For every news story in our industry that comes out of left-field and surprises us all – who thought Carlsberg and Heineken would carve up Scottish & Newcastle, or that Pernod Ricard would trump everyone for Absolut – there are just as many that you can rely on, like an old friend. You know, the type that comes around with such regularity that you're surprised it ever went away.

A few years ago, rumours of a tie-up between Anheuser-Busch and InBev cropped up like clockwork. Last week, the spectre of a move by Diageo for the rest of Moet Hennessy appeared. Again. And, when Pernod Ricard boasted last week of strong Martell sales in Asia during its first quarter, many observers thought the rumours this time around had a bit more substance. After all, there can be little doubt that Diageo would like a share of Asia's Cognac pie, and not just through its 34% stake in the owner of the Hennessy Cognac brand.

Finally, the announcement today that LVMH has acquired a 17% stake in fashion label Hermes over the weekend, has resulted in some placing their bets.

As for us? Well, we're going to be holding on to our chips for a little while longer.

While the rest of the editorial team was struggling under the weight of last week's news, I was working just as hard, thank you very much, in Cannes at this year's TFWA World Exhibition. I can understand why the rest of just-drinks was suspicious of my claim that I'd been very busy – the sunset looks particularly arduous - so, to placate them, I handed out some of the freebies I'd received during the week. They weren't accepted in the manner they'd been given, though.

My thanks go to William Grant & Son, but would anyone like a sextant?

Until next time...

Olly Wehring
Managing Editor
Web: http://www.just-drinks.com
Email: editor@just-drinks.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/just_drinks