AlcBev in Five

Epizode

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  Spirits Hit 31 Straight Years Up, Scotch Pumps the Brakes 01.10.2026 5min

  Shanken's Impact Databank has U.S. spirits volume rising for a thirty-first consecutive year to 313.4 million nine-liter cases, with ready-to-drinks growing while core spirits soften. Supply Chain Brain, relaying The Guardian, reports Scotch distillers pausing production as stock builds into a whisky loch, alongside GlenWyvis entering administration and a strike at Diageo's Cameronbridge. Also: Keg 1 River City signs to acquire RNDC's Kentucky assets, Circana data shows beer losses concentrated among the largest vendors, and Molson Coors closes its Cornwall brewery in December.
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  Canada Alcohol Ban Takes Effect, Whisky Loch Deepens 30.09.2026 5min

  The United States import ban on most packaged Canadian alcohol took effect Tuesday, per The Trent, with earlier shipments facing a 50 percent tariff instead, and Spirits Canada noting 93 percent of exported Canadian spirits go south. Brewbound reports Coors Distributing Company has filed two lawsuits to halt terminations by Mark Anthony Brands and Constellation Brands, while The Guardian reports Scottish distilleries are pausing production against the unsold surplus known as the whisky loch. Also covered: Japan unifies its beer liquor tax at 54.25 yen per 350 millilitres on October first, Scotch prices in India fall 10 to 15 percent, and Heineken says Iran war fuel costs are lifting Asian brewing inputs.
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  The Ban That Misses the Brands 28.09.2026 5min

  Morningstar reports the brands most American drinkers name, Labatt Blue and Molson Golden among them, are brewed in the United States and fall outside Tuesday's ban on Canadian alcohol, leaving importers sorting SKUs by country of production. Euronews reports Cognac exports have fallen from 230 million bottles in 2023 to 140 million under Chinese retaliation and a 15 percent US duty, with the trade bureau asking Brussels for a solidarity mechanism. Also: Campari Group's largest-ever US launch spend behind Sarti Rosa, Coors Distributing Company's plan to contest the Mark Anthony and Constellation exits, and NIQ scans showing 8.5 billion dollars in off-premise beverage alcohol over four weeks.
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  Diageo's New CFO, and the Math Behind the Canada Ban 24.09.2026 5min

  Diageo has appointed WPP finance chief Joanne Wilson as CFO, per Shanken News Daily, with Drinks International reporting she joins the board and executive committee in 2027. A FreightWaves analysis puts Canadian spirits at roughly 1.8 percent of the US market, the largest exposure among the banned categories, while Circana data via Brewbound shows beer declines persisting across most segments into early September. Also today, Sonoma's Bundschu Company, family-owned since 1858, has filed for Chapter 11 after an acquisition left it overleveraged, according to the Santa Rosa Press Democrat.
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  AB InBev Rethinks the Pack, California Leaves Grapes Unsold 23.09.2026 5min

  At its capital markets day, Anheuser-Busch InBev told investors it will push smaller and larger pack sizes, add protein and electrolytes to some beers, and expand beyond beer through Cutwater and energy drinks, per Reuters. Food Dive details Sazerac's roughly 6.31 dollar per share offer for Germany's Berentzen Group, its second European deal in a year, while the Associated Press reports about half of California's wine grape crop entered harvest with no buyer contract, against 70 to 80 percent contracted in a typical year. Also moving: White Claw's Denver distribution shifts from Coors Distributing to a Reyes subsidiary, Hoplark's parent filed for Chapter 7, and Master of Malt confirmed a customer data breach.
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  Sazerac Prices Berentzen at a 68% Premium 22.09.2026 4min

  Sazerac and Berentzen signed a business combination agreement, with a voluntary cash offer of 5.55 euros per share, about 68 percent above the unaffected three-month average, per Just Drinks. Treasury Wine Estates agreed to sell the Seppelt brand to the owner of the Stonier winery, and South Australia committed more than 100 million Australian dollars to a wine sector it describes as oversupplied. US rum volume fell from roughly 23 million cases in 2021 to 18.2 million last year, per Impact Databank via Shanken News Daily, with aged expressions holding up better than white rum.
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  Scotland Demands England Whisky Reversal 21.09.2026 5min

