Whitebox Cocktails’ Classic Cocktail SElection Box includes one each of six of their best-selling single-serve RTDs, satisfying consumer desires for convenience and variety. Photo courtesy of Whitebox Cocktails. In 2023, British distillers were hit with an unholy array of challenges: high inflation, a 10% increase in alcohol duty, an increase in the main rate of corporation tax from 19 to 25%, high energy prices, and significant increases in the cost of goods. In addition to higher prices, the availability and lead-times of goods have also worsened. “Despite the UK leaving the EU three years a ..read more

The interior of a Systembolaget, the government-owned Swedish liquor monopoly. Courtesy photograph. The European craft spirits market is in full swing. Currently valued at $3.3 billion, the industry is forecast to grow at a CAGR of 12.66% over the next four years, reaching $6.17 billion by 2028. Despite such a dynamic and vibrant landscape, however, distillers have been grappling with significant challenges over the past 12 months. These involve inflation and rising energy costs, as well as heightened expectations from regulators and society to elevate their commitment to sustainability. Accor ..read more

A happy tasting room at Okanagan Spirits Craft Distillery. Courtesy photograph. As we enter 2024, Canadian distillers are holding their breath. Will the recession that began in 2023 continue — or will it turn around? How will that impact Canada’s craft distilling industry? The harsh consensus so far seems to be rising supply costs, reduced margins, distribution hurdles, and industry burnout are all taking their toll on distillers. But is it all doom and gloom? Distillers Grapple with a Recession and Regulatory Restrictions In 2022, the Bank of Canada began a series of steep interest rate incre ..read more

2023 was the first full year of business as usual after the pandemic. Whew. We can almost hear the collective sigh of relief. But with the unique challenges of the pandemic behind us, we’ve been reminded that the industry’s day-to-day concerns never really went away. Craft distilling is a tough business. The days when new distillers could count on built-in local support and products that “sell themselves” are long gone (if they ever really existed). Instead, craft distillers today are grappling with increased competition, fewer opportunities for distribution, ascendant neo-Prohibitionism, and ..read more

Clay Berkes of Power House Clay Berkes epitomizes Oklahoma’s laid-back, welcoming brand of hospitality. Berkes was born and raised in southern Oklahoma between Love County and Lawton/Fort Sill. At age 16, he got his first taste of the hospitality industry. But it was while attending Oklahoma University working at Pearl’s Oyster Bar in Oklahoma City that he got hit with the bartending bug. There, he connected with Jonny Raglin, one of his oldest and dearest friends, a pioneering barman in San Francisco for over 20 years, and an Oklahoma native who oversees The Absinthe Group bars and opened acc ..read more

Malting day at Highland Park Distillery, Orkney, means more than just the scent of toasting grain in the air. There’s a smoky edge from peat burning in the kiln, which is a local fuel here that you’ll taste in the whisky. It’s a throwback to when grain was malted and dried for distilling in Scotland and Ireland using peat as the heat source, not wood, gas, oil, or electricity. On the blustery winter day I visited Highland Park, someone was out cutting peat on Hobbistor Moor for the distillery. Slowly laid down over hundreds of years and matured over thousands, peat is a dense fibrous soil form ..read more

While yeast are a fungus, they are surprisingly close genetically to animals (including humans). Just like us, yeast need a vast variety of energy and nutrient sources to survive and grow. They thrive on oxygen and release carbon dioxide. While there are thousands of types of yeast and hundreds of subtypes of saccharomyces (with many more yet to be discovered), the one used most for alcohol production is Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Saccharomyces is Latin for sugar fungus. Cerevisiae is Latin for beer and is the origin for the Spanish word cerveza. There are many different strains of Saccharomyce ..read more

If you are the founder and owner of your distillery, you have probably referred to it on occasion as your “baby” — and you may have actually lost as much sleep growing your business as you would raising an actual child. This financial and emotional investment you’ve made as a small business owner can make the prospect of selling extremely difficult and very personal. However, selling doesn’t need to come with the connotation of “selling out.” In fact, craft distillery sales are often celebrated, and a few have even made headlines over the years, including the 2016 sale of High West Distillery ..read more

Looking for a new flavor? Need a little help making your next choice at your local bar or bottle shop? Dining and drinks writer and judge Virginia Miller combs through new craft spirits releases to taste, review, and recommend. Here are her top 12 picks of the month, rated on a scale of one to five. My bottle review column (last month’s edition here) is about what is unique, standout, new and/or trending in spirits with my review ratings on a 1-5 rating scale. My 10 bottle reviews of the month: BRANDY Blacklisted brandy Blacklisted Brandy www.blacklistedbrandy.com Blacklisted Brandy is an exci ..read more

Jeffrey Alan Coe of WanderFolk Distillery Photo by ashleyesser@gokrush.com. Jeffrey Cole, distiller and director of spirits at WanderFolk Spirits, is a fifth-generation Oklahoman with a passion to grow his home state’s prominence in the spirits industry, where historically it has been low in sales and consumption. A 16-year career in  craft spirits, wine, and cocktails/bars led him to WanderFolk, which houses three brands. Cole has opened more than a dozen Oklahoma bars. That background, plus sommelier training, informs his palate, industry relationships, and ability to communicate to cus ..read more