It's the May Day Bank Holiday here in the UK this coming Monday (6 May). So, we'll be spending the day watching the garden get a thorough drenching for the day, rather than mining the drinks world for news.

We're back on Tuesday.

Up the workers!

Did anyone else find it curious yesterday to see volumes of Maker's Mark soar in Beam Inc's first quarter? After all, a 44% leap in quarterly volumes year-on-year positively jumped off the page.

My eyebrows rose even higher when Beam CEO Matt Shattock conceded that the brands performance in the three months to the end of March was related to the company's announcement – and then the subsequent climbdown – that it was reducing the Bourbon's abv.

Maybe, if Beam makes this move every quarter – perhaps with a different brand each time – it would prevent the “cycling tough comps” line from having to be resorted to.

Click play, below, to see how one craft brewer is taking on the "mass corporate machine", courtesy of The Motley Fool.

Well, Pernod Ricard, I must say I am a mite disappointed in you.

Just over four years ago, Pernod's Chivas Brothers Scotch and premium gin unit put on the party to end all parties to back the launch of Beefeater 24. The addition of a permanent extension to Beefeater's portfolio warranted a fleet of Mercedes to collect us from the nearest train station, the hire of the home of the Duke of Northumberland, Syon Park, and the recruitment of the circus troupe and vaudeville act Lost Vagueness to provide entertainment at literally every corner.

The announcement - if you want to call it that - of the latest Beefeater extension today, however, didn't quite match up.

All we got to herald the launch of Beefeater Burrough's Reserve on this miserable Monday was a press release and a photo. No swanky cars, no posh pile in the country... Dammit, not even any fire-eating beefeaters.

And, as many of you know, my opinion has always been: No fire-eating beefeaters; no comment.

Last week, BBC Radio 4 broadcast a panel discussion on the current state of the wine industry in the UK. It makes for pretty interesting listening.

My favourite quote: "Wine is a complicated, difficult business with a relatively low level of proven profitability."

That's the spirit!

Click here to listen to the 30-minute programme.

Every January on just-drinks, our wine commentator, Chris Losh, delivers his predictions for the coming year.

This year, Chris had a lot of fun suggesting that Gangnam Style will take over the wine industry, with wine regions the world over expected to ride the wave of the dance craze.

Hats off, then, to John Jordan, the owner of Jordan Winery in Sonoma County, California, for being the first - that we know of.

We all like a laugh at someone else's expense, don't we? Witness, for example, the gleeful coverage today and yesterday of a whisky spill at Pernod Ricard's Chivas Brothers bottling operations up in Scotland.

When we spoke to the folk at Chivas this morning, they played down the volumes being quoted, but conceded that “a significant amount” of Scotch went down the plughole at its Dumbarton bottling facility on Tuesday evening.

More seriously, the unit was at pains to point out that none of the whisky hit any rivers in the area. “We have informed Scottish Water and other relevant authorities,” Chivas said.

You wouldn't catch me being so wasteful. I have a rule that I must sup the melted ice from my whisky glass the morning after.

What?

Last year, just-drinks published four management briefings that detailed the role of environmental sustainability in the drinks industry.

(Click here for the briefing that covers the beer category, here for soft drinks & water, here for spirits and here for wine.)

This year, we're going to run updated reports on the four sectors, and we need your help.

If you would like your company's efforts in this area detailed in the briefings, please drop me a line as soon as possible, at news@just-drinks.com. I'll put you in touch with the reports' author, Ben Cooper.

Last year, Brown-Forman launched an advertising push for its Southern Comfort liqueur brand. The TV ad, which comprises little more than a curious-looking fellow walking on a beach, has proven quite popular with consumers.

So much so, that Brown-Forman has extended the campaign, to include a website showing our hero “doing his thing” in all types of weather.

Take a look at these examples.

There are 76 different scenarios where these came from. This should kill an afternoon.

Hearty thanks to the team at the Bushmills distillery in Ireland for their Christmas e-card, which included the link to this, below.

I've tried counting how many times the phrase "I'm not doing that" was uttered throughout the making of this video.

Any advance on 46?