SB’s most-read stories in April 2025
As one particular whisky launch makes its second appearance in our most-read stories roundup, much of the rest of this month’s list takes has a more sombre feel.
Sadly, April saw many brands and spirits companies feeling the effects of global headwinds and tariffs, and it has resulted in bankruptcies, redundancies and production pauses.
But it wasn’t all doom and gloom. To kick off the UK’s extra-long Bank Holiday weekend, one coffee liqueur put all its Easter eggs in one basket and teamed up with a chocolate maker to create an extra indulgent cocktail.
Keep reading to find out what else last month’s top 10 stories included.
The Tequila & Mezcal Masters 2025 results
Proving that our readers are always keen to know what spirits rank highest when it comes to taste, the results of The Tequila & Mezcal Masters blind-tasting competition came in as the 10th most-read story for the whole of April.
Highlighting the best Tequilas and mezcals on the market, our blind tasters explored all variations of these agave spirits, awarding their favourites with Master medals. It’s a tough job, but somebody has to do it.
‘World’s most remote distillery’ seeks funding
The remote Faer Isles Distillery announced its third crowdfunding campaign last month, and shared its plans to use any new funding to make investments in sustainability.
The site currently produces vodka, aquavit and gin, and aims to release its inaugural whisky next year. It aims to produce 80,000 litres of pure alcohol (LPA) on average a year, equalling around 600 barrels of whisky.
21 Seeds founders sue Diageo alleging fraud
Things got spicy between the founders of flavoured Tequila brand 21 Seeds and its parent company Diageo last month, as the drinks giant’s integrity was brought into question with a lawsuit.
The female founders of the Tequila brand, known for its Jalapeñ0 Cucumber expression, accused Diageo of concealing its intention to launch a rival jalapeño-flavoured Tequila under the Casamigos brand. They have alleged that Diageo purposefully sought to dampen the shine of 21 Seeds, placing it into mothballs and making it a non-competitor of the George Clooney-backed brand.
Kahlúa unveils ‘world’s most indulgent Espresso Martini’
Apparently Brits don’t think they treat themselves enough, so to bring a dose of ‘treat yo’self’ culture to the Bank Holiday weekend, coffee liqueur brand Kahlúa teamed up with confectioner Tony’s Chocolonely to create a first of its kind chocolate Martini glass, designed specifically to hold the world’s most indulgent Espresso Martini.
It was available to the first 10 customers to order the serve on all four days of the long weekend at Dirty Martini Bishopsgate, London. While the vessel was made of 100% Tony’s Chocolonely milk chocolate, the cocktail itself was a boozy affair, comprised of Absolut vodka, Kahlúa and espresso.
Tullamore to curtail production
Major whisky distilleries across the globe are continuing to make significant cutbacks, with William Grant & Sons-owned Tullamore Distillery the latest to announce a reduced production schedule for 2025.
The Irish whiskey distillery confirmed it would shut down three of its nine stills for three months, with an additional three to receive the same treatment later this year.
Westward whiskey files for bankruptcy
American single malt Westward Whiskey filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy to restructure the business, after facing ‘significant liquidity challenges’.
While this headline might sound devastating, the Westward team were adamant that this bankruptcy filing is not as bad as it sounds. In fact, the brand has taken a glass half-full approach to the situation, seeing it as an opportunity to restructure the company. In a statement to The Spirits Business, Thomas Mooney, founder and CEO of House Spirits Distillery (which trades as Westward Whiskey), said the Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection was “designed to allow small businesses to restructure for success in the future”.
Stauning cuts jobs as Diageo exits
Danish whisky producer Stauning was forced to cut 25% of its workforce in April, following Diageo’s exit from Distill Ventures. Diageo, which has invested approximately £50 million (US$64m) into Stauning, helped fund a major distillery expansion and the brand’s global growth. However, the exit forced Stauning to scale back its US operations – including letting go 13 members of its team – due to rising costs and market uncertainty, including potential tariffs.
Sadly this isn’t the first casualty of Diageo’s exit from the accelerator, and we’re sadly confident this won’t be the last of the ramifications we report on.
Johnnie Walker Black Ruby launches worldwide
Following a pilot in 2024, Johnnie Walker has officially launched its newest permanent expression, Black Ruby, worldwide in March, and our readers were still lapping the story up throughout April.
Described as a ‘sweeter’ blend that stays true to the brand’s flagship Black Label, the new expression marks Dr Emma Walker‘s first innovative core range blend since assuming the role of master blender in early 2022.
EU can no-longer label rye whisky ‘rye whisky’
According to a forgotten 20-year-old EU agreement with Canada, European whisky producers are prohibited from labelling their rye whiskies ‘rye whisky’… and to say the industry was perplexed by this news is an understatement!
Or, to find out even more, check out our Big Story in the May issue of The Spirits Business magazine.
Montana Distillery shuts down
And finally, taking the top spot in our most-read stories list of April was the news that after a decade in operation, craft spirits producer Montana Distillery closed its doors for good in March.
In an announcement on The Montana Distillery website, the company said: “Before we explain the WTF reasons we want to thank all of our patrons for their continued support and friendships. We have thoroughly enjoyed being part of the Stevensville community and take with us a plethora of wonderful memories! We will really miss the social bonding, interactions and relationships we all created.”
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