Former Suntory Australia Managing Director Ian Atherton has been announced as the new Chief Executive Officer of Spirits Platform. Atherton officially joined the company on January 1 after a three month break, having finished with Suntory in September 2015, following its global acquisition of Beam Inc and the local merger of the two companies. Spirits Platform … Continued
Two Queensland bartenders have taken out the spring and summer rounds of Diageo’s World Class Drinking Steeped & Spritzed competition. World Class Drinking competitions are run with Diageo on-premise customers and the winners this year were Adam Bastow from Black Coffee Lyrics on the Gold Coast and Tristan Green from Canvas Bar in Brisbane. The … Continued
On Carnival Sunday 7 February, twelve of the world’s finest bartenders will compete for a grand prize of US$10,000 and the prestigious title of Angostura Global Brand Ambassador in the 8th edition of the Angostura Global Cocktail Challenge. Each finalist has survived the fierce rivalry of the early rounds of the challenge, in which 287 participants, drawn from 900 … Continued
A new Japanese whisky will land on Australian shores this coming February when Suntory Whisky releases the latest Yamazaki Sherry Cask. The 2016 expression is of limited quantity and only 246 bottles are set to be allocated to specialist whisky retailers and bars in this market. The whisky has been created by Chief Blender and Great Grandson of Suntory founder Shinjiro … Continued
Brown-Forman announced overnight that it has agreed to sell brands Southern Comfort and Tuaca to Sazerac. Both brands will sell for US$543.5 million once approved by American regulatory bodies. While both companies are yet to announce the new distributor for the brands in Australia, there is speculation that the brands will be transferred to SouthTrade International, … Continued
Bartenders and bar owners from the top 50 bars globally have named their favourite spirit brands in a recent report run by Drinks International. The drinks magazine asked participating bars from Australasia, Asia, Europe, North America, Latin America, Africa and the Middle East to state which brands they love the most and simply couldn’t be without in the … Continued
Famous for its production of Tasmanian whisky, Sullivans Cove is now also producing gin on the island. The making of the new gin has been under wraps at the distillery for the last year, but now Hobart No. 4 comes to trade as Australia’s newest brand of gin. What makes this gin so interesting, is that … Continued
St Agnes Distillery has said that it is considering export markets in a serious way for the first time. The distillery, which produces Australia’s number one selling brandy, told drinks bulletin that it is currently looking at South East Asia, China and the UK as primary international markets to export to. In preparation and timed … Continued
Patrón has released a blend of its oldest and rarest tequilas in a handmade, limited edition Lalique crystal decanter. Only 500 of these decanters, named Patrón en Lalique: Serie 1, have been created in the world and just one will be available in Australia, valued at US$7,500. Inspired by Mexico’s indigenous Weber Blue Agave plant, … Continued
Producer of Starward whisky, New World Whisky Distillery, has received $10 million to expand production at its Melbourne site from a number of local and international investors, including Diageo. Diageo decided to invest in the distillery earlier this year through its Distill Ventures scheme; a scheme that supports the development of new spirits brands. As a result, … Continued