Latest news with #liquor
Forbes
10 hours ago
- Business
- Forbes
The World's Best Selling Scotch Whisky—According To The 2025 Brand Champions
Johnnie Walker Blue Label remains one of the world's highest regarded—and top-selling—labels of ... More premium blended Scotch whisky. The Brand Champions is an annual report revealing and analyzing the top-selling labels of liquor in any given year. Since it debuted back in 2014 it has provided a reliable and informative snapshot--not just of individual brands--but of the general trajectory of the industry as a whole. Last year, for example, total volume sales of spirits increased a modest 1.4% over 2022 numbers. Not great. But not terrible. This year, roughly half of the top 150 brands listed in the communique reported a decline, leading its publisher to label the landscape as one of 'perma-crisis.' We promise you, though, it's not all doom and gloom for booze. Just take a look at the top-selling scotch whiskies for some spirited reassurance. The reigning brand champion in the category is Johnnie Walker, which has dominated global whiskey sales throughout the 21st Century. Yes, it's overall sales dipped slightly year-over-year (21.6 million cases sold in 2024 versus 22.1 million in 2023), but its numbers are up some 50% since 2020. It underscores the point that people around the world are still consuming whisky at near-record numbers. It's merely the rate of growth that has slowed--which was never fully sustainable anyway, given its astronomical trajectory across the 2010s. And while other less-nimble whiskey brands might be losing some market share to tequila, or even non-alcoholic offerings, Johnnie Walker has bucked that movement by continually carving out new audiences across a wide spectrum of drinkers--from fans of the top shelf to the well. For mass appeal, Red Label remains the crowd favorite. The most affordable liquid in the portfolio is non-aged-stated, retails for $25 a bottle and has been the world's best-selling scotch since the mid-1960s. Joining it now is Johnnie Walker Black Ruby, priced at around $45 per bottle. Officially released in March of 2025, it's intended as a slightly upmarket, yet eminently accessible expression. The brand's master blender, Dr. Emma Walker, describes it as a sweeter blend with red berry notes. This flavor profile, along with sleek packaging, suggests it will be aimed at nightlife crowds that might otherwise be looking for vodka or tequila while ordering bottle service. Even on the ultra-premium end of the divide, Dr. Walker has signaled a willingness to meet modern drinkers where they are. Her first limited edition of Johnnie Walker Blue Label, Ice Chalet, came out last October and was an immediate hit with Gen Z and Millennial demographics. It's a lighter, more refreshing variant of the beloved top shelf staple, and yet its core DNA--robust depth and gentle smoke--remains discernible. In other words, it can win over newcomers without alienating the loyal legions. And when it comes to sustaining the ultra-high net worth consumers, Johnnie Walker seems better positioned in 2025 than ever before. It just launched its own bespoke Vault program earlier in the year, where deep pocketed fans of the whisky can travel directly to Scotland and pay upwards of £50,000 to develop their own bottling in conjunction with Dr. Walker, herself. Additionally, parent company Diageo launched a dedicated luxury division late last year. And so, for the world's top-selling brand of scotch, at least, the current state of the industry should hardly be characterized as a crisis. The full 36-page report of 2025 Brand Champions can be found here. LONDON, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 29: A general view of the atmosphere at the launch of the Johnnie Walker ... More Blue Label Ice Chalet at Selfridges on October 29, 2024 in London, England. (Photo byfor Johnnie Walker Blue Label)
ABC News
6 days ago
- Health
- ABC News
Ninth bottle shop proposed for Swan Hill as councils lose veto power
Victorian councils want to retain their power of veto over new liquor outlets in country towns, amid fierce debate about the links between family violence and access to alcohol. In Swan Hill, a northern Victorian town ranked fifth in the state for family violence, mother and foster carer Bec Wolfe-Charles is among those objecting to a proposed new bottle shop. She wants more play spaces in her neighbourhood where she can spend time with her daughter, Eloise, rather than another liquor store in a town that already has eight. But she worries the decision to approve the bottle shop is being taken out of local hands. From July 1, Liquor Control Victoria will take responsibility for liquor licence decisions, stripping local councils of the right to refuse planning permits. Swan Hill's local government area has a population of 21,000. The I Can Smell A Dead Duck company has applied for planning permission to open a ninth liquor outlet in the town, a bottle shop in a former furniture store. A spokesperson for the Department of Justice and