17-Apr-2009 By Robyn Lewis
First Drinks unveiled a new logo and £40m investment package for its recently-expanded business, which took on the Rémy Cointreau portfolio this...
Oz Clarke's cask conversion
16-Apr-2009
It's 10:30am and Oz Clarke is already onto his second or third pint of ale. It's entirely appropriate, for his presence in the Betjeman Arms, in...
16-Apr-2009 By John Harrington
Makers of a vodka-based test tube have hit out at Portman Group for blacklisting the drink. Portman said Rampant TT's packaging encouraged...
Pernod Ricard announces £900m rights issue
08-Apr-2009 By Hamish Champ
Pernod Ricard has announced plans for a €1bn (£900m) rights issue to help pay down some of its debt.The drinks giant today also revealed it was...
Drinks giants launch new training scheme
02-Apr-2009
The giants of the drinks trade have partnered to launch a major new barstaff training scheme.Coordinated by Cask Marque, companies including Diageo,...
'Traders try to scupper Tesco alcohol plans'
02-Apr-2009
Traders and shoppers have launched a last-ditch attempt to scupper Tesco's plans to move in to Wanstead - by urging the council not to grant the...
02-Apr-2009 By Sonya Hook
Sovio, the low alcohol wine-style drink, is about to hit the on-trade for the first time in a single serve and even lower alcohol format. The...
Diageo launches margarita mix
01-Apr-2009
Diageo has added its weight to the pre-mix cocktail market with a new Jose Cuervo margarita product.To make a margarita with the mix, barstaff need...
Pernod Ricard announces first ads for Absolut
26-Mar-2009
Details have been announced of the first promotional campaign for vodka brand Absolut since its acquisition by Pernod Ricard (P-R).P-R completed a...
MPs warn of job losses if tax goes up
24-Mar-2009 By Matt Eley Matt
The All Party Parliamentary Wine and Spirits Group has added its voice to calls to the Chancellor demanding alcohol taxes are not increased. With the...
Adam Withrington: Can the BBPA properly represent both beer and pubs?
23-Mar-2009
Since the debacle that was November's pre-Budget report there has been speculation that the British Beer & Pub Association (BBPA) would be...
UK first to get new spiced rum
23-Mar-2009
The UK is the first market in the world to get a spiced variant of Lamb's Navy Rum.Lamb's Spiced Rum is the first brand extension to dark rum Lamb's...
20-Mar-2009 By The Morning Advertiser
Pimm's and lemonade on draught is being rolled out across the UK this summer, following a successful trial last summer.
20-Mar-2009 By Andrew Pring
The Prime Minister weighed into the debate with a long-awaited moment of clarity — now we need to build on it, says Andrew Pring.
Poor spirit serve is costing pubs
19-Mar-2009
One in three customers would be more likely to buy spirits and mixers if pubs were better at serving them, a survey suggests.And three quarters said...
19-Mar-2009 By Gemma McKenna
Diageo is to close its global headquarters in central London by the end of 2009, as part of a major restructuring programme. The firm hopes to save...
BII backs minimum pricing
19-Mar-2009 By John Harrington
The BII has given its backing to plans for a minimum pricing of alcohol. The issue remains on the radar after Gordon Brown said he wasn't keen on the...
Coors launches 'one stop shop' for online ordering
10-Mar-2009
Coors Brewers has launched a new website to provide a "one stop shop" for freetrade customers ordering from the company.Licensees will be able to...
Comment: We're dangerously obsessed with price
09-Mar-2009
The past week has emphasised how dangerously obsessed with price we are.The trade's submissions in the run-up to the Budget are of huge importance,...
09-Mar-2009 By Ewan Turney
Constellation Europe is to launch a new trade loyalty scheme for its Jack Rabbit wine brand. The Jack Rabbit Wine Club allows licensees to earn...
02-Mar-2009 By Robyn Lewis
Diageo is to roll out Smirnoff Apple and Smirnoff Lime across the on and off-trades following a successful six-month trial in Bristol bars and...
Alcoholic ginger beer launches
23-Feb-2009
Halewood International is targeting the on-trade with the launch of an alcoholic ginger beer that it hopes can capitalise on the over ice drinking...
18-Feb-2009 By The PMA Team
The Revolution vodka bar chain has upped the stakes in the discounted food battle — by offering free pizzas between 3pm and 5pm in the afternoon....
Diageo introduces new trade terms
17-Feb-2009
Diageo has established a new set of trade terms for licensees, claiming the new deals are part of its drive to make the spirits category more...
17-Feb-2009 By Ewan Turney
Irish whisky Jameson's is challenging drinkers on how well they know their film endings as part of a new campaign in the run-up to St Patrick's Day...
