New government regulations have been introduced in the UK from August 1 which will see alcoholic beverages now taxed on strength.

Islay distillery, Bruichladdich, has redesigned its signature The Classic Laddie, removing the secondary tin and significantly reducing glass weight to reduce packaging CO2 emissions by 65%.

Belvedere has released its Belvedere 10, crafted from the single harvest of one rye field.

Gin may have fallen out of favour in the UK, but its prospects are much brighter in travel retail.

Havana Club is reducing the weight of glass bottles across its core portfolio in a move that it estimates will save 2.2K tons of CO2 per year.

G’Vine gin, the French gin made with grapes, has announced Fred Sirieix as their first ever UK ambassador.

Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng has announced that planned increases in alcohol duty have been ditched in his mini-budget.

Streaming platform The Avenue has launched the online cocktail competition Battle of the Bottle taking place this October and with a top prize of $10,000.

Ferrari Trento has announced it will be the official toast of Formula 1 until the end of the 2025 season, extending its partnership from three years to five.

Premium vodka brand, Vodka 4 Peace, has launched in the UK pledging to donate 100% of profits until 2026 and £5 per bottle to NGOs in Ukraine.

Puerto Rican rum producer, Distillería Serrallés has launched its portfolio of aged Don Q Rums in the UK and European markets.

Absolut Vodka has announced a new bottle, the brand’s biggest design update since 1979.

Crystal Head Vodka has launched a magnum bottle to celebrate Pride festival and support its relationship with Kaleidoscope Trust.

A bottle of 1821 Grand Constance sold for a record-breaking R420,000 (£21,222) at the Cape Fine & Rare Wine Auction in Stellenbosch.

A bottle of Pétrus 2000, which has spent 14 months aboard the International Space Station, is to be offered for sale by Christie’s.

The Famous Grouse has launched a limited-edition label to celebrate the brand’s role as the official sponsor of The British & Irish Lions.

Aviation American Gin has launched a limited-edition Wrexham AFC bottle to celebrate the takeover of the National League club by Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney.

Turkey has increased its special consumption tax on alcoholic beverages by 17.1%, according to Istanbul daily Habertürk.

Bacardi has unveiled plans to put the world’s first 100% degradable spirits bottles on shelves and back bars by 2023.

Piper-Heidsieck has launched a limited-edition bottle and gift box to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Prohibition in the US.

Spanish producer Chivite has launched a barrel-fermented rosé made from Garnacha grapes sourced from the Legardeta estate in northern Navarra.

Borco has invested in a redesign for its Finsbury gin range and launched a Wild Strawberry variant to attract new consumers.

Jägermeister has launched a limited-edition #SaveTheNight bottle designed to support the bar trade in various key markets around the world.

Scotch whisky producer Jura has kicked off a new series of cask editions by releasing a whisky finished in red wine barriques.

Pernod Ricard launched Absolut Exposure last night at an event at TFWA Cannes.

Chivas Brothers has unveiled a 1.5 litre magnum of its flagshiop blended scotch whisky, Chivas Regal, aimed specifically at elite bars.

The Edrington Group has broken the world record for the largest bottle of whisky with the unveiling of a 228-litre bottle of The Famous Grouse.

Beam and Maxxium Travel Retail (MTR) have jointly launched a travel retail-exclusive Jim Beam bourbon at Frankfurt airport.

UK: The Chancellor has added another 41p to a bottle of spirits and 11p to a bottle of wine in the latest Budget.

Pernod Ricard UK is hoping the release of Absolut London in time for the Olympics and the Queen’s diamond jubilee will lift sales of the brand by 10%.

Rémy Cointreau has created a limited edition bottle for its Cointreau orange liqueur brand, especially for Dubai Duty Free.

Following a collaboration with whisky bloggers and journalists, Master of Malt has released St Isidore.

Online spirits retailer Master of Malt has released Rumbullion, an “old-fashioned“ rum under its Professor Cornelius Ampleforth brand.

Inver House Distillers yesterday announced the global release of Balblair vintages 1992 and '01 from the newly-opened visitor centre at the brand's Highland distillery.

Malibu is releasing a limited edition coconut rum with coconut flakes floating inside to look like snowflakes.

Diageo has extended the Smirnoff Nightlife Exchange Project campaign with the release of city and country-themed bottles to selected global markets.

Smirnoff goes for Gold

26 September, 2011

Diageo has launched a cinnamon spiced vodka in travel retail.

Russia: Pernod Ricard has teamed up with DJ Ferry Corsten to launch a limited edition bottle of Olmeca tequila. The product will be exclusive to Russia, where Olmeca holds a 41% market share.

Champagne Jacquesson has announced the launch of two single-vineyard champagnes from 2002 to global markets.

A bottle of 1811 Château d’Yquem has been sold for £75,000, setting a Guinness world record.

A 170-year old bottle of champagne salvaged from a shipwreck in the Baltic Sea has fetched €30,000 at auction.

Chivas Brothers has introduced new packaging across its “core range" of The Glenlivet.

Finlandia vodka, part of Bacardi Brown-Forman Brands, has unveiled a new global packaging design dubbed ‘melting ice’.

Russian Distiller has launched two new ‘bread wines’, Rye Polugar and Rye Malt Polugar.

UK: Constellation Europe’s Banrock Station brand is to launch special edition wines to help preserve the British bee population.

Following a 2009 announcement that it would be moving its non-vintage and vintage cuvées to brown bottles, Roederer has started to roll out Brut Premier in brown bottles.

Diageo has redesigned its Smirnoff 21 packaging. The new bottles have launched in the UK and will roll out across the world from August.

Dutch beer Grolsch has announced a partnership with British Airways and has opened a bar in one of the airline’s lounges in Terminal 5.

Travel retail: Bacardi has launched a limited edition bottling of Bénédictine liqueur.

The South African wine industry has launched a new sustainability seal, as a guarantee of environmentally-sensitive production.

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