Community Safety said there was no cap on the number of liquor licences allowed in one town and that Swan Hill residents will still have the opportunity to object to the application when Liquor Control Victoria puts it on public notice. Swan Hill Rural City Council Mayor Stuart King said councils should have more, rather than less, control over new liquor store applications and is concerned that city-based bureaucrats will not properly understand what the town needs. The owners of I Can Smell A Dead Duck have been contacted for comment. Women's Health Loddon Mallee chief executive officer Kellie Dunn said communities like Swan Hill were right to push back. "If they are voicing that it is not right for them and that they feel that there is a saturation [of alcohol outlets], the government really needs to listen to them as part of the planning process," Ms Dunn said. An independent review into a Dan Murphy's store in Darwin in 2021 heard that the chain liquor store's operator, Endeavour Group, disputed the link between new bottle shops and more violence. But public health researchers say the link is clear. Data from the addiction treatment centre Turning Point showed that since 2018, paramedics had been called to about two alcohol-related incidents per week in Swan Hill, and alcohol was the most common drug found in intimate partner violence. "The more alcohol that is around a community, or the higher the availability, the more domestic violence and other harms occur in that community," strategic lead Rowan Ogeil said. Dr Ogeil said victim-survivors from socio-economic disadvantaged areas like Swan Hill were three-and-a-half times more likely to have an ambulance respond to interpersonal violence involving alcohol or drugs. In 2015, the Royal Commission into Family Violence recommended that liquor licensing rules consider the role of alcohol in family violence. In a statement, a spokesperson for the Department of Community Justice and Safety said Liquor Control Victoria already considered social harms. If you need help immediately call emergency services on triple-0 A fortnight out from the change, the head of the Municipal Association of Victoria said there was no clarity on how "this major impact" would affect local government. "We will no longer be the people that determine whether the planning application is appropriate or not," MAV president Jennifer Anderson said. "A lot of councils may not be aware of the legislation. "But certainly, for those that are aware, like Swan Hill for example, it is a great concern because certain areas are known to have problems with alcohol, and so there may be areas where they have the knowledge to know this [application] is not appropriate." Cr Anderson said the MAV and its member councils had little knowledge of the new process under Liquor Control Victoria and the Department of Planning, other than that local councils could make a submission to Liquor Control Victoria if they wanted to. The Department of Planning has not provided a formal response to the ABC's queries. Additionally, liquor store applications that have a floor space of at least 750 square metres trigger a community impact assessment, the spokesperson said. The assessment measures the application against the area's social harms, such as the family violence rate, or the proximity to schools. At 628sqm, the proposed Swan Hill bottle shop does not need a formal harm assessment to be done. The harm assessment process was tested last year when the Victorian Liquor Commission backed Hepburn Shire Council's decision to deny an application by Endeavour Group to place a Dan Murphy's bottle shop near a school. Endeavour Group is contesting the decision at the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal. Swan Hill independent bottle shop owner John Charleson said the assessment criteria did not work if a town comprises one main street because a 500-metre radius was applied. "So, the square metreage of a circle basically, a 500-metre radius in our town, really should be put into context and be taken in a long rectangular view."
CBC
14-06-2025
- Business
- CBC
Inuvik liquor store to open on Sundays for the summer
That's not very common in the North, where most territorial liquor stores are closed on Sundays. The owner says it's to better serve tourists and out-of-towners. The CBC's Dez Loreen has more.
Bloomberg
12-06-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
China Forced to Keep Unprofitable Firms Alive to Save Jobs and Avoid Unrest
On the factory floor of a 69-year-old liquor plant in northwestern China, a dozen workers toil away sticking labels by hand on bottles of a fiery liquor known as baijiu, the nation's most popular spirit. The inefficiency on display at Shaanxi Qinyang Changsheng Brewing Co. — a firm that hasn't turned a profit since 2020 — might seem like an anomaly in a country where robots are replacing manual labor. But it's a scene replicated across the nation, as company owners and local officials go to great lengths to protect jobs and keep struggling firms alive.
