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3 days ago | 
thespiritsbusiness.com | Rupert Hohwieler
Pernod Ricard has unveiled a paper-based cap for Absolut Vodka, made by Blue Ocean Closures. Described as an industry first, Pernod Ricard originally sold paper Absolut bottles at Tesco stores in the UK for three months over the summer of 2023. The recyclable paper bottles were made by The Paper Bottling Company. The paper-based cap is a new feature, made by Blue Ocean Closures and with 95% Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified fibres.
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3 days ago | 
thespiritsbusiness.com | Rupert Hohwieler
Amsterdam’s new bar in town, Advocatuur, has settled into the city nicely as its beverage director Yann Bouvignies explains. generated plenty of buzz in the Dutch capital, being a Rosewood hotel and all. Throw in a fancy bar helmed by Yann Bouvignies (who swapped Scarfes in the Rosewood London to oversee this project at the start of last year) and cocktail fans also caught the scent of the hype, especially considering news that it would be making its own genever on-site.
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4 days ago | 
thespiritsbusiness.com | Rupert Hohwieler
Strong-performing speciality spirits from the year prior kept up the momentum in 2024 with Italy’s two big bitter brands leading the way. It’s all change at the top in this year’s speciality spirits compilation. There’s a new biggest-selling speciality spirit in town – but which brand as taken pole position, and which has been knocked off its perch?
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5 days ago | 
thespiritsbusiness.com | Rupert Hohwieler
Ben Lomond Gin has chosen the signature cocktail for golf fans at the upcoming The 153rd Open Championship at Royal Portbrush. The Scottish brand is the official gin of The Open, which will take place on 17-20 July at Royal Portrush Golf Club in Northern Ireland. The gin brand has called on bartenders from across the UK to make a bespoke cocktail for the tournament, which is one of golf’s four majors.
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1 week ago | 
thespiritsbusiness.com | Rupert Hohwieler
Cognac house Martell has opened its rooftop bar for the summer with Rémy Savage, who has designed the cocktails. Savage, who operates well-regarded cocktail destinations such as A Bar with Shapes for a Name in London and Bar Nouveau in Paris, is Martell’s global master mixologist, a role he’s had with the Cognac house since 2021.
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1 week ago | 
thespiritsbusiness.com | Rupert Hohwieler
Pernod Ricard-owned Irish whiskey Jameson has collaborated on a trio of football jerseys for the upcoming UEFA Women’s Euro 2025 tournament. For the jerseys, Jameson has teamed up with creative agency Lover’s FC, where ‘fashion and football collide’, and the Goalposts League, an inclusive LGBTQ+ and women’s grassroots five- and seven-a-side football community organisation.
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1 week ago | 
thespiritsbusiness.com | Rupert Hohwieler
Growth in Scotch seems to be a balancing act between new and established drinkers as the performance of the category’s top sellers showed. Last year was a “challenging year” for the Scotch whisky industry admitted Mark Kent, chief executive of the Scotch Whisky Association (SWA) after the release of the trade body’s report on the biggest export markets by volume for the category in 2024.
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1 week ago | 
thespiritsbusiness.com | Rupert Hohwieler
Flavour has always been the way forward for traditional mixer and tonics brands, but breakthroughs in functional options could help the category to diversify. *This feature was originally published in the April 2025 issue of The Spirits Business magazine. Innovation is never far from the front of drinks industry discussion, the never-ending search to find the new thing, and that includes tonics and mixers.
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1 week ago | 
thespiritsbusiness.com | Rupert Hohwieler
London cocktail bar Dram has collaborated with Japanese distillery Chichibu on a one-off whisky bottling. The whisky was drawn from one of Chichibu’s smallest and most distinctive casks, a peated concerto barley cask, and can be purchased exclusively from Dram in Soho, London. The whisky is described as a ‘a true reflection of the distillery’s character’ and has an ABV of 59.4%. Only 100 bottles are available for a price of £330 (US$440).
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1 week ago | 
thespiritsbusiness.com | Rupert Hohwieler
We caught up with chef Marco Pierre White on his gin preferences and launching his own brand across the UK. Marco Pierre White’s initial run with his gin, Mr White’s Gin, was a short one, launched as a small batch limited edition release during the Covid-19 era in June 2021, which the chef tells us was “unfortunate timing”. However, in April this year, White brought it back.
