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Top 10
SB’s most-read stories in August
Summer days may have drifted away, but we can’t help but reminisce about the stories that captured the attention of our readers in August.
From top 10 round-ups and blind-tasting results to new product launches and a few shock business announcements – while much of the world went on summer vacation, the news didn’t stop in August, and neither did our readership’s appetite for spirits news.
Keep reading to find out which online stories made it into our top 10 most-read in August.
Top 10 extinct spirits
Maybe our readers were feeling sentimental in August, or maybe they just wanted to see which brands and products weren’t strong enough to go the distance? Either way, our round-up of the top 10 spirits to face the same fates as the dinosaurs was a big clicker last month.
From Baileys’ failed foray into the Irish whiskey market to Aftershock, the ghost of nineties nightclubs past, our list explored the rise and demise of the bottles now missing from back bars the world over.
The Irish Whiskey Masters 2024 results
Last month we unveiled the results of two of our 2024 Global Spirits Masters Competitions: The World Whisky Masters and The Irish Whiskey Masters. It was the latter that most piqued the interest of our readership – a true testament to the category’s continued growth.
The competition saw blends, single grains, single malts, single pot still, new make and poitín all judged by an esteemed panel, with 17 liquids ultimately crowned with a coveted Master medal.
Glenmorangie’s original twelve
The launch of Glenmorangie Distillery’s reimagined flagship whisky, The Original 12-year-old, was big news in July, with interest extending to our deep dive into the expression in August.
Adding two years of maturation onto the brand’s core expression has resulted in a “smoother, creamier and even more complex” whisky, according to Glenmorangie’s director of whisky creation, Dr Bill Lumsden. “I like to think it ‘turns up the volume’ on our signature whisky’s classic notes of orange, vanilla, peach, and honey,” he added.
Coopers opens whisky distillery
We love a new whisky distillery. Shiny new copper stills, the smell of malted barley in the air, and the promise of delicious things to come. And our readers clearly share our sentiments, as news of Australia’s largest independent brewer, Coopers, moving into whisky production after opening a AU$70 million (US$46m) facility got plenty of interest last month.
The opening of the Adelaide-based distillery marks the first time in the family-owned brewery’s 162-year history that it will venture into the whisky sector.
Old Forester announces 2024 Birthday Bourbon
Each year, Old Forester releases a Birthday Bourbon in honour of its founder George Garvin Brown’s birthday today (2 September), and the announcement of this year’s 12-year-old release was especially interesting for our readership.
The 2024 release of Old Forester Birthday Bourbon was aged for 12 years and bottled at 53.5% ABV. The whiskey was selected by master distiller emeritus Chris Morris and master taster Melissa Rift, with aid from assistant master distiller Caleb Trigo, and comes from a total of 209 barrels.
What is the future of LCBO?
Taken from the pages of The Spirits Business magazine’s August issue, our examination of the future of The Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO) had plenty of eyes on it last month.
On 5 July, approximately 10,000 Ontario Public Service Employees Union employees went on strike – the first in LCBO’s 97-year history. The LCBO’s hand was forced and resulted in the workers receiving an improved pay offer, a guarantee of no store closures, 1,000 new permanent part-time retail roles, and 60 permanent full-time jobs in logistics.
However, the end of strike action brought with it a certain age-old question back to the forefront: should spirits sales be modernised in Ontario?
Ten award-winning rums for National Rum Day
With better weather, holiday vibes and a national day celebrating it right in the middle, August is a month practically made for drinking rum. To mark the national celebration of the sugarcane spirit on 16 August, we rounded up 10 rums that won big at The Rum & Cachaça Masters 2024 blind tasting to help our readers decide which bottles to toast the occasion with.
Crown Royal debuts bottled Whisky Sour
Canadian whisky Crown Royal expanded its ready-to-serve (RTS) cocktail line last month, adding a Black Cherry Whisky Sour to its Cocktail Collection.
The new RTS is made with Crown Royal whisky, lemon juice, and natural black cherry flavours. The brand suggests pouring the serve over ice in a rocks glass and garnishing with a cherry.
Top 10 most-popular whisky distilleries in 2024
An updated list of the UK and Ireland’s most-loved whisky distilleries was released by The Cask Connoisseur last month, and our readers were keen to learn who had taken the top spot for 2024.
The Cask Connoisseur team looked at Google and TripAdvisor ratings and reviews, alongside social media metrics covering Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and TikTok to determine which of the UK and Ireland’s 298 considered whisky distilleries is the most popular.
Brown-Forman scraps DEI policies
Topping this month’s most-read list is the news of an email leaked on X (formerly Twitter) by right-wing commentator Robby Starbuck, which suggested Brown-Forman had abandoned its corporate diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programmes.
Screenshots of the email showed Brown-Forman had written to employees on 21 August informing them the company was going to stop linking executive compensation to progress on DEI. The company also said it would end its participation in the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index survey.
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SB’s most-read stories in July