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Top 10
SB’s most-read stories in July 2023
From news of the best-selling bottles across multiple spirits categories, to lawsuits and new product releases, these are SB online’s most-read stories from July.
The great thing about the internet is whether you’re staycationing for the summer, or jetting away on a tropical vacation, you can always stay up to date with the news – whether its the scoop on new bottles hitting the shelves, or the latest sales figures from your favourite brands and spirits companies. And that’s exactly what our readers have been doing throughout the last month.
Keep scrolling to find out which stories captured the attention of our online readership in July.
10. Top 10 spirits launches in June
In June, one Scotch distillery unveiled its latest annual expression, while another released one of its oldest bottlings to date.
Meanwhile, one celebrity demonstrated she is the ultimate hostess by launching a range of canned cocktails she won’t be able to enjoy herself, and a British producer decided to take things into her own hands and create a spirit designed for her favourite serve.
All of that certainly piqued the interest of our readership, giving the round-up the 10th position in our list of most-read stories last month.
9. Chivas finishes part of blend in Irish whiskey casks
Last month, blended Scotch brand Chivas Regal released its first expression that uses some liquid finished in Irish whiskey casks, called Chivas Extra 13 Irish Whiskey Cask.
The bottling– a first for the brand – was made available exclusively through global travel retail from July.
Liya Zhang, vice-president of marketing at Pernod Ricard Global Travel Retail, said: “The first-of-its-kind blend includes Scotch heritage with the rich elements of Irish whiskey casks, offering shoppers and collectors a unique taste experience.”
8. MGP Ingredients to close Kansas distillery
July saw big news come out of Kansas, as MGP Ingredients announced it would be closing its distillery due to headwinds facing its grain-neutral spirits.
The distillery, located in Atchison in Kansas, US, is expected to close in January 2024, and MGP Ingredients said the decision was made to ‘address profitability headwinds’ associated with its grain-neutral spirits and industrial alcohol products within the firm’s ‘Distilling Solutions’ sector.
7. Sazerac wins counterfeit lawsuit
It was good news for Buffalo Trace owner Sazerac last month, as the firm won a lawsuit against a company that was found to be selling counterfeit bottlings of the brand’s W L Weller.
On 18 November 2022, Sazerac filed action against Allocated Liquor citing trade infringement, counterfeiting, false designation of origin, and unfair competition after it discovered the company was selling bottles from its Weller line.
Despite seeking statutory damages of between US$20,000 and US$100,000 per counterfeit mark, for a total between US$40,000 and US$200,000, to compensate Sazerac’s ‘lost profits, punish Allocated’s wilful infringing conduct, and deter future infringing activity’, Sazerac was awarded US$30,000 in damages.
6. Top 10 biggest-selling Indian whiskies
Our round-ups compiled from our 2023 Brand Champions report published in June continued to get our readers clicking in July, with the list of the top 10 best-selling Indian whiskies taking the number six spot on the list.
Indian whisky is always a popular topic on The Spirits Business online, and clearly among consumers its also a p0pular segment, as many brands recorded double-digit growth throughout 2022.
5. The world’s biggest-selling gin brands
Despite it feeling like there are a million gin brands on the market, only eight surpassed the one million nine-litre case sales mark in 2022, and our readers were keen to find out which ones they were.
The question is, which one came out on top?
4. Diageo faces black fungus lawsuit
After first filing a lawsuit against Diageo Scotland in 2017 for the sum of £40,000 (US$48,389) for damages to their property, Thomas and Gail Chalmers were awarded the right to sue the drinks firm last month for allegedly causing damage to their house and outdoor furniture.
The couple claimed that “black fungus” had begun to appear on their house, located approximately 350 metres from Diageo’s whisky bond (warehouse) in Bonnybridge, Falkirk, due to the “release of ethanol into the atmosphere” from the facility.
The claim was “strongly” disputed by the drinks giant in 2019, however on 30 June 2023, judge Lady Carmichael found Diageo liable for devaluing the Chalmers’ property.
3. Top 10 best-selling rum brands
Back to our Brand Champions report, and landing a spot on the podium is our round-up of the 10 best-selling rum brands of 2022.
Last year, rum continued its time in the spotlight with particularly promising growth in the premium‐plus arena. In July 2022, CGA reported that UK sales of rum surpassed £1 billion (US$1.2bn) in the previous 12 months, meaning it now accounts for a bigger market share than whisky. No wonder this story was so popular.
2. Top 10 most popular whisky distilleries
Despite being published at the end of last month, this story was so popular among our readers that it turned out to be the second most-read story of all 31 days of July.
The round-up is a ranking of the 10 most popular whisky distilleries in the UK and Ireland, which was carried out by The Cask Connoisseur.
The Cask Connoisseur, run by Luke Slater, beer connoisseur, Chris Walster, whisky connoisseur, and Isobel Walster, marketing connoisseur, researched 231 whisky distilleries across the nations to discover which were the most popular, taking into account the number of Google ratings and reviews, the number of Tripadvisor ratings and reviews, and social media metrics covering Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and TikTok.
1. Top 10 award-winning Scotch whiskies
Taking poll position in July’s most-read stories on The Spirits Business online is our list of the top 10 award-winning Scotch whiskies, generated from our 2023 Scotch Whisky Masters blind tasting.
With so many incredible expressions on the market, its no wonder our readers were drawn to this consolidated round-up of the bottles worth spending their attention (and money) on.