FROM THE BARLIST JOURNAL
Discovery and Education
For decades, spirits brands were protected by something stronger than shelf space. Private label spirits are beginning to test one of the drinks industry’s strongest assumptions: that recognised brands will always hold the consumer’s trust on the supermarket shelf. A recognised label carried trust, memory, status, and a promise that the liquid inside had been […]
July 3, 2026
Trending
For years, the global spirits industry spoke the language of expansion. New markets were opening, premium bottles were moving into wider circulation, cocktail culture was travelling, and international groups could often rely on growth in one region to compensate for weakness in another. That confidence has become harder to sustain. Global beverage alcohol volumes fell […]
June 29, 2026
Trending
International Cognac Day is observed each year on June 4, but the spirit it recognizes belongs to a much longer calendar. Cognac is shaped by harvests, distillation seasons, oak maturation, and a legal framework that has turned a regional wine distillate into one of France’s most carefully protected spirits. Its identity begins in the Charente, […]
June 4, 2026
Cocktails
The first months of 2026 have not produced a single defining new cocktail in the traditional sense. Instead, what is emerging is quieter but more revealing. New cocktails in 2026 are appearing through repositioning rather than invention. Existing formats are placed into new settings, familiar structures are adjusted, and ingredients are introduced in ways that […]
May 28, 2026
Features & Updates
Early 2026 did not produce one dominant style Award Winners 2026: Awards rarely define a category on their own, but they often reveal how it is being judged. In the first months of 2026, results across major competitions showed a consistent pattern. The leading distilleries and spirits were not unified by a single flavour profile […]
May 26, 2026
Spirits
On Islay, peat is often the first thing noticed. At Bowmore, it is rarely the only thing that matters. When Bowmore 21 Year Old Sherry Oak Cask was named World’s Best Single Malt at the World Whiskies Awards 2026, alongside Best Scotch Islay Single Malt, the result did not come from intensity alone. It came […]
May 25, 2026
Community and Lifestyle
National Beer Day 2026 in the United States is observed each year on April 7, marking the date in 1933 when beer became legal again after more than a decade of Prohibition. The turning point was the Cullen–Harrison Act, signed by Franklin D. Roosevelt, which permitted the production and sale of beer with an alcohol […]
April 7, 2026
Cocktails
From 23 to 27 November 2025, the city of Cartagena, Colombia, will become the centre of global cocktail culture. The Caribbean port will host the 72nd World Cocktail Championship, organised by the International Bartenders Association. For spirit lovers, this gathering is far more than a professional contest. The event creates a moment where the evolution of […]
November 19, 2025
People & Innovation
Every so often, a story emerges that transforms not just a brand but an entire industry. Casamigos Tequila began not as a business venture but as a friendship built on shared taste and quiet appreciation for craft. In a market dominated by heritage producers, Casamigos showed that authenticity and sincerity could build one of the […]
November 12, 2025
