Spirits distributor Speciality Brands is adding Takamaka to its rum portfolio, alongside signing an exclusive partnership with Chichibu Distillery, taking over from Speciality Drinks.

Argo at Four Seasons Hong Kong – number 34 in The World’s 50 Best Bars - will take over Amaro bar in London’s South Kensington on 30 January.

London agaveria Hacha has launched its new menu, Cymatics, showcasing 12 cocktails inspired by music from some of the industry’s most notable names, past and present.

Hamish Smith speaks to Neal Bodenheimer, board member and co-resurrector of Tales of the Cocktail in New Orleans.

Speciality Brands has announced that it will become the exclusive UK distributor of French Cognac house, Camus.

A response to the notion that 'without criticism there is only marketing', by DI editor Shay Waterworth.

The Lakes Distillery has appointed Sarah Burgess as its new whisky maker, taking over the role from Dhavall Gandhi.

Dubai has scrapped its 30% tax on alcohol sales for the rest of the year in an apparent bid to boost tourism, while also stopping the charge on personal alcohol licences, something residents who wish to drink at home are required to have.

With rail strikes set to bring the UK’s rail network to a standstill, as rail workers walk out over a long-running row over jobs, pay and conditions, hospitality businesses are seeing large-scale cancellations impacting the sector at its most critical trading period of the year. 

All-rye Finish distiller, Kyrö Distillery Company has secured a nationwide listing with UK supermarket Waitrose with the brand’s Kyrö Dairy Cream and Kyrö Ginnow available for purchase in-sotre and online.

Streaming platform The Avenue has launched the online cocktail competition Battle of the Bottle taking place this October and with a top prize of $10,000.

Brown-Forman has announced an over £30m investment in The GlenDronach Distillery to increase production facilities at its homeplace in the Valley of Forgue in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. 

President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has said that beer production in northern parts of Mexico is “over” as the region faces severe water shortages.

Japanese whisky continues to go from strength to strength as shochu producers turn to the category to make their mark in international markets.

Bimmerle KG has taken over the distribution of La Martiniquaise Scotch whisky brand Label 5 Classic Black whisky in Germany.

Hazelwood Demesne Limited, owner of the Lough Gill Distillery in Sligo, has announced its acquisition by the Sazerac Company to develop the historical site.

The annual list of The World’s 50 Best Bars will this year be unveiled at a live ceremony in Barcelona on Tuesday 4 October.

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.

Keith Motsi, head bartender at Charles H in Four Seasons Seoul, has won the Altos Bartenders’ Bartender Award 2022.

The announcement of Martin Green’s departure from Drinks International marks the end of an era for Agile Media and a significant loss for the wider drinks trade.

Renowned New York bar The Dead Rabbit will take over the Lapidus Bar at the Ritz Carlton hotel in Miami for the whole of December.

South Africa has suffered greater than most countries during the Covid-19 pandemic. It has reported three times as many cases as any other African country, and many of the government’s attempts to curb the virus – closing borders, prohibiting or restricting the domestic sale of alcohol, and banning the transport of goods to the country’s ports – have had a damaging impact on the wine industry.

Jean-Etienne Gourgues landed one of the top jobs in the Scotch whisky industry when he took over as chairman and chief executive of Chivas Brothers this summer.

Mexico City’s Licorería Limantour swapped bar teams with Barcelona’s Two Schmucks to host guest shifts in their respected venues.

A deal has been struck between the UK and US to end retaliatory tariffs on malt whiskies for five years.