Bar Llama comes to Madrid

21 December, 2023

Natasha Bermúdez, bar director of New York’s Llama group, has launched a new venue in Madrid, Bar Llama.

Distillers are calling for the permanent removal of EU imposed “debilitating tariffs” on American whiskey, which are scheduled to be reimposed and doubled to 50% on 1 January 2024.

Buffalo Trace Distillery, distiller of brands including Buffalo Trace Bourbon and Sazerac Rye, has announced the forthcoming opening of Buffalo Trace Distillery London, an American whiskey experience in Covent Garden.

For the fourth year in a row, Buffalo Trace owner, Sazerac Company, has been named American Whiskey Producer of the Year by Drinks International’s International Spirits Challenge (ISC).

The Savoy’s American Bar has announced a brand-new cocktail menu created by head bartender, Chelsie Bailey and her team. 

A new report by the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States (DISCUS) has revealed that total US spirits exports reached a record $2.06bn in 2022, buoyed by the temporary halt to retaliatory tariffs, with American whiskey exports to the UK remaining lower than pre-tariff levels.

There’s a return to the top spot after a three-year hiatus, but the brands remain largely unchanged from last year.

Diageo has announced the acquisition of Balcones Distilling (‘Balcones’), a Texas craft distiller and one of the leading producers of American single malt whisky in the United States. 

Drinks International sat down with the acting bar manager of the American Bar at The Savoy, Andrea Di Chiara, to talk about the closure, reopening and a new dawn at the UK’s oldest surviving cocktail bar.

Gǒng at Shangri-La The Shard, London, has partnered with Diplomático Rum and Canaïma Gin this summer, two sustainable, smallbatch Latin American spirits brands.

Building Whiskey Bridges

28 June, 2022

Trade disputes resulting in crippling tariffs have been lifted after four years, but will America and its export countries find a permanent peace?

Pernod Ricard UK has expanded its American whiskey portfolio with Rabbit Hole making the UK the first European market to launch the brand.

Diageo’s Bulleit just about retained its position as the bestselling American whiskey in the World’s Best Bars.

Tiempo Tequila has debuted its first limited-edition batch of Reposado Cristalino Tequila in the UK.

The American Bar at The Savoy in London will reopen for business on October 4.

The Savoy has appointed Shannon Tebay as head bartender of the American Bar and senior mixologist at the hotel.

The European Union has announced that it will temporarily suspend its tariff increase on American whiskey in an effort to reboot transatlantic relations.

Don Papa has celebrated the close ties between the Philippines and the United States by launching a rum aged for four years in American rye casks.  

American whiskey exports to EU have decreased by a third since the bloc imposed a 25% retaliatory tariff in June 2018.

Diageo’s Bulleit holds both top spots for the third year running. Shay Waterworth reports

Three Amigos

26 March, 2014

Some new faces have appeared on the Jalisco horizon but is Tequila Town big enough for all of them? Hamish Smith takes a wander over yonder

Jack Daniel's has crowned the UK champion of its Tennessee-based Birthday Cocktail Competition 2011.

Constellation Brands has named Jay Wright, currently president of its North American division, as its new chief operating officer (COO), effective immediately. In his new role, Wright will oversee marketing, sales and operations across the company. This is the first time Constellation Brands has appointed such a role and a statement from the company said “the creation of the COO role is the latest step in the company's evolution to further refine and streamline its organisation”.

Entrants aiming to crack the US market need to take a bold approach, according to a wine importer.

Wines Of South Africa’s (WOSA) first Sommelier World Cup has been won by an American.

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