The latest spirits distribution headlines include RTD gin cocktail The Original Southside landing in major retailers, a wave of Southern Glazer’s (SGWS) additions spanning vodka, rum, and scotch, and distributors scooping up new territory in the wake of Republic National Distributing Company’s (RNDC) collapse, among other moves.

Adult Non-Alc (ANA) beverage sales passed $1.08 billion in U.S. off-premise sales in 2026, with the real number likely higher when counting on-premise and alternative channel sales. But more than halfway through 2026, that growth is slowing as the category matures.

There were many kinds of party drinks before 2010, but we’d bet none of them came in colorful plastic orb-shaped containers. BuzzBallz, the Sazerac-owned ready-to-drink (RTD) party prop, doesn’t just stand out for its spherical shape, but for what it represents about how people are drinking these days: with entertaining, high-ABV, convenient formats.

If there’s ever a good place to make a pitch that a drinks brand is about hedonism, it would be at Tales of The Cocktail, the U.S. bar industry’s biggest event, which took place in New Orleans last month. What’s surprising is that the pitch came from a non-alc brand.

KEG 1 River City (K1RC) has signed a letter of intent (LOI) to acquire Republic National Distributing Company’s (RNDC) Kentucky assets, the companies announced today. The deal would add roughly 2 million cases annually to K1RC’s portfolio. The deal follows news late last week that Breakthru Beverage Group was pulling out of its deals for RNDC’s Kentucky and Indiana operations.

Suntory Global Spirits-owned -196 is leaning on immersive cultural experiences to build on the success of its Japanese canned chu-hi cocktail in the U.S.

Diageo CEO Dave Lewis unveiled a $1 billion cost-cutting plan for the struggling drinks giant today.

Republic National Distributing Company (RNDC) filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in July, closing out a slow-motion collapse that has reshaped bev-alc’s distribution tier and emboldened new total beverage power players.

Minute Maid Spiked is adding Vodka Lemonade Iced Tea to its lineup, marking the brand’s first entry into the hard iced tea set. The launch also lands as the brand’s first release since Sazerac took over distribution in partnership with Coca-Cola’s newly restructured “firewalled, wholly owned” bev-alc subsidiary, Red Tree Beverages.

Vodka’s buyer base is aging and drinking less, but new formats can serve as recruitment tools, according to a new report from NIQ. 

Republic National Distributing Company (RNDC) filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy this week, putting many suppliers who have gone months without payment in the back of the line to collect.

Months after Brown-Forman’s board rejected Sazerac’s $15 billion buyout proposal, Sazerac has taken a renewed bid directly to shareholders.

Adult Non-Alc (ANA) has entered the chat at Tales of The Cocktail, the bar industry’s biggest event, taking place in New Orleans this week.

Want to unleash faster growth in adult non-alcoholic drinks? Get ready to break some rules, says Jill Sites, who recently concluded a stint as EVP of sales at non-alc brand The Pathfinder.