  Scotland's Economy Secretary Stephen Flynn has written to Environment Secretary Dame Angela Eagle urging the UK Government to reverse protected status for English whisky, per the Diss Express, while a UK Government spokesperson says Scotch's protections are unchanged. South Australia's Premier announced a 109 million dollar support package for the state's grape and wine industry, Winetitles reports, and Diageo has launched 20 percent ABV versions of Smirnoff, Captain Morgan and Gordon's in the UK, per Drinks International. Also: Vermont Information Processing acquires Encompass Technologies, Deutsche Bank upgrades AB InBev and Campari, France lifts the Champagne alcohol cap, and Summit Brewing faces foreclosure.
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  Sazerac Circles Berentzen as Canada Ban Nears 18.09.2026 5min

  Berentzen confirms takeover talks with Sazerac, sending its shares up about 22 percent, per Just Drinks and Reuters. The Drinks Business details what the September 29 Canadian import ban leaves open, Diageo's Cameronbridge staff set strike dates, and English whisky's new GI status draws objections from the Scotch Whisky Association. Also: Brown-Forman prices 500 million dollars of notes, bulk wine exports fall, Sazerac closes Au Vodka, and De Kuyper moves UK distribution to Disaronno Group.
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  Trump Signs Canadian Alcohol Ban, Effective September 29 11.09.2026 5min

  President Trump has signed an executive order banning Canadian wine, spirits and beer from the United States from September 29, per Shanken News Daily, with The Drinks Business reporting an exemption for containers of four litres and above that may leave Diageo's Crown Royal largely untouched. NielsenIQ data cited by Shanken shows most of the top ten US markets declining in both volume and value in the four weeks to August 29, while Boston Beer told the Barclays conference that Sun Cruiser has reached about five hundred million dollars in retail sales, per Investing.com. Diageo workers at Cameronbridge have voted to strike over job-loss consultation, per Just Drinks, and Johnnie Walker has released a limited-edition Black Label with Sabrina Carpenter.
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  US Bans Canadian Alcohol Imports 10.09.2026 5min

  The United States has banned a broad range of Canadian alcoholic beverages from import effective September 29, per The Daily Star, covering wine, malt beer, sake, whiskies, tequila and mezcal in smaller containers. Just Drinks reports EU spirits export sales fell 6 percent last year on weakness in the US and China, while Molson Coors told the Barclays conference its beyond-beer business now approaches 10 percent of sales. Also covered: Brown-Forman handing Swiss distribution to Coca-Cola HBC, Middleby discontinuing its brewing equipment group, and Campari's Sarti launch in the US.
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  Constellation Trades Expansion for Discipline 09.09.2026 6min

  Constellation Brands told the Barclays Global Consumer Conference it has generated more than $600 million in savings since 2023, with new chief executive Nicholas Fink framing a shift from builder to operator, per Investing.com; Heineken reported 1.5% first-half global volume growth at the same conference. Southern Glazer's published its first Raise the Bar trends report naming five growth opportunities, and Pernod Ricard has appointed four banks to advise on a possible listing of its Indian business, according to Moneycontrol. Also moving: Boston Beer's new marketing lead from Samsung Electronics America, a $2.82 million auction bid for Rogue's intellectual property, and Brown-Forman reviving the Kentucky Boy label.
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  France's Thinnest Harvest in 30 Years 08.09.2026 5min

  Preliminary French government figures reported by Just Drinks point to one of the smallest wine harvests in three decades, setting the floor under price talks before the negotiating season. Brewbound reports Circana off-premise scans showing some top beer brands running a late-summer boost despite the category slump, and Moneycontrol says Pernod Ricard has mandated at least four banks for a proposed listing of its India unit. Also: Joe Bates on travel retail spirits splitting by category in Drinks International, AB InBev India's new Rajasthan brewery, and Irish whiskey exports to the EU up 21.5 percent by volume over four years.
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  Beer Supply Slips, India Says Old Monk Is Not Rum 07.09.2026 5min

  Beer Institute data reported by Brewbound shows US beer supply down 4.9 percent year on year in July, with imports the drag. In India, food regulator FSSAI told the Bombay High Court that Old Monk cannot be sold as rum because it uses neutral spirit and added flavouring, with McDowell's under similar scrutiny and a hearing set for September 11. Also: an IWSR report on locally made drinks dominating Sub-Saharan Africa, and Firestone Walker brewing Stone Brewing beers at its Paso Robles site.
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  Diageo Cuts 305 in New York 04.09.2026 5min

