and Sean Goldsmith but has bloomed into a venture capital-backed startup servicing the alcohol-free community by selling NA wines, spirits, RTD cocktails and bar accessories. The company planned to use the funding to hire salespeople in key markets, expand its distribution network nationwide, grow its base of key retail accounts, and broaden its wholesale portfolio. It has also increased its suite of proprietary adult non-alc spirits and wine.
5. Boisson Closing Retail Stores Amid ‘Restructuring,’ As Non-Alc Industry Looks for Answers
Just three years after its launch, Boisson suddenly closed its nine retail stores with little word to its suppliers on the future of their partnership. While we’ve covered the rest, the closure came as a shock to many and followed rumors surfacing the week prior that the company had laid off employees. The NA industry was left scrambling for answers about the future of the retailer in the absence of any official statement.
“I guess we’re shocked because there was no warning and we obviously didn’t know this was going to happen,” said one supplier.
4. Jay-Z’s Marcy Venture Partners Backs The Finnish Long Drink
Continuing its momentum, The Finnish Long Drink locked in Jay-Z’s Marcy Venture Partners as an investor in the ready-to-drink brand. Marcy Venture Partners— the firm co-founded by rapper/mogul Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter; CEO of RocNation Jay Brown, and Larry Marcus—made a “significant investment in the brand to support the Finnish Long Drink’s continued momentum within the U.S. market.”
The firm joined a roster of other celebrities like actor Miles Teller, DJ Kygo, and professional golfer Rickie Fowler backing one of the highest-selling RTD brands, inspired by a Finnish gin cocktail.
3. Sweet Grass Vodka Takes a Sour Turn as Jeremy Renner Departs, Legal Battles Brew
Celebrities, they’re just like us! Last year, “The Avengers” actor Jeremy Renner celebrated his recovery from a devastating snow plow accident by announcing his new role as co-owner of Sweet Grass Vodka, a Charleston-based craft distillery touting its use of local potatoes. But less than a year later, the actor distanced himself from the business as its founder faced bankruptcy, state labor investigations and angry investors.
Sweet Grass was launched in 2019 and by 2020 had attracted investment from New York-based InterContinental Beverage Capital, secured space at major chains and was hosting events at a Sweet Grass-branded lounge and tours with Renner. But behind the scenes, individual stakeholders began inquiring about the health of their investments, with many of them never receiving their money.
2. Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre Launch Gin & Juice RTD
These hitmakers topped the charts again this month, but this particular project wasn’t a musical drop. West Coast rap legends and business moguls Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg announced their first joint foray into beverage with a ready-to-drink collaboration inspired by Snoop’s iconic Dre-produced single “Gin & Juice.”
The RTD was the first release from the new premium spirits company led by pros in the RTD space, the founders of On The Rocks cocktails. That includes Patrick Halbert as CEO, Andrew Gill as chief strategy officer and Rocco Milano as executive vice president of sales. The company has since introduced Still G.I.N., and is banking on a coming ‘gin-aissance’ in the U.S., with Gin & Juice By Dre and Snoop positioned as the ready-to-drink gateway for U.S. consumers to cozy up to the spirit.
1. Casa Azul Wins Trademark Case Against Clase Azul
This year’s top story tackled the great existential question: ‘Did you mean Casa Azul or Clase Azul?’ We’ll admit we have mixed up the two. But Casa Azul, the tequila company founded by beverage innovator Lance Collins, still secured a trademark win against long standing tequila brand Clase Azul this year.
The tequila brand released in 2022 from a team of beverage industry veterans was hit by a Clase Azul’s trademark infringement action in federal court arguing that the new brand caused undue confusion with its flagship tequila, a high-end brand sold in a handmade ceramic bottle which has retained its trademark since 2008. Following an unsuccessful effort at mediation, the judge denied Casa Tradicion, the maker of Clase Azul, the motion for a permanent injunction and Casa Azul is free to continue pushing its tequila soda and its high end tequila of the same name.