Diageo – Keep It Overproof!

Many More Mandatory On-Premise Closings; The Rise of the Neo-Speakeasy?

Dear Client: By now, over 20 states have all announced the closure of bars and restaurants in wake of COVID-19, while still allowing carryout and delivery. That list includes: California Colorado Connecticut Delaware Illinois Indiana Kentucky Louisiana Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota New Hampshire New Jersey New York Ohio Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island Vermont Washington And D.C. Notably, some of those states mentioned above are offering up solutions to these on-premise establishments during this temporary shutdown. As Wine & Spirits Daily reported yesterday, the Distilled...

Budget live: Chancellor freezes alcohol duties and abolishes business rates for small retailers

Posted in Beer, Spirits, Wine.

The UK’s Chancellor of the Exchequer has frozen alcohol duties for spirit, wine and beer, and abolished business rates for the year for hundreds of thousands of small retailers and businesses in the hospitality sector. Chancellor Rishi Sunak, who only took on the role last month, has cut a planned increase in duty across spirits, wine and beer, noting it was only the second time in 20 years that all alcohol duties had been frozen and reiterated the upcoming review of UK alcohol taxation that was unveiled during the Queen’s speech. He also singled out the value of Scotch to the...

Ex-Made in Chelsea star Spencer Matthews wins US$2 million investment for low ABV ‘spirit’

Posted in Beer, Spirits, Wine.

Former Made in Chelsea star Spencer Matthews, the founder of low ABV spirit brand The Clean Liquor Co, has raised US$2 million from Lightspeed Venture Partners. Spencer Matthews attending his launch of The Clean Liquor Company, at The Trading House in London last year. Clean Liquor was selected from a group of 50 international producers to get backing from the US investment firm. Nicole Quinn, partner at Lightspeed Venture Partners, which has stakes in social network Snapchat and Goop, said the firm seeks out businesses that are “not just disruptive but rather represent a generational...

Made in Chelsea star’s ‘clean’ gin alternative goes on shelf in Sainsbury’s

Posted in Beer, Spirits, Wine.

Former City broker and Made in Chelsea star Spencer Matthews’s low abv ‘CleanGin’ brand has gone on shelf nationwide in Sainsbury’s. Spencer Matthews attending his launch of The Clean Liquor Company, at The Trading House in London. The company is launching the world’s first 1.2% abv ‘CleanGin’, an ultra-low alcohol replacement to gin, with only 4 calories per 50ml. Matthews launched the distilled 1.2% abv ‘spirits’ in November last year, after collaborating with Justin Hicklin, a director of the Gin Guild to plug a gap in the drinks...

Top drinks marketing campaigns and news in January

Posted in Beer, Spirits, Wine.

Diageo launches Seedlip’s first ad campaign Drinks giant Diageo has led the fight to keep sales buoyant during January by launching its first advertising campaigns in the UK and US for non-alcoholic ‘spirit’ brand Seedlip. It is the first time that Diageo has set up an ad campaign for Seedlip, after upping its investment in the popular non-alcoholic brand to a ‘significant’ majority stake in August 2019. Developed by Seedlip’s EU marketing director, Ben Thomson, alongside creative agency And Rising, it features the strapline: ‘Drink to the Future’,...

Bacardi launches Bombay Sapphire lower ABV pink gin liqueurs

Posted in Beer, Spirits, Wine.

Bacardi will expand the range of its gin brand Bombay Sapphire with the launch of four liqueurs that add a “floral or fruit boost” to a standard G&T. Renaud de Bosredon, Bombay Sapphire’s brand ambassador, said the pack is designed to “complement our world-famous gin, without overpowering the much-loved profile of the gin itself. They come in four flavours – rose, hibiscus, strawberry and raspberry – and are designed to add a pink hue to a mixed drink, and carry an ABV of 20%. They will be available online from Ocado from 5 February, in-store at Sainsbury’s...

Diageo ‘buoyant’ on EU trade as Brexit looms

Posted in Beer, Spirits, Wine.

Dan Mobley, Diageo’s global affairs director, said the spirits group is “feeling buoyant” about its trade with the EU and is looking eagerly for the UK to strike its own trade deals with other countries to seize the extra opportunities they could bring. “We are very pleased to see the withdrawal agreement pass and the certainty that gives us,” he told a London press conference, adding the company would take Brexit “in our stride.” “There are two factors for a multinational on leaving the EU, leaving the single market and leaving the customs...

Why Canopy Growth has delayed its cannabis drinks launch

Posted in Beer, Spirits, Wine.

Canopy Growth Corp has been forced to delay the launch of its first cannabis drinks. Canopy Growth CEO Bruce Linton As shares are marked down and product launches are delayed, the future is hazy for Canada’s biggest cannabis growing firm. Canopy Growth, whose largest shareholder is drinks giant Constellation Brands, has postponed the launch of a line of cannabis drinks as it hasn’t been able to scale its production to commercial levels yet. The grower had planned to launch its first cannabis drinks across Canada in January, but chief executive David Klein said it had only been able...

Diageo launches first ad campaign for non-alcoholic ‘spirit’ brand Seedlip

Posted in Beer, Spirits, Wine.

Drinks giant Diageo is preparing to unveil its first advertising campaign for non-alcoholic ‘spirit’ brand Seedlip. It’s the first time Diageo has set up a campaign for Seedlip, after upping its investment in the business to a ‘significant’ majority stake in August 2019. The campaign, which will launch on 13 January in London and Manchester, will appear across rail, underground, buses, billboards and digital. Developed by Seedlip’s EU marketing director Ben Thomson alongside Creative agency And Rising, the campaign features the strapline ‘Drink to...

The week in pictures

Posted in Beer, Spirits, Wine.

In New Year’s Eve Parties to end them all, Nikki Beach on the Caribbean island of St Barth hosted its annual New Year’s Eve celebration, this time inspired by chateau chic meets punk rock. This year’s theme –“Rocking The Palace” –saw guests dancing away to a Queen-influenced show from Visionair, masterminded by DJ Kygo, who holds the record as the fastest artist to reach one billion streams on Spotify, and has worked with major artists including Rita Ora, Selena Gomez, John Legend and, posthumously, Whitney Houston for the chart-breaking hit remix of...

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