The best (of the worst) industry April Fool’s jokes 2026
It’s the one day of the year when journalists everywhere read every press release twice – and still don’t trust it. To save you the guesswork, we’ve rounded up 10 of the best drinks industry pranks that have been doing the rounds this April Fool’s Day.
As we pass the midday mark, The Spirits Business‘ editorial team has let out a sigh of relief – our inboxes can finally be trusted again, as the April Fool’s Day cut-off has officially passed. Phew.
While it’s editorially our most hated day of the year, we’ll take our hats off to some of the drinks personalities, brands and venues that have exercised some true creativity this year. You almost got us, but not quite.
Here are our highlights from this morning’s jokey antics.
‘Haunted’ whisky bottle listed for private sale
Whisky consultant and rare cask broker Blair Bowman led us to (almost) believe he had listed for private sale a bottle of Bell’s Original Blended Scotch Whisky believed to have been purchased at the Co-op supermarket in Bowmore during a £5-off promotion circa 2018.
In the normal course of his work, Bowman advises private clients on the acquisition of exceptional whisky casks and bottles, sourced with discretion worldwide. However, the bottle in question was neither old nor rare – simply ‘haunted’.
In a press release issued by Bowman, he noted the pre-sale inspection identified a number of anomalies, including it possessing no reflection when placed in front of a mirror, and an unexplained shift in bottle position noted during an overnight inspection.
Bowman said the bottle was reviewed by Dr Ronnie Oatcakes, an independent paranormal food and beverage expert, who said: “I would not say that I am certain of paranormal influence. I would say that I am no longer certain about mirrors.”
The listing on Bowman’s website included a warning that read: “If you are considering purchasing this bottle we recommend closing this page, going for a walk, and calling someone you trust.”
A 10/10 effort from Bowman, and you can see his full commitment to the gag here: blairbowman.com/haunted-bottle.
Salford Rum ‘takes a break’ from reality
Earlier this week, a large shipment of KitKat bars, equating to approximately 12 metric tonnes of chocolate, was stolen while in transit to distributors in Poland, and social media has gone absolutely wild with it.
Scrolling our feed, almost every other post is about the candy crime, with brands the world over offering their condolences to the Nestlé brand while alluding to the fact that they may have been the ones responsible.
Jumping on the trend just in time for April Fool’s this morning was Manchester-based Salford Rum, who shared it was launching its new cream liqueur in a familiar flavour: “We would like to share our sincere thoughts and condolences to KitKat following the recent news,” the Instagram post read. “On a totally unrelated note, we are excited to introduce our brand new KitKat Cream Liqueur Rum. Strictly limited 12-tonne batch. When it’s gone, it’s gone.”
Ian Burrell launches Jagricole rum
Global rum ambassador Ian Burrell gave a cheeky nod towards the geographical indication (GI) that is being contested in Jamaica at the moment, with the ‘news’ he was launching a pioneering fresh sugarcane juice Jamaican rum, called Jagricole.
Burrell said Jagricole would introduce several notable innovations in rum maturation, while adhering strictly to the standards that define authentic Jamaican rum.
In a first for the category, he said the spirit would be aged in 249-litre American oak barrels, carefully chosen to sit just below the maximum barrel size allowed under the Jamaica Rum trademark regulations.
Another pioneering technique he listed was the use of seawater to cool the casks during maturation – a process designed to slow tropical ageing – while a further experimental technique, referred to as ‘double ageing’, would see the rum transferred from American oak barrels into new casks that are placed atop speaker boxes, allowing the vibration and energy of Jamaican dancehall music to interact with the maturation process, creating a truly unique expression of culture and craft.
If you ask us, none of this seems beyond the realms of plausibility (we’ve definitely covered far stranger maturation techniques) but alas, Jagricole’s existence remains within the confines of 1 April.
Warwickshire Gin Company formulates Blue Gin+
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Move over Viagra, Warwickshire Gin Company has formulated a revolutionary gin infused with a rare blue botanical known for its ability to support confidence, stamina, and general… uprightness.
This morning’s April Fool’s prank from the Midlands-based distillery introduced Blue Gin+, a suspiciously vibrant, confidence-boosting spirit aimed squarely at men who think they’ve “still got it”, and those who desperately want to.
Marketed as the first gin to enhance male performance, presence, and ‘upright ambition’, side effects reported by long-suffering partners were said to include aggressive shirt unbuttoning, spontaneous flexing, and a baffling urge to say things like “let me show you something impressive”, before doing something deeply unimpressive.
Other side effects included male drinkers suddenly ‘attempting to do DIY projects they have absolutely no business attempting’, which makes me suspect my husband may have got his hands on this particular release some time ago…
Scottish-grown sugarcane to revolutionise rum
While agriculture may not be our Mastermind subject of choice, the SB team are all pretty well acquainted with the misery of British weather, which is why we were able to quickly dismiss the news that East Neuk Spirits Co had begun early-stage work on what it claimed would be Scotland’s first experimental sugarcane crop.
The project, the producer said, would be intended to support a future ‘single estate’ Dorchadas Rum series, using sugarcane grown, processed and distilled in Scotland.
Keeping the location of the trial plot under wraps (while noting it would be on a stretch of coastline near Fife), East Neuk said the project had already drawn interest and scepticism from across both the spirits and agricultural sectors.
Dr Iona Caine, of the Institute for Unlikely Agriculture, said: “Under tightly controlled conditions, there are theoretical scenarios where sugar cane could establish in more temperate regions. The margins are extremely fine, but not necessarily non-existent. It’s the kind of question that sits right on the edge of viability.”
