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Top 10
SB’s most-read stories in November
Our news desk was flooded with stories in November as the month saw a hive of activity in the spirits industry – but which ones were the most read?
Remember the state of the Dursleys’ house when Harry Potter was bombarded with letters in the first film, The Philosopher’s Stone? Our news desk felt somewhat similar in November.
Huge product launches, production pauses, world records, and, of course, a celebrity partnership: it was all happening in the spirits world last month.
Innovation in Scotch played a prominent role, with two Chivas Brothers brands trying out new things, while our readers were also grabbed by production hiccups at Crown Royal and MGP Ingredients.
Keep reading to see which stories got our readers clicking throughout November.
India a ‘standout’ for Bacardí
India’s ‘standout’ performance for Bacardí stood out to our readers, as it clocked in as our 10th most-read story for November.
Roberto Ramirez Laverde, Bacardí’s global senior vice-president, said the brand has achieved a 26% compound annual growth rate in India over the past three years. He also spoke about the category as a whole, citing a lack of education as a challenge to the premium sector’s growth, while adding that ready-to-drink serves and celebrity partnerships could help rum brands move in the right direction.
Maker’s Mark names master distiller
A reshuffle at the top of Maker’s Mark’s whiskey production chain caught the attention of our readers, as the Kentucky Bourbon named Dr Blake Layfield as its new master distiller and Beth Buckner as lead blender.
Previously senior director of innovation, blending and quality at Maker’s Mark, Layfield’s new responsibilities entail overseeing the consistency and flavour vision of the whiskey brand, as well as leading new product innovation.
Gabriel Macht joins Bear Fight
Celebrity spirits partnerships guarantee clicks and it was no different when Suits star Gabriel Macht was announced as an investor of Bear Fight Whiskey.
Long term, the actor is looking to help turn the American whiskey brand into a global force, and we spoke to him about how he plans to go about that. As you might expect, he makes a good case…
Johnson Reserve sets world record
What whisky holds the Guinness World Record for the greatest variety of flavour? Clearly, this is a question of great interest, as it ranked as one of our most-read stories for November. Everybody loves a world record.
For this particular one, it was Johnson Reserve’s Ascension. To find out about the process of setting the record, from the 12-year barrel testing all the way to getting the certification from Guinness, we spoke with the brand’s founder Alexander Johnson.
Chivas Regal innovates with smoke
It turns out readers were really into smoky whisky in November. The latest expression in Chivas Regal’s Extra range saw the Chivas Brothers-owned whisky brand create a blend selectively finished in casks previously housing peated whisky.
The idea was to elevate the experience of the modern whisky drinker by combining the ‘richness’ of the whisky’s traditional house style with the ‘gentle taste of smooth smoke’.
Ballantine’s unveils first single grain whisky
Not satisfied with just one story in our November most-read, Chivas Brothers created one more with another of its Scotch brands, Ballantine’s. This time, however, the focus wasn’t on smoke but single grain.
Named Ballantine’s Single Distillery, the expression was created by master blender Sandy Hyslop by blending grain whiskies from Strathclyde Distillery.
Johnnie Walker debuts LNY design
Johnnie Walker, a limited edition bottle and an eye-catching design from a world-renowned designer… it’s the perfect recipe for a most-read story.
As it did last year, the blended Scotch brand teamed up with Asian-American visual artist James Jean to release a limited edition bottling to celebrate Lunar New Year – for 2025, the Year of the Snake.
The bottle features three snakes surrounded by blooming flowers and depicted shedding their skins to ‘embrace the next chapter in life’.
Diageo forms Luxury Group
Johnnie Walker’s owner Diageo made a statement with the unveiling of its Luxury Group, which combines the Scotch brand, Don Julio and others under one division, with the idea to accelerate the growth of brands that sell for US$100 or more. The arm will target key cities worldwide and global travel retail, with a particular focus on Great Britain.
Diageo halts Crown Royal distillery build
Another top story for Diageo focused on the pausing of the construction of Crown Royal’s CA$245 million (US$175.4m) distillery.
The site was expected to start producing Canadian whisky by 2025. Owner Diageo, however, said it will be “revisiting plans and timeline at a later date, as part of our regular review of investments and priorities across our supply chain footprint”.
MGP to scale down whiskey production
And the award for the most-read story in November goes to… MGP Ingredients. Perhaps, though, for a headline it wasn’t hoping for.
The US producer decided to scale down its whiskey production after sales plunged by double digits in the third quarter. It will focus on its branded spirits business next year.
Despite the change in direction, CEO and president David Bratcher said the company believes “these actions will strengthen the long-term competitive positioning of our brown goods business.
“Over the longer term, we remain confident in our Distilling Solutions business as our whiskey inventories remain an important part of the still-expanding American whiskey category.”