Handshake Speakeasy has been named the number one venue in the North America's 50 Best Bars list. The top 50 list was revealed during a live ceremony on 23 April at Rosewood San Miguel de Allende in Mexico. Handshake Speakeasy usurped New York's Double Chicken Please from top spot, which fell to number seven this year. In 2023, Handshake Speakeasy was named the runner-up, behind Double Chicken Please. Superbueno, a new entry from New York, came in at number two, while Overstory (New York), Martiny's (New York) and Rayo (Mexico City) rounded out the top five. The annual list comprises bars from ..read more

Martell owner Pernod Ricard saw organic sales drop by 2% in the first nine months of fiscal 2024 due to double-digit declines in the US and China. The French group’s nine-month sales totalled €8.93 billion (US$9.5bn), falling by 6% on a reported basis. Without taking Russia into account, the group’s organic sales dipped by 1%. Pernod Ricard saw organic revenue fall by 3% in the first half of fiscal 2024. For the third quarter (Q3) of fiscal 2024, Pernod Ricard’s organic sales were stable at €2.34bn (US$2.5bn), but rose by 2% excluding Russia. The Americas region reported a 7% drop for both the ..read more

The Rare Spirits Society has produced a YouTube docuseries dedicated to rum and travel, called Uncharted Territories. The new Rare Spirits Society YouTube channel documentary series premiered on 13 April 2024. Co-founded in 2023 by Venezuelans Antonio Lopez de Haro and Luigi Rockets, the channel explores rum from a traveller's perspective by visiting distilleries to find spirit-filled adventures worldwide. In the first episode of the series – Cambodia, Kingdom of Wonder – the society's members explore how culture, heritage and terrain affect the spirit made at Cambodia's first rum distillery ..read more

The Sin Gusano project in Mexico has worked with Kol Mezcaleria to launch a line of six house mezcals and agave distillates for the London bar. Kol Mezcaleria sits below Michelin-starred London restaurant Kol and is led by bar manager Matthias Ingelmann. The six expressions come from San Luis Potosí, Oaxaca, Puebla and Jalisco and aim to highlight artisanal producers and the diversity of agave spirits. Regulations allow only nine states to certify their spirits as mezcal, although 26 of Mexico’s 32 states produce spirits from agave. Sin Gusano refers to its expressions as ‘agave spirits’ to su ..read more

A ‘nostalgic moment’ kick-started the idea for Yao Lu’s boozy spin on a US kids’ cereal, which he serves at his Shanghai watering hole The Union Trading Company. *This feature was originally published in the December 2023 issue of The Spirits Business. A stalwart of the Shanghai cocktail scene, Union Trading Company might have a pedigree that’s seen it place on many of the world’s best bars lists, but that doesn’t stop co-owner Yao Lu and his team from having any fun. “When we make cocktails we don’t take ourselves too seriously,” Lu says. Besides the exceptional drinks, the bar is loved for i ..read more

Rare spirits bottler The Last Drop Distillers has launched its 2024 collection, which features a 55-year-old Scotch whisky. The collection comprises three bottles, release no. 34, 35 and 36, with each having undergone a lengthy maturation period and celebrating ‘a different facet of the fine craft of spirit making’. Release No 34 is a 40-year-old single malt Scotch from Lowland distillery Auchentoshan. The whisky was aged for four decades and only 74 bottles were produced. Last Drop Distillers said it has a ‘surprising sweetness’, and its notes include fruitcake, stewed apples, black cherry an ..read more

Union Commercial Des Vins de France (UCVF) has secured exclusive distributor rights for Fortin Rum in the French market.   The Paraguayan rum, Fortin, has expanded its distribution by partnering with UCVF, a French Archamps-based distributor of exceptional wines and spirits. This collaboration marks a significant milestone in the journey of Fortin, a brand deeply rooted in craftsmanship, tradition and quality. The Fortin distillery uses hand-cut sugarcane, cultivated on-site, to make sugar honey for its rums. Along with the newly founded partnership, Fortin is bringing its trilogy collect ..read more

Bacardi-owned Grey Goose vodka has launched a new expression, Altius, which is filtered at subfreezing temperatures. The vodka is inspired by the French Alps and the high-altitude crystallisation that happens at glacial conditions. The process allegedly yields an extra smooth vodka, made from Alpine spring water and winter wheat from Picardy in northern France. After being blended, the vodka is filtered at a very low pressure of -24ºC, which results in a ‘glacially smooth’ taste and ‘velvety’ mouthfeel. On the palate, it is ‘complex’ with ‘delicate alpine minerality, refreshing soft green appl ..read more

Scotch producer R&B Distillers has gained planning approval to build a distillery in Campbeltown and acquired a majority stake in Caskshare. R&B Distillers, which operates the Isle of Raasay Distillery in Scotland, secured planning permission from Argyll and Bute Council to build its second distillery in Scotland, called Machrihanish Distillery. The new site will be the first farm-to-bottle distillery in the Campbeltown region in more than 180 years. The development will include a visitor experience, shop and tasting room, with construction expected to begin next year. The Machrihanish ..read more

American single malt distillery Stranahan’s in Denver, Colorado, has installed twin 24-foot silos, nearly doubling its grain capacity. As well as increasing production, the new silos will have an environmental impact, reducing transportation emissions, increasing operational efficiency and reducing grain waste. “Our distillery team deserve a lot of credit for their work on this project, which will not only have a positive impact on Stranahan’s carbon footprint, but will also enable us to better meet the growing demand for our American single malt whiskey,” said head blender Justin Aden.  ..read more