Watching the watchdog
16-Feb-2009
THERE IS finally some hope for pubs and drinks companies facing increased crackdowns on how they promote themselves.Mark Hunter, chief executive of...
MPs launch enquiry into impact of tax increases on wine and spirits' market
13-Feb-2009
An enquiry into the impact of tax changes on the wine and spirits' market is set to take place this month as businesses cut jobs as a result of...
13-Feb-2009 By Ewan Turney
A group of MPs have launched an inquiry into the impact of last year's bumper duty rises and the potential duty escalator rise on wine and spirits....
Diageo to seek £100m in cost savings
12-Feb-2009 By Hamish Champ
Drinks giant Diageo said today it expects to save around £100m in the next year as it undertakes a restructuring of the business.Announcing its...
Conman jailed for mass wine fraud
11-Feb-2009
A conman has been convicted of fraud after he was found guilty of handling stolen wines and spirits worth hundreds of thousands of pounds.Dogan...
Diageo distillery goes green
10-Feb-2009
It's not every day that a distillery plays host to the country's leader, but Diageo's Cameronbridge Distillery in Fife recently earned a visit by...
Opinion: Coming together to deal with the devil
10-Feb-2009
"Try to think as the other person thinks" - Michael Corleone: The Godfather - Part IIThe government is big on dealing with a single message from the...
10-Feb-2009 By Ewan Turney
Southern Comfort is pushing its New Orleans roots as part of a month-long Mardi Gras campaign in February. More than 4,000 point of sale kits are...
03-Feb-2009 By MA reporter
Every licensee wants to back a winner. So to help you become a winner, the MA recently compiled a brand new listing of the 50 drinks that made the...
02-Feb-2009 By MA Reporter
Old Pulteney used the London Boat Show as a launch platform for its latest campaign, which aims to reinforce its maritime links. The single malt...
Famous Grouse offers rugby-goers free samples
30-Jan-2009 By Ewan Turney
Famous Grouse whisky is to offer rugby goers free samples and beanie hats as part of its sponsorship of the Scottish rugby team. All adult fans...
New energy drinks from Coca Cola
29-Jan-2009
Coca-Cola Enterprises (CCE) will launch two new formats in its Relentless energy drink range across the on-trade next month.Relentless Origin and...
White spirits: A cautionary tale
26-Jan-2009
There has been a healthy smattering of luxurious excess during the lifespan of premium vodka company Solidarnosc. It has flown Chinese wholesalers...
White spirits: At a premium
26-Jan-2009
Recent data gathered by licensed trade research group CGA Strategy for The Publican (see link, below right) throws new light on the premiumisation...
Pub fined thousands for tipping
26-Jan-2009 By Matt Eley Matt
A pub has become the first on the Isle of Wight to be fined for spirit tipping. At court today the owners of the Countryman in Brighstone were fined...
Adam Withrington: How the spirits industry halved its Pre-Budget Report duty increase
21-Jan-2009
Remember, remember the 24th of November… taxes, u-turns and plot. It was on this day that Alistair Darling performed his famous U-turn on alcohol...
Opinion: 99p pint won't be around long
20-Jan-2009
The real question that arises from the Wetherspoon's 99p pint story is: what happens if these extreme promotions become the norm? You'll see from...
Glencadam relaunches
16-Jan-2009 By Sonya Hook
The Glencadam Distillery has relaunched its 15-year-old variant using an improved recipe and new bottle design. It has also introduced a 10-year-old...
Pernod Ricard reports a reasonable Christmas
13-Jan-2009 By Hamish Champ
French drinks giant Pernod Ricard has reported that its trading performance over the Christmas and New Year period "went well, on the whole".In a...
Bell's relaunches Special Reserve
11-Jan-2009
Diageo is to launch a new-look bottle for its Special Reserve variant of Bell's in February in a bid to re-position the brand as a trade-up for...
Constellation restructures
07-Jan-2009
Constellation Europe has announced major changes to its structure, with two senior members of the team appointed to new positions. The UK and...
Untangling the Matthew Clark/ Punch Taverns tie-up
07-Jan-2009
MATTHEW CLARK'S role in supplying UK pubs was already complicated enough before Punch Taverns took a 50 per cent stake in it in mid-2007. Acquired by...
Could drinks price war be on horizon?
07-Jan-2009
Competition among managed pubcos over drinks pricing appears to be hotting up following Wetherspoon's decision to discount Greene King IPA to 99p per...
07-Jan-2009 By www.clickliverpool.com
A Labour MP has sparked an inquiry into a drinks deal at Tesco, claiming it used "bait advertising" to lure customers in. Rosie Cooper, MP for West...
Drinks chief: Don't blame irresponsible drinking on our promotions
06-Jan-2009
Corporate Social responsibility (CSR). The words must ring round the head offices of UK drinks companies like the eerie clanking of the chains of...
