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Often overshadowed by its more intense cousin, ginger ale is piggy-backing on the rise in popularity of lower-abv serves.
Distill Ventures’ Frank Lampen on the Diageo acquisition of Mr Black
In September, Diageo acquired Australian cold brew coffee liqueur brand Mr Black from accelerator programme, Distill Ventures. Drinks International caught up with Frank Lampen, chief executive and co-founder of Distill Ventures to talk about the purchase and what’s next for the programme.
Cream liqueurs: whipping up enthusiasm
Cream liqueurs may have been a fairly stuck category for a while, but new players are introducing exciting options.
Limoncello conditions turn sour
Climate change and economic challenges are taking their toll on production of Italy's favourite digestif.
Mezcal Unión’s Toño Vilches on origins, growth, and unity
Mezcal has become a spirits category for the cool kids. But so much sudden attention on the agave spirit leaves its producers, which are often small-scale operations, and the slow-growing agave crop, open to exploitation.
Le Syndicat reaches for the stars
A project to show how chefs and bartenders can work together has resulted in a new menu for Le Syndicat. Co-founder Romain Le Mouëllic explains how it worked.
Tonic water adapts and thrives
Players big and small are benefiting from a rise in demand for premium products in this mixer category.
Aquavit is being touted as a spirit that has all the ingredients for an explosion in popularity. Oli Dodd reports on the Nordic hero.
Innovation in the category is aimed at attracting younger consumers, especially through cocktails.
Negroni Sbagliato: Vermouth's happy mistake
The Negroni Sbagliato has become the darling of millennials thanks to a TikTok clip. Shay Waterworth says it’s opening new doors for vermouth producers.
Moebius Milano’s Lorenzo Querci talks Milan bar scene and London’s influence
Moebius, the Milan-based venue owned by Lorenzo Querci, includes a cocktail bar managed by Giovanni Allario, former bar manager of Le Syndicat, Paris, a bistrot restaurant, and a fine dining restaurant run by two Michelin Star chef, Enrico Croatti, it focuses on modern mixology.
Italicus’ Giuseppe Gallo talks new book release and brand progression
In September, Italicus Rosolio di Bergamotto celebrated the anniversary of its sixth year. To mark the occasion, the brand announced the release of a new book outlining the first five years of Italicus. Drinks International caught up with founder Giuseppe Gallo to talk about the evolution of the brand.
Glorious Isolation: Bartending on the island frontier
More and more bartenders are embracing the allure of exotic islands. Hamish Smith discovers why.
Bar Unity: How bartending is helping a Cape Town community
Kurt Schlechter and Leah van Deventer's community-based bartender training course is helping to get people back into employment while raising awareness of hospitality. Schlechter tells us how it works.
Kyiv’s bartenders are fighting back against the Russian invasion, as Hamish Smith discovers.
HiteJinro: Soju’s export mission
A spirit historically bound to the South Korean market, soju consumption is rapidly increasing in key global markets.
Cost of living crisis: UK hospitality lifeline
The cost of living crisis is a sobering prospect for hospitality. Of course, the entire drinks industry will be affected, from production to distribution, but hospitality is once again likely to take the biggest hit.
On 8 September 2022 Elizabeth II, the longest reigning monarch in British history, passed away peacefully at Balmoral Castle in Scotland aged 96.
JungleBird’s Divyesh Chauhan talks cocktail culture in Kuala Lumpur
Over the last few years, Kuala Lumpur has emerged as a cocktail city to watch. Drinks International caught up with Divyesh Chauhan, co-founder and director of JungleBird, one of the bars putting Malaysia’s capital on the bartending map.
Young Spirits was founded in 2019 as a small batch bottling site for craft whisky and rum producers. In three years, the business has gone from strength to strength, tripling its revenue and growing from two to 42 employees.
Selim Bocti: the new age of fine wine
VintageCellar is a member-only fine wine investment app that launched in the UK in July. Drinks International caught up with chief executive and founder Selim Bocti to talk about his mission to bring fine wine investment into the 21st century.
Producers of the always tricky-to-make wines are facing further challenges as the climate heats up, finds Oli Dodd.
White rum has long been a star ingredient of cocktails and with consumers now demanding better quality drinks, it is ripe for premiumisation.
Thousands of microdistilleries are helping to change the face of Brazil’s national spirit, creating aged and wood-blended expressions that are pulling in new fans.
Marcus Black: Capturing Harrogate’s spirit
Drinks International sits down with Spirit of Harrogate co-founder Marcus Black to talk heritage, sport, and how to create a gin that stands out from the crowd.
