Spirits

Bacardi Limited has jumped fully into the mezcal game and acquired Ilegal Mezcal, the company announced today.

Beam Suntory reported a 10% rise in net sales for the first half of 2023, driven by ready-to-drink (RTD) brands and the company’s premiumization strategy, but nevertheless did face performance struggles in North America.

Molson Coors made headlines this week when it announced that it agreed to purchase Kentucky-based distillery Blue Run Spirits, marking the beer giant’s first spirits acquisition and the formal launch of its Coors Spirits Co. business.

Molson Coors has agreed to purchase Kentucky-based distillery Blue Run Spirits, marking the beer giant’s first spirits acquisition and the formal launch of its Coors Spirits Co. business. The amount was not disclosed.

Distilled Spirits Council of the U.S. president and CEO Chris Swonger joins to break down the opportunities canned cocktails are creating for beverage-alcohol companies. Swonger also pushes back against the beer industry’s stance against expanded market access and lower excise taxes for these products.

Sean “Diddy” Combs’ signature album may be “No Way Out,” but Diageo apparently didn’t get the message.

Brown-Forman has announced an agreement to sell Finlandia vodka to Coca-Cola Hellenic Bottling Company (HBC) for $220 million.

Music mogul and entrepreneur Sean “Diddy” Combs is suing business partner Diageo today alleging that the brands he co-owns with the spirits group, Cîroc Vodka and DeLeon Tequila, were given worse treatment because he’s Black.

Tonight when hordes of fans are pushing their way towards refreshment stands at Massachusetts’s Gillette Stadium during the opening night of Taylor Swift’s much-heralded tour, they’ll have the option to order a glittery purple cocktail inspired by the pop star’s hit, “Lavender Haze.”

There were several factors that made ready-to-drink (RTD) canned cocktail Fishers Island Lemonade an attractive acquisition target for E. & J. Gallo: premium positioning, high reorder rates, excellent taste and founder Bronya Shillo’s pioneering vision for canned cocktails. The New York-based brand agreed to be acquired by Spirit of Gallo, E. & J. Gallo’s spirits division, earlier this month.

Luxco, Inc., a subsidiary of Indiana-based whiskey giant MGP Ingredients, has acquired Penelope Bourbon for $105 million upfront, the company announced Monday. The deal also includes a maximum potential payout of $110.8 million by the end of 2025 if “certain performance targets” are achieved.

CEO of Sazerac Mark Brown plans to leave his role next month, according to reporting by Louisville Business First. The move is part of “a long-signaled and eight-year succession plan,” that will see Brown move to the role of executive chairman.

From the land of Cran-Grape comes… Cran-Vodka? Absolut and Ocean Spray are teaming up to launch Vodka-Cranberry Range, a ready-to-drink (RTD) line coming early 2024, a press release announced today.

When non-alcoholic spirit Drink Monday launched in 2019, it was an exclusively digital brand. But as the company continued to grow, CEO Ken Young began pondering the path forward.