NIQ: As Margarita Sales Cool, Martinis Step Into Spotlight
The margarita’s grip on cocktail menus is loosening as drinkers, particularly younger ones, have begun to diversify their beverage choices.
Spirits Industry News
Spirits Distribution: RNDC Fallout Squeezes Suppliers; SGWS Cuts Jobs; Suppliers Jump to Reyes
The near-complete wind-down of Republic National Distributing Company’s (RNDC) national operations is sending shockwaves through the three-tier system – triggering a wave of transitions and emboldening distributors to delay payments, according to suppliers. Meanwhile, the country's largest spirits distributor has cut staff.
Southern Glazer’s to Cut 1% of Workforce in Digital Sales Shift
Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits (SGWS) will slash 1% of its workforce as it implements a more tech-heavy business model, the beverage-alcohol distributor announced Tuesday afternoon.
Sazerac Moves Spirits, RTD Portfolio to Reyes in Colorado
Reyes announced Tuesday that Sazerac had selected the multistate distributor’s recently acquired RBG Spirits & Wine of Colorado branch as its new distribution partner.
Top Dog Cocktails Makes $1.3M Investment In Flamboyant Water To Fuel RTD, Caribbean Expansion
Philadelphia-based Top Dog Cocktails has invested $1.3 million in a strategic joint venture with Caribbean beverage brand Flamboyant Water to build a line of ready-to-drink (RTD) rum cocktails and develop a foothold in an untapped market.
New RTDs From Vodkade, Wild Tide, E-40 and More
A slate of mid-summer RTD releases brings Vodkade’s attempt to fill the spiked sports-drink flavor gap, two wine and cola combos, a hard ginger beer built on an orange wine base, and more. Here's what's new on the shelf.
Zero Proof Playbook: Soft Bar On What Sustains A Non-Alc Third Space
We spoke with the team from Soft Bar + Cafe about how the third space gets cocktails to resonate with guests, what's selling, and where the category still has room to grow.
M&A Activity For Scaled RTD Brands Expected to Ramp Up
"It's going to be an M&A musical chair game," Arlington Capital Advisors managing director Townsend Ziebold said earlier this month at Beer Marketer's Insights conference, as too many strategic buyers are chasing too few scaled ready-to-drink (RTD) brands.
Hugo’s Cocktails Takes Its Bartender-Crafted RTDs To New Markets
Cristian Molina built Hugo’s Cocktails on the premise that his nearly two decades behind the bar is a better source for flavor research than any focus group
Adam Kost on How Dirty Shirley Cleaned Up
Most founders build to scale, but Adam Kost, founder of ready-to-drink (RTD) brand Dirty Shirley, built to prove.
NÜTRL Founders Back Los Sundays Expansion
The founders who built NÜTRL into Canada's top vodka soda are putting that playbook to use again, this time with tequila.
The Zero Proof Acquires The New Bar For On-Premise Reach
The Zero Proof, a leading ANA beverage platform, today announced the acquisition of The New Bar, a West Coast-based non-alc hospitality and discovery program. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Brown-Forman, Sazerac Bet on New RTDs as Category Buoys Spirits Growth
Brown-Forman and Sazerac are doubling down on ready-to-drink (RTD) with new releases launching today.
Tentative Settlement Reached in FTC’s Price Discrimination Lawsuit Against Southern Glazer’s
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Southern Glazer’s Wine and Spirits (SGWS) have reached a tentative settlement agreement in the federal agency’s price discrimination lawsuit against the nation’s largest wine and spirits distributor.
Republic National Distributing Company Expects to Cease Operations in Illinois, Shutter Facilities
Republic National Distributing Company’s (RNDC) Illinois operation – one of its remaining markets – is headed toward a shut down, as the distributor’s territory fire sale continues across the country.