  Just Drinks reports Diageo is cutting 305 jobs at its North American headquarters in New York, moving the turnaround from a group headcount total to the office where U.S. commercial coverage is set. Brown-Forman's ready-to-drink portfolio grew 20 percent in organic net sales in the fiscal first quarter against a 1 percent group decline, per The Drinks Business, while the U.S. House votes this week on a one-month delay to the November hemp THC ban, according to Shanken News Daily. Bloomberg reports younger drinkers are moving away from carbonation, with vodka waters replacing seltzers, and Brewbound reports FIFCO USA has been acquired by a private equity group led by its former chief executive.
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  Brown-Forman Slips, Hemp THC Gets a Month 03.09.2026 5min

  Brown-Forman's reported net sales fell 1 percent to 911 million dollars in its fiscal first quarter while the company reaffirmed a broadly flat full-year outlook, per the Courier-Journal, with tequila down 12 percent and used barrel sales off sharply. Shanken News Daily reports beverage alcohol fell 3 percent by value and 5 percent by volume across NielsenIQ-tracked channels in the four weeks to August 22, and the House voted to push the hemp THC drinks ban to December. Also today, Just Drinks reports Diageo has dropped responsible drinking and sustainability targets from long-term management rewards, Martignetti agreed to acquire Girardi Distributors, and Henkell Freixenet bought 60 percent of Cassidy Wines.
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  Hemp Ban Slips to December, Castel Governance in Dispute 02.09.2026 5min

  Congress passed a continuing resolution moving the federal hemp ban's effective date to December 11, per Brewbound, with the bill headed to the president's desk. Just Drinks reports a statement attributed to four majority branches of the Castel family calling for continuity in the wine group's governance, and Drinks International reports Henkell Freixenet has taken a 60 percent stake in Irish importer Cassidy Wines. Also: Bump Williams data on craft roll-ups' off-premise struggles, Old Monk's label rework at the Bombay High Court, Finnish Long Drink sales roles cut, Athletic Brewing's new CMO, and an 88-year-old Balvenie.
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  RTDs Carry Spirits to 1 Percent 01.09.2026 4min

  Impact Databank projects U.S. spirits volumes up 1 percent this year, credited to ready-to-drink brands, while the August Beer Purchasers' Index puts wholesalers back in what the survey calls a cautionary position for a second straight year. Campari is backing Espolòn as its largest U.S. brand after a 6 percent rise to 1.67 million cases, and a group of Cognac winegrowers is suing Sazerac over allegedly illegal termination of supply contracts. Also moving: NIQ data expects a slightly softer Labor Day on-premise, Irish whiskey is steering exports beyond the U.S. under Trump tariffs, and The Hill reports organized crime pressuring Mexico's mezcal boom.
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  Europe's Barrel Overhang, and Pernod's Multiyear Warning 31.08.2026 5min

  The Wall Street Journal reports European distillers are holding more aging stock than demand supports, with cognac inventories in southwest France at the center of the argument alongside United States tariffs. Pernod Ricard closed its fiscal year with organic sales down 3.9 percent to 9.4 billion euros, United States sales off 14 percent and China off 19 percent, per Shanken News Daily and Robb Report. Morales Beverage Group signed a letter of intent for RNDC's Indiana assets, and Sazerac agreed to buy the United Kingdom's Au Vodka while its 15 billion dollar approach for Brown-Forman remains unresolved.
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  Pernod Ricard's Third Straight Down Year, and the Merger That Isn't 28.08.2026 5min

  Pernod Ricard closed its fiscal year with organic net sales down 3.9 percent to 9.4 billion euros, per Shanken News Daily, with the United States down 14 percent, China down 19 percent, and fiscal 2027 guided broadly stable. The Lexington Herald Leader, citing Bloomberg, reports chief executive Alexandre Ricard said a Brown-Forman combination is not back on the table, leaving the Sazerac bid and the chief executive search as the open variables. Also: RBC forecasts young-drinker consumption rising by end-2027, Varun Beverages approves an RTD alcohol subsidiary in India, and Sapporo USA cuts 58 Stone Brewing jobs.
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  Brown Family Letter Puts Numbers On It 26.08.2026 5min

  WDRB, citing Louisville Business First and the Wall Street Journal, reports the Brown family's seven-page letter went to more than 100 relatives and to Wolf Pen Branch, citing a roughly 60 percent share-price decline in three years against a near doubling of CEO Lawson Whiting's pay. Just Drinks reports US alcohol groups are pressing Washington and Ottawa to settle their trade dispute after talks broke down, while Brewbound reports Circana data showing craft beer's summer declines accelerating in August. NOLA reports Sazerac bought Garrard County Distilling at auction for 20 million dollars after its owners defaulted, and the Santa Rosa Press Democrat reports a Wine Market Council study finding younger drinkers tie wine to tradition rather than everyday use.