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The U.S. spirits industry enjoyed another boom year in 2016, and enters the New Year with favorable trends. Revenue on the supplier side in 2016 grew 4.5% over 2015: up $1.1 billion to a total of...

For our latest round of the National Retailer Wine Panel reviews, we asked panelists to review Merlot. Panelists are retailer or on-premise alcohol professionals: shop owners, heads of wine departments, sommeliers, beverage program managers, etcetera. As always, these selections...

Being a family-owned liquor store chain powerhouse in the state of Georgia is rather unusual, since state law limits owners to just two licenses. But Tower Beer, Wine, & Spirits has defied all expectations,...

Brown-Forman is best known for its bourbon. Jack Daniel’s, Woodford Reserve and Old Forester are among the company’s American whiskey brands. But it’s a boom time for global whisky, and Brown-Forman understandably is seeking a...

North of the border, the premium tequila category continues to expand. Austin, Texas’ Tequila 512, launched in 2012, experienced 60% growth in 2015, followed by about 70% growth in 2016. The future for the brand...

Prosecco’s popularity continues to rise worldwide. In the U.S., sales grew 36% last year. In the U.K., a new label is creating buzz: “Skinny” Prosecco. But what is that? First of all, it’s a brand from...

Spirits are graded with unusual parameters in The New York International Spirits Competition (NYISC). Judges still blind-taste entries, and receive info about style, age and geographical origin. But they also get to see the market price of...

At the global level, last year’s $107-billion merger between Anheuser Busch InBev (ABI) and SABMiller altered the beer landscape dramatically. For other international players in the beer industry, this merger has implications in almost...

Everybody in beer retail knows this customer. They call or rush into the store with the same question: “Have any Heady Topper? What about Sip of Sunshine?” (Names of rare beers obviously changing with the region.) Your...

In the good old days, when white spirits reigned supreme, imported vodka brands had it easy. Imports offered the cachet of exotic origins, elegance, prestige and luxury. For American consumers, calling for an imported...