Diageo unveils Guinness rugby package
24-Dec-2008 By Matt Eley Matt
Diageo has unveiled details of a Guinness support package for licensees during the RBS Six Nations. Around 6,000 pubs across Great Britain will...
'Skull Splitter' saved after complaint dismissed
23-Dec-2008
Orkney-based Sinclair Breweries is celebrating after being told it can carry on producing its Skull Splitter ale after drinks industry watchdog, the...
Comment: Queen's speech no concern for responsible licensees
15-Dec-2008
Should the content concerning the drinks industry in the Queen's Speech cause us concern?As debate continues following the Policing and Crime Bill...
Lewis Hamilton drives home anti drink-drive message
12-Dec-2008
Lewis Hamilton, the 2008 Formula 1 World Champion, took to the wheel of a London cab yesterday with two-time world champion, Mika Häkkinen to...
New Diageo products to be brand extensions
11-Dec-2008
Diageo Great Britain's managing director of has suggested that new launches from the company are likely to take the form of extensions to existing...
Opportunities for rum, says new report
11-Dec-2008
Newly-emerging consumer groups represent opportunities to grow rum sales in the UK, according to a new report published yesterday by the West Indies...
Diageo trials draught cocktails
09-Dec-2008
Diageo has trialled a draught cocktail dispense system in a number of pubs.The new spirit and mixer dispense system is fount-operated and allows...
Black Grouse lands on small screen
08-Dec-2008
Famous Grouse premium variant the Black Grouse will feature in the brand's Christmas advertising for the first time this year.Advertising for the...
Dispense innovation brings sales
05-Dec-2008
What have the Grolsch swing-top bottle, Magners and Guinness Extra Cold all got in common? When they were first launched, they were all examples of...
Brandy: Shedding old-fashioned image
05-Dec-2008
DO MANY of your customers slip on a velvet smoking jacket after dinner and retire outside to puff on a cigar, stroke their bushy military moustaches...
Brandy: The story behind the spirit
05-Dec-2008
We all know the French smoke in an inimitably stylish way. The image of one of our cousins from across the Channel giving a gallic shrug while...
Wine and spirits producers back government action
03-Dec-2008
Wine and spirits producers are backing new moves from the government against problem premises and drinks campaigns, expected to be announced later...
Maxxium takes on Stolichnaya
02-Dec-2008
Maxxium subsidiary The Edrington Group has signed an agreement with Russian vodka exporter SPI Group for the exclusive UK distribution rights to its...
Opinion: Barrrr, Darling!
01-Dec-2008
The fourth series of Blackadder got great comic mileage out of a character simply because his name was Darling. If only such mirth could be found in...
Get the punters in
28-Nov-2008
Pubs and bars have taken quite a pounding in recent months, as the off trade, and supermarkets in particular, entices customers away from their local...
'Chancellor in low spirits as PBR blunder rectified'
27-Nov-2008
The Chancellor was forced to backtrack on a key element of his Pre-Budget Report on Wednesday after he admitted that the Treasury had got its sums...
BBPA: Whisky tax changes should apply to whole sector
26-Nov-2008 By James Wilmore
The British Beer & Pub Association (BBPA) has met with Treasury officials this morning to argue for "fair treatment" on the measures announced in...
26-Nov-2008 By Ewan Turney
The Chancellor has done an amazing U-turn by dropping his duty rise on spirits to 4% but singled out pubs for more harsh punishment by keeping the...
Spirits Pub of the Year 2008: The Great Eastern, Brighton, East Sussex
25-Nov-2008
When the master distiller of Jack Daniel's travels all the way from Tennessee to a small corner local in Brighton, you know this is a venue that...
Opinion: Decide the future of your drinks offer
21-Nov-2008
Speakers at the recent Publican Pub Trade Summit made one consistent point above all - and I believe deciding whether you agree with it is vital to...
Jameson promotion goes to the movies
20-Nov-2008
Pernod Ricard UK is attempting to put its Irish whiskey brand Jameson under consumers' spotlights with the launch of a series of film screening...
17-Nov-2008 By John Harrington
Diageo has launched a software programme to help licensees create customised spirit-mixer menus. MenuMaker lets host list Diageo brands and spirits...
Below-cost selling not "immoral", says former Asda chief
12-Nov-2008 By James Wilmore
Business leader and former Asda chief Archie Norman has argued that below-cost selling of alcohol is not "immoral" - but supermarkets should agree to...
Economic downturn provides opportunities
10-Nov-2008
MANY OF us carry out business operations on the basis of 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it'. So, in some respects, recessions can be good for us in...
Opinion: Why the secrecy, drinks producers?
10-Nov-2008
Am I alone in wishing there wasn't such a need for secrecy among drinks producers? At a time when the pub trade is crying out for a spark of...