The view from Cocktails in the City
Cocktails in the City has returned to London for a series of garden parties featuring some of London’s finest bars.
The Balvenie: One Scotch brand's love affair with rum
On 1 July The Balvenie launched the latest in its Stories range, a 27-year-old single malt finished in Caroni rum casks, Drinks International caught up with brand ambassador Alwynne Gwilt to talk about the distillery's unique relationship with rum.
Japanese Whisky: Pushing Premium
Japanese whisky continues to go from strength to strength as shochu producers turn to the category to make their mark in international markets.
From the bartenders’ handshake cocktail to being sold in cans in supermarkets and restaurants, the negroni continues to dominate menus across the globe. Millie Milliken takes a closer look at the evolution of the Italian classic.
Businesses all over the world have boycotted Russian vodka in a show of solidarity with Ukraine, but what does this mean for the wider vodka market?
Rhum Agricole: Quality Guaranteed
When it comes to the production of rhum agricole, terroir is key to quality. Oli dodd meets those at the forefront of this lesser-known spirits category.
Owner of Martinotti prosecco bar in Nihonbashi, Japan, gives an insight into the country’s prosecco trends.
Italian bitters are enjoying something of a golden era as consumers’ tastes evolve.
Flavours, packaging and a concentration on cocktails in the on-trade could be the way to a new audience for the Italian liqueur.
The apple-based spirit’s newest incarnations are at odds with outdated consumer perceptions, but a new breed of producer is working to change this.
With Patrón discontinuing its popular XO Café, the tequila liqueur category has opened up to other brands – and it’s a popular space, finds Shay Waterworth.
Trade disputes resulting in crippling tariffs have been lifted after four years, but will America and its export countries find a permanent peace?
Famously the hero country for Malbec, Argentina has so much more to give when it comes to wine, thanks to the pioneers who are capitalising on the climatic possibilities. Sorrel Moseley-Williams takes a journey through some of the latest trends in this vast and varied land.
Dhavall Gandhi: The whisky scientist
Whisky's rising star Dhavall Gandhi talks to Drinks International about his new consulting venture.
Sherry: New regulations to revolutionise category
Spain’s most famous alcoholic export is on the cusp of some major changes. Millie Milliken takes a look at the incoming regulations in sherry and what the future could hold for the category.
Scotch: Taking local oak seriously
While exotic woods from around the world have gained popularity for finishing Scotch, indigenous oak looks to be making a comeback for some producers, finds Shay Waterworth.
Leisure Wine: South London's first natural winery
The Old Kent Road in south London is one of the country’s oldest and most storied. The original track was paved by the Romans and used as their principal thoroughfare between old Londinium and the coast. Geoffrey Chaucer wrote about its use as a pilgrim’s way in The Canterbury Tales and later it was the route by which King Henry V and his men returned triumphant from the battle of Agincourt.
Thousands of leading wine and spirits buyers will descend upon Verona from April 10-13 to taste new vintages and innovations from prestigious producers.
Bartenders at war: Parovoz's Dima Shovkoplias speaks from the frontline
It is in the lives of normal people that war’s impact is most profound. In Kyiv, under attack by Russia from land and air, the city’s bartenders are a compelling illustration. They are everyday civilians living everyday lives that now look unrecognisable from a week ago.
Mark Livings: How Lyre's plans global expansion
Few drinks categories have seen as much start-up activity as alcohol-free spirits in recent times. Lyre’s chief executive Mark Livings concedes his brand was beaten to the market by the likes of Seedlip and others, but he’s convinced that rapid scaling, rather than being early to the game, holds the key to success.
Last year’s launch of Panther M*lk, a vegan oat milk RTD made with gin, rum, brandy and overproof spiced rum, shows just how quickly the pre-mixed cocktail industry has evolved since the days of mediocre Gin & Tonics.
Irish whiskey exports soared by 25% to reach €856m in 2021, according to new government gures, which also show that cream liqueur exports increased 19% to €367m, while gin exports were up 38%, albeit from a lower base.
Strong demand from the UK, the US and China helped South African wine exports increase by 12.1% in value to R10.2bn in 2021.
The winemakers of Chablis scrambled to light candles in a bid to protect their budding vines from severe spring frosts in the early hours of April 6, 2021.
Medahuman founder Adam Feldheim on "what to drink when you’re choosing not to drink"
The UK’s CBD market is now the second-largest in the world and following a period of regulatory red tape, the Association for the Cannabinoid Industry claims that the UK now has the most evolved regulatory framework for CBD in the world. Coupled with a growing consumer trend away from alcohol, CBD-infused functional beverages could be set to explode this year.
