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Costco, whose beverage alcohol sales are estimated above $6.5 billion in recent years, is refocusing on fine wines, high-end spirits, and RTDs, with VP and general merchandise manager Chad Sokol planning to add more Kirkland Signature Bourbon labels and new wines from different appellations within the next year. Wine makes up 50% of beverage sales and spirits about 35%; a typical store stocks roughly 200 beverage SKUs, including about 60 spirits and 20 beer.
Shanken News Daily |
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French Cognac maker Maison Boinaud has been placed under judicial protection to restructure its debt, with CEO Charles Boinaud telling Just Drinks the Angoulême Commercial Court "opened safeguard proceedings" on 19 October.
Just Drinks |
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US District Judge Charles E. Atchley Jr. denied former CEO Fawn Weaver's motion for a preliminary injunction to stop the sale of substantially all of Uncle Nearest's assets, finding she had not shown she was likely to succeed on the merits or face irreparable harm. The whiskey business has been in court-appointed receivership for more than a year after Farm Credit Mid-America alleged a loan default and misreported barrel counts; receiver Phillip G. Young Jr. says he is close to a sale through three unnamed parties and plans to carry out any deal via Chapter 11.
Just Drinks |
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A study found that the 2018 retaliatory tariffs raised whiskey prices in Kentucky and Tennessee, while lost export demand pushed domestic whiskey prices down elsewhere after China, Mexico and the E.U. imposed duties of 10% to 25%.
Vinetur |
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Boston Beer launched Rally Dog Vodka Ade in four states this year and plans a national rollout in 2027, with CEO Jim Koch calling the vodka ade category alcohol's "next big thing" and saying it has "exploded faster" than hard teas or seltzers. The push comes as Constellation Brands bought SpikedAde for $75 million and Mark Anthony Group launched RefreshAde; Boston Beer's third-quarter net revenue fell 3.2% to $520 million.
Food Dive |
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Florida-based Green Shoot Brands has bought Jack Brown's Beer & Burger Joint, a 22-unit casual-dining chain across seven states that stocks local and international craft beer and runs the Notch Club beer-tasting program; terms were not disclosed. Founders Aaron Ludwig and Mike Sabin and president Jason Owenby stay on to run the company, which joins Green Shoot's nine-brand portfolio of 410 units with more than $500 million in system sales.
FSR Magazine |
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Carlsberg's India unit filed an updated draft IPO prospectus dated October 27, its first public filing after confidentially submitting papers in July and winning regulatory approval earlier this month. The offering is entirely an offer for sale of 86.42 million shares; the brewer operates seven owned breweries and nine third-party manufacturers and holds a 21.9% share across 16 key states and union territories.
Business Standard |
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Some 18% of U.S. adults 21 and older drank non-alcoholic beer, wine, spirits, RTD cocktails, or THC-infused beverages in the past six months, per BevNET.
BevNET |
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US off-trade tequila value sales fell 3.5% to $5.29 billion in the year to 29 August 2026, even as volumes rose 5.9% to 290.5 million units and craft brands grew 18.6%, according to The Tequila Report's "Tequila's 10% Problem" analysis using Nielsen data. Craft brands, defined as 181 additive- and diffuser-free labels selling under 200,000 nine-litre cases a year, accounted for 9.7% of retail scan dollars at an average price near $44, while reposado was the only sub-segment to grow dollar sales, up 2.1%.
The Spirits Business |
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Flavored malt beverages are still posting year-over-year off-premise declines, losing shelf space and displays to spirits-based offerings and other new entrants, per Circana's latest weekly scans. Several FMB brands have bucked the trend through mid-October.
Brewbound |
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Sazerac Group has rebranded its incubator and brand builder, launched in 2015 as 375 Park Avenue Spirits, under the name Sazerac Next. Based in Louisville, Kentucky, the platform holds roughly 60 owned and agency-partner brands across whiskeys, brandies, agave spirits, and liqueurs, including The Last Drop, Wahaka Mezcal, Siete Leguas Tequila, Glenfarclas, and recent additions Lovebug and Dalho Soju.
The Spirits Business |
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In an October 2026 presentation to UK hospitality customers reviewed by Reuters, Heineken warned pubs and bars to adapt to GLP-1 weight-loss drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy "or risk losing customers and revenue," naming the traditional multi-pint round as the most exposed format. Heineken, which owns more than 2,000 British pubs, advised venues to push half-pints, low- and no-alcohol drinks, and food pairings; Circana data cited in the report found US households with a GLP-1 user spent about 13.5% less on beer after two years on the medication.
Foreign Policy Journal |
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José Cuervo, Don Julio and Patrón led global spirits brand-value growth in new rankings, while Scotch and Cognac posted declines. Moutai kept the top spot overall.
Drinks Trade |
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Diageo's global category director for whisk(e)y and luxury, Julie Bramham, told Global Drinks Intel the company is doing "a tonne of work" on whisky RTDs, a space she says the category has under-indexed, and plans to bring competitive propositions to market over the coming year or so. She said Diageo is also under-leveraging smaller pack sizes across its whisky brands and sees them as a recruitment opportunity, citing a smaller Johnnie Walker Blue Label format as an example.
Drinks Intel |
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Retailers across channels are using "eventizing" and multiple pack sizes to give budget-conscious consumers reasons to celebrate despite persistent inflation, Brewbound reports.
Brewbound |
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Proposed amendments to Irish whiskey's technical file would not radically change pot still whiskey's character but would give the category greater diversity, Richard Woodard writes for Just Drinks.
Just Drinks |
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An LCBO report found that about 9 in 10 Ontario consumers bought locally made beer, wine and spirits last year, totaling CN$3 billion, following Canada's tariff dispute with the U.S.
The Drinks Business |
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IWSR forecasts sparkling wine volumes in global travel retail to contract at a -1% CAGR from 2025 to 2030, driven by declining cava and prosecco sales in price-conscious Europe, while still wine holds flat at 0%. Premium champagne, English sparkling wine and top-tier prosecco are faring better by leaning on high-end gifting, brand heritage and airport activations, with the Americas and Africa flagged for future growth.
Drinks Intel |