CBC
10-06-2025
- Business
- CBC
Alberta lifts ban on American liquor imports — but local demand for U.S. booze isn't the same
Social Sharing The Alberta government has lifted its ban on American liquor imports, but that doesn't necessarily mean there will be more U.S. booze landing on shelves anytime soon. Following the province's lifting of a three-month ban on American liquor imports, provincial alcohol regulator Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis (AGLC) announced on June 6 that it will once again accept liquor products from the United States. WATCH | Will consumers go back to American booze? Alberta gives U.S. liquor imports another shot, but will consumers imbibe? 15 hours ago Duration 1:51 But with a 25 per cent tariff on all American alcohol imports, the buy-local sentiment by Canadian consumers may not be going away anytime soon. Andrew Ferguson, owner of Kensington Wine Market, said that after over two decades in the liquor business, he hasn't seen anything like the consumer backlash stemming from the Canada-U.S. trade war. "If people aren't buying American products like they were before, they're not going to buy them at a premium," he said on price mark-ups due to tariffs. He said that his store's American liquor sales, which prior to the trade war accounted for around 10 per cent of business, have plummeted. With that in mind, Ferguson's not eager to make any major purchases from down south. "When there's no certainty for us in terms of what our cost is going to be, whether people are even going to want it, it's difficult to make a decision, so you don't," he said. "If people aren't buying them, we're not gonna restock them." He called the lifting of the import ban "a non-decision in some ways," as even with the ban lifted, the 25 per cent tariff on U.S. alcohol imports is unlikely to motivate local importers to purchase American liquor. "Margins in the liquor industry aren't huge for either the importers or the retailers," said Ferguson. "Maybe if you're Jack Daniel's, you can afford to eat that tariff cost and you're going to want to probably have your products in stock for Stampede," he said. "But for a lot of the small and medium-sized players, it's going to be too much of a burden to eat that, so they'll just wait until this passes over." Matt Stortz, general manager of Cork Fine Wine, Liquor & Ale in Calgary, said he doesn't expect the lifting of the import ban to have a significant impact on retail operations at his store. He said that while demand for American liquor has noticeably dropped, U.S. products have remained on his shelves. "We did pause buying American products for a couple weeks, but in general, we carry the products that our customers love from the people that we know that make good quality things," Stortz said. He said uncertainty remains around what retail pricing of American liquor will look like with tariffs, but pointed to a recent markup on Alberta wine prices as a more immediate issue for him. Significant drop in U.S. liquor imports Amid bans and restrictions implemented by other provinces, American liquor imports into Canada have taken a noticeable hit. Canada, which according to the American Association of Wine Economists was the largest export market for American wine last year, has seen a 93 per cent drop in wine imports from the States. Last November, U.S. wine exports to Canada were valued at $54 million. This April, they plummeted to $2.7 million. U.S. liquor imports are down across the board in Canada — malt and beer imports have dropped 50 per cent since last April, while distilled liquors are down 56 per cent, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau. Yvonne Martinez, president of the Alberta Liquor Store Association, said the decline could largely be attributed to other provinces such as Ontario and B.C., but that the buy-local sentiment in Alberta has certainly had an impact. "Here in Alberta, we definitely see people moving towards Canadian products … or made anywhere else but the United States," she said. She said that "from the perspective of the liquor industry," the province's decision to lift the ban "was a good move." But while stores with customers looking for American products may benefit, the buy-local movement across the province and country remains dominant — though it's unclear how long that will last, Martinez said. "Whether that will change now that the premier made her announcement, and depending on what happens with the United States and Canada and their trade talks, I can see them changing their mind and maybe giving [American products] another look," she said. Province encourages shopping local While AGLC is now permitted to accept American liquor imports, the province is still promoting the buy-local sentiment, said Service Alberta and Red Tape Reduction Minister Dale Nally in a statement. "As always, we encourage Albertans to continue supporting local producers, even as more U.S. options return to store shelves," the minister said. He said the decision to lift the import ban "sets the stage for more constructive negotiations ahead of a Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement renewal, potentially leading to increased trade opportunities and economic growth for Alberta." He also pointed to Prime Minister Mark Carney's efforts to reset the U.S. trade relationship, as well as Alberta's unique privatized liquor marke t, as being factors behind the decision. "We are focused on highlighting Alberta's role as a responsible and collaborative trading partner and will continue working alongside other provinces to advocate for a tariff free relationship," he said.
