Beyond Beer

The state-by-state battle to expand sales of ready-to-drink (RTD) cocktails continues as spirits advocates celebrated a win in North Carolina this week.

Suntory Global Spirits is continuing to bet big on ready-to-drink (RTD), announcing today Carol Robert, previously COO of Suntory Beverage and Food Great Britain & Ireland (SBF GB&I), as its new managing director of U.S. RTD.

Former Angry Orchard head cider maker Ryan Burk has joined Blake’s Beverage Company as VP of quality and innovation. Burk has been advising Blake’s and its portfolio of brands – Blake’s Hard Cider, Austin Eastciders and AVID Cider Co. – for a couple years, including through the launch of its most recent innovations.

The latest installment of Brewbound’s A Round With – a weekly Insider-exclusive Q&A series with industry leaders – features Caitlin Braam, founder and owner of Yonder Cider and The Source.

BuzzBallz has made its spherical bottles an essential part of the brand – and it’s not eager to share. The wine-, spirit- and malt-based cocktail brand filed a lawsuit against The Beverage Ranch last week, alleging the rival company copied its patented packaging for its new SlamZees line.

Research from three different studies in the U.S. and Canada shows there may be more interaction between cannabis and alcohol consumption than previously believed, according to analysis of the studies by financial services firm Bernstein.

Allagash Brewing is launching its first non-alcoholic (NA) offering this week with the release of Allagash Hop Water. Hop Water will exclusively be sold in 12 oz. can 6-packs at the brewery’s tasting room in Portland, Maine, starting later this week.

The latest installment of Brewbound’s A Round With – a weekly Insider-exclusive Q&A series with industry leaders – features Chandra Richter, head of product development at Sprinter, the Kylie Jenner-backed line of ready-to-drink (RTD) vodka sodas.

Five years ago, hard kombucha was expected to become the next big “fourth category” product, building off the initial momentum of hard seltzer, but promising bolder flavors and potential gut health benefits.

Mocktail Club, maker of a line of non-alcoholic canned cocktails, announced Monday it has received an investment from spirits industry capital and brand building firm Pronghorn, aimed at helping the Arlington, Va.-based business expand across the country.

Schilling Cider has no plans to jump on the hard tea train, but the Pacific Northwest cidery still plans to meet similar consumer demand with its latest product launch: Schilling Hard Lemonade.

The once-booming flavored malt beverage (FMB) segment is “showing some concerning declarations over recent weeks,” Bump Williams Consulting (BWC) founder Bump Williams noted in a recent report. FMB volume gains dropped by half – from +2.2%, to +1.1% – from the four-week period to the one-week period ending May 18, according to NIQ retail measurement data cited by BWC.

Jinx Drinx is a new ready-to-drink cocktail that that comes in a pouch with patent-pending packaging that includes a sealed-in straw to mitigate drink tampering and drink and drug-facilitated sexual assault.

Pabst Brewing has taken its El Jimador Spiked Bebidas tequila-inspired flavored malt beverage (FMB) national, in just one of its several beyond beer innovation expansion plans for 2024.