Beyond Beer

This year’s spirits news was full of big names and bold moves: warring tequilas, sudden closures, celebrities popping in and out of the industry, and even an intern blowing things up. Here are the top 10 BevNET spirits stories, as ranked by popularity.

Diageo is reportedly exploring a sale of Cîroc Vodka, the brand once transformed by the support of disgraced music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs, who is now in prison facing federal charges of sex trafficking among other crimes.

Oregon’s Task Force on Alcohol Pricing and Addiction Services has submitted its final report to Gov. Tina Kotek, including recommendations for reallocated resources and updated data collection.

Patco Brands, the manufacturer of one of the leading wine-based ready-to-drink products and other private label brands, has made a strategic investment in Farfield, California-based Frank-Lin Distillers Products, the companies announced Monday.

If brands can be founders’ children, then Brett Berish has taken a very hands-on approach to fatherhood becoming the focal point for his spirits company Sovereign Brands.

Hollywood’s cannabis king is pouring up something new. Houseplant, the Los Angeles-based cannabis and lifestyle brand co-founded by actor and producer Seth Rogen, is moving into beverages with the U.S. launch of a four-SKU line of hemp-derived THC-infused flavored sparkling waters, available now in select markets and online.

Global spirits giant Suntory Holdings revealed today the creation of a new business unit, Suntory RTD Company North America, focused on malt-based, ready-to-drink (RTD) offerings with the first release expected to hit U.S. retailers in mid-January 2025.

Ninety-five percent of bev-alc brand launches fail, according to Gustavo Aguirre, VP of brand innovation at investment firm InvestBev. Aguirre spoke during BevNET’s Spirits Sunday event in Marina del Rey, California. Aguirre was joined by GHJ advisory partner Maria Pearman and 5:30 Somewhere founder Dale LeFlam.

In Japan, some of the country’s oldest sake brewers are eagerly awaiting a decision next month on their bid for the rice wine to win recognition as a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage, a commendation reflecting the depth to which the beverage is tied to national pride and tradition. Other ambitious brewers, meanwhile, are just as eager to buck tradition altogether.

Brown-Forman, the leading exporter of U.S. spirits to the world, beat analysts’ expectations in its latest quarterly earnings report, thanks to a jump in demand from its more premium whiskies. But the president and CEO of the Jack Daniels Whiskey maker cautioned that with potential tariffs looming it was facing “so many potential scenarios and unknowns.”

Spindrift is in advanced talks to be acquired by a private equity firm for north of $650 million, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal.

Constellation Brands has reached an agreement with spirits giant Sazerac to offload its Svedka Vodka brand, the company announced today. The sale, which is expected to close “in the coming months,” is part of Constellation’s plan to premiumize its wine and spirits business, which have not kept pace with the gains its beer portfolio of Mexican imports has delivered.

Spirits giant Sazerac manages approximately 500 brands across beer, wine and spirits, yet president and CEO Jake Wenz insists the company is still “focused.”

After 18 months of learning about the U.S. bev-alc market, California-based hard kombucha brand Mate Maker is ready to expand its portfolio and its distribution, and wants consumers to come along for the ride.