Meanwhile, local farmer and self-described “concerned realist” Duncan Fairweather-Fielding was less diplomatic when asked for his view: “Sugarcane? In Fife?” he asked. “We can barely trust the weather to grow tatties half the time, and now we’re meant to believe we’re turning into the Caribbean? It’s nonsense. Absolute nonsense.”
We’re with you, Duncan.
Desi Daru Vodka’s ‘groundbreaking’ new flavour
When you’ve cracked making an award-winning vodka crafted with some of the planet’s finest mangoes, the natural next step is to innovate with another much-loved flavour profile: butter chicken.
Said to be its ‘most ambitious and most aromatic limited edition expression’ yet, Desi Daru’s Butter Chicken Vodka was pitched to us as “seven-times distilled for exceptional smoothness and infused with real butter chicken masala”.
The new expression was described as “creamy, tangy, with notes of fenugreek, cardamom, and mild confusion” and recommended paired with naan, basmati rice and questionable life decisions.
“Our Alphonso Mango vodka was inspired by flavours and memories of our childhood so this felt like a natural extension,” shared founder Mohit Singh. “Every year we try to push the boundaries of what people expect from vodka, and from us. Butter chicken is one of the most iconic dishes in South Asian cuisine, so we thought – what if we bottled the spirit of it?”
Sadly (or perhaps not so sadly), this boozy innovation was listed as only available for today, but we know of a distillery that may know how to make this a reality if demand called for it.
(It won’t.)
Tayēr + Elementary’s radical new concept
After seven years of operation and global recognition as one of the most influential cocktail destinations in the world, London bar Tayēr + Elementary today announced it would be embarking on a ‘bold and unconventional’ transformation of its concept that would see the bar transition to a fully automated beverage programme powered by artificial intelligence, robotics, and a network of self-service ready-to-drink cocktail dispensers.
At the centre of the new concept was the trademarked Tayēr RTD Cocktail Matrix, a modular wall of advanced dispensing machines that deliver a rotating menu of seasonal ready-to-drink cocktails in a bid to dramatically reduce preparation time, staffing requirements, and ingredient waste while maintaining consistency at scale.
The change, the team said, was in response to mounting economic pressures affecting the hospitality sector, including increased cost of goods, higher VAT, escalating business rates, rising rents, and shrinking profit margins.
Of course, while the ongoing economic nightmare we’re all living in isn’t a joke, luckily this transformation was – these guys know not to mess with their award-winning formula.
Jägermeister ‘over-engineers’ shot machine to go
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Jägermeister has always been adamant that the best way to enjoy its herbal liqueur is at the correct temperature: -18ºC. So to make sure its consumers can achieve that every time they take a shot, they’ve “over-engineered” a shot machine to go, which attaches to any miniature 50ml bottle of Jägermeister and, with the click of a button, miraculously chills the liquid to the correct temperature.
Shared on the brand’s Instagram account this morning, most of the comments suggested consumers would love to “pull this out at the club”, while some actually thought it might be true.
Tanglin solves Singapore’s biggest outdoor dilemma
There’s nothing worse than going on holiday and being eaten alive by nasty little critters intent on stealing your blood. Usually our method of keeping wee beasties at bay involves numerous serves of gin and tonic (quinine is a great insect repellent, in case you didn’t know). But Singapore’s Tanglin Gin opted to go one step further this morning and unveiled its ‘most unexpected innovation yet’: the world’s first ‘gin-sect’ repellent spray.
Drawing inspiration from the award-winning botanical profile of Tanglin Gin’s flagship spirits, the Gin-sect Repellent was said to replace harsh chemical odours with a sophisticated, zesty aroma. The formula, the brand said, was crafted to respond to body heat, releasing layers of fragrance that “bite back” against the swarm.
Now, while this is obviously an April Fool’s joke, we’d just like to shout out to one member of our team, who will remain nameless, who fell for this one hook, line and sinker, and was “done up like a kipper”. Some of us are more ready for the Bank Holiday than others, it would seem.
Whisky Bytes Breaking News
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And finally, winning the day was Fraser Campbell, who put out a breaking news bulletin on his social media channels this morning announcing that The Macallan had bottled a 5,000-year-old whisky called Infinity Tears – the first of its kind, having been cave-aged for five millennia, and only available to those who own a planet in outer space. The whisky was discovered when a bus driver inadvertently opened a portal into ‘the malty verse’.
In other news, Fraser shared that the Scotch Whisky Association (SWA) had added casks seasoned with non-alcoholic ‘spirits’ to the whisky technical file. The latest update to the use of casks permissible for Scotch whisky maturation, he said, was an attempt to lure younger drinkers and non-alcoholic drinkers into the category by shamelessly exploiting their favourite non-alcoholic drinks brands.
Campbell added that Diageo had also acknowledged the ongoing non-alcoholic trend with the release of two new SKUs into their portfolio: Johnnie Wodka and Johnnie Water, with the former being a blend of neutral grain spirits from Poland filtered through the streets of Kilmarnock, and the latter being a reverse-aged, reverse-distilled, reverse-fermented, reverse-mashed liquid finished in Seedlip casks with a signature serve of council juice on ice.
And finally, he shared that The World Whisky Awards have been awarded the award for the most awards awarded by the World’s Most Awarded Whisky Awards.
The World Whisky Awards handed out 7,250 awards this year, including the most generic typeface and Pantone on a whisky label, the best stopper made from recycled grist and the best AI-generated advert by a shady cask investment company.
A perfect April Fool’s post. No notes.
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