A heat wave is hitting liquor shelves as spirit brands and ready-to-drink (RTD) cocktails aim to spice up sales with new fruit and hot pepper-driven flavors.

U.S. spirits exports hit a record $2.4 billion in 2024, up nearly 10% compared to 2023, according to a report released today by the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States (DISCUS).

It’s not often that the genesis for a canned cocktail is a home-cooked dinner. But for friends Vishal Patel and Parit Pathak, the idea for their ready-to-drink (RTD) cocktail brand, Junglee, came from their mothers’ cooking.

A Los Angeles craft spirits producer is taking on the Empire State in a federal lawsuit filed yesterday challenging direct-to-consumer shipping laws prohibiting distillers in California from sending spirits to customers in New York.

A stockholder of flavored tequila 21Seeds is suing its parent company Diageo for obscuring plans to develop a competing product in the category, while undermining 21Seed’s ability to reach the sales goals tied to its earn-out targets.

U.S. adult non-alc (ANA) sales may be closing in on the $1 billion mark, but many bars – including some of the country’s upper echelon – aren’t on board yet with slanging zero-proof cocktails.

Advocating for the federal government to untangle distilled spirits from tariff policy was the major theme at the annual Distilled Spirits Council of the U.S. (DISCUS) conference in Washington, D.C., last week.

As tariff talks continue to expand, suppliers say they are losing purchase orders, facing the possibility of consumers trading down, and quickly assessing how to position their portfolios.

Diageo will cease bringing new brands into its Distill Ventures accelerator program for startup drink entrepreneurs, a Diageo spokesperson confirmed Wednesday.

American whiskey producers are once again swept up in a trade dispute that has unfurled pricey tariffs on their exports to Europe.

SipMARGS, a ready-to-drink (RTD) sparkling margarita brand has revamped its liquid and landed $3 million from new investors, including powerhouse social media influencer Alix Earle.

Brown-Forman maintained its annual forecast even as it weathers flat whiskey sales and prepares for the impact of tariffs, the company announced in its Q3 FY25 financials release and earnings call.

As President Trump moves forward with tariffs, the spirits industry is bracing for a trade war that could bring price increases and shake up the backbar.

When Adam Spiegel founded Sonoma Distilling Company in 2010, it was the 15th distillery to open in California. Now the Golden State boasts more than 300 distilleries, more than any other state, and Spiegel is embarking on a new chapter aiming to help revitalize what he calls a “broken three-tier system.”