'Lethal' vodka seized from shops
03-Nov-2008 By James Wilmore
The Food Standards Agency has put councils across the country on alert after counterfeit bottles of vodka were found laced with potentially lethal...
Can new product innovation arrest declining sales?
30-Oct-2008
Drinks producers need to focus on developing new products in order to target changing consumer demographics among pub goers, according to a new...
Whisky: The pioneering spirit
29-Oct-2008
"How well I remember my first encounter with The Devil's Brew. I happened to stumble across a case of bourbon - and went right on stumbling for...
Whisky: Scotch on its home turf
29-Oct-2008
When it comes to where to look for inspiration on how to sell Scotch, it makes sense to look to Scotland.In Edinburgh, 10 pubs are involved in a...
Whisky: Making their name
29-Oct-2008
A Welshman sitting at a bar in Gloucester once started up an argument with me when I was umming and aaing with the barman over whether to go with a...
Whisky: Collaborate to prosper
29-Oct-2008
The statistics do not bear good tidings for the whisky category right now. As you will see in the panel on this page (bottom), in an on-trade...
'Spirits not measuring up in Scotland'
21-Oct-2008 By Matt Eley Matt
Almost half the measures of spirits being sold in pubs, restaurants and hotels in Scotland are short, an investigation by trading standards officers...
Bushmills in £4m give-away
20-Oct-2008
Diageo whiskey brand Bushmills is running a £4m give-away promotion in selected pubs nationwide this month.Consumers can win prize money of £8,...
Diageo set to deliver up to nine per cent profits growth
15-Oct-2008
Guinness and Smirnoff producer Diageo has announced organic net sales growth of six per cent in the three month period ended September 30, 2008....
Vodka drink banned for appealing to kids
13-Oct-2008 By Matt Eley Matt
A vodka drink will be removed from sale because it looks like a soft drink and could appeal to children. Following a complaint from Labour MP Sally...
Pimm's gears up for second Christmas
10-Oct-2008
For the second year running, Diageo is to market Pimm's Winter with a teapot serve as the trade approaches the Christmas period.Pubs are being...
07-Oct-2008 By Ewan Turney
Maxxium UK has launched a major consumer campaign to reposition Sourz as a modern mixable spirit. The £4m Add some Zing campaign will culminate in a...
Global Brands announces new managing director
02-Oct-2008
A number of management changes have been announced at independent drinks company, Global Brands. Steve Perez has relinquished his position as...
Diageo makes executive committee changes
25-Sep-2008 By Ewan Turney
Drinks giant Diageo has announced a raft of personnel changes to its executive committee with president of global marketing, sales and innovation Rob...
Drinks companies prepare for Christmas
24-Sep-2008
Drinks companies are gearing up for major above-the-line advertising campaigns and in-pub initiatives in the run-up to Christmas.In a £35m Christmas...
Pernod Ricard set fair for growth, claims chairman
19-Sep-2008
Patrick Ricard, chairman and chief executive of drinks giant Pernod Ricard, said the strength of the group's products and its global sales network...
RTDs: Global Brands boss sticks to what he's good at
12-Sep-2008
Welcome to the weird world of Global Brands.The company known for its own Ready-To-Drink (RTD) Vodka Kick (VK) range was, this time last year, widely...
RTDs: Cocktail hybrids
12-Sep-2008
A developing sub-sector within RTDs is what Steve Perez, the managing director of Vodka Kick (VK) owner Steve Perez refers to as "hybrid...
Absolut to exit Maxxium on October 1
12-Sep-2008
Maxxium is to cease distributing Vin and Sprit's (V&S) portfolio of spirits, which includes vodka brand Absolut, from October 1.The announcement...
£2m support for Newcastle Brown, McEwan's and Scrumpy Jack
09-Sep-2008
A £2m marketing support package has been placed behind Newcastle Brown Ale, McEwan's, Youngers, Newcastle Exhibition, Woodpecker and Scrumpy Jack.It...
Profit from premium products at major Publican event
05-Sep-2008
When the stellar line-up of speakers takes to the stage at the Premium Innovation conference at London's Commonwealth Club on Tuesday, September 30,...
Pernod Ricard takes control of Absolut Vodka
03-Sep-2008 By John Harrington
The initial payment to Maxxium will be £48m for the Vin & Spirit portfolio.
Ad campaign for Sourz
02-Sep-2008
Maxxium is embarking upon a major consumer campaign this month to reposition speciality spirit Sourz as a modern mixable spirit, following a re-pack...
Drinks giant slams Scottish government
01-Sep-2008
Diageo has slammed plans by the Scottish government to crack down on pubs' alcohol sales and promotions, and proposed an alternative system of...
29-Aug-2008 By The PMA Team
Drinks giant Diageo has warned that the slowing UK economy would lead to more middle class people drinking at home rather than at the pub. Chief...
