All articles by Richard Woodard

Richard Woodard

A trained newspaper journalist with more than 20 years' experience of writing about the wine and spirits categories, Richard has been a regular contributor to Just Drinks since 2006.

Hindsight ripples through Brown-Forman investor day

A key episode of US political drama The West Wing occurs towards the end of series one, when the realities…
Why Pernod has work cut out with Chivas Regal Crystalgold

Innovation in the drinks industry might just be the original double-edged sword. You need to deploy it if you want…
Blends can help kick-start Scotch exports

Against a lacklustre spirits market backdrop, the numbers coming out of India continue to astound. So much has been made…
Why travel retail is more important than ever

I rarely feel many twinges of jealousy about missing out on attending drinks industry trade shows – for all their…
Mild chaos could be the new normal for beverage alcohol – but that might not be all bad

Perhaps the starkest illustration of prevailing trends in the global beverage alcohol arena is offered by the fine wine market…

What Diageo’s full-year results tell us about interim CEO Nik Jhangiani

At the start of June, cricket franchise Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) ended a 17-year wait by winning the IPL trophy…
Dispute on Diageo’s Tequila purity shows growing importance of transparency in spirits

Just over a decade ago, I co-wrote an in-depth report for Just Drinks about the global Tequila market. Well, I…
Don’t be fooled by Crew’s exit: the next Diageo CEO will face the same problems

If things had gone according to plan, by this time two years ago Debra Crew would have been just over…
Why selling Imperial Blue makes sense for Pernod Ricard

Almost a quarter of a century ago, when Diageo and Pernod Ricard divvied up the Seagram drinks empire, most of…
Emerging markets may be enticing but don’t write off gin’s UK prospects

Back in autumn 2018, I was enjoying a tour of Adnams’ Copper House Distillery in Southwold on the UK’s Suffolk…