Pricing shows new pragmatism as reality dawns for Scotch whisky
Scotch whisky reporters (me among them) had a busy time of it in early October 2017. Within 24 hours, the…
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.
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Grape payments deal underlines headaches facing Champagne industry
Should we be worried about Champagne? At a time when the wine industry is suffering its worst structural decline in…
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The logic in Henkell Freixenet’s interest in Pommery – and why it could presage more wine M&A
Here we go again. A month or so after Pernod Ricard and Brown-Forman terminated discussions over their mooted “merger of…
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Rémy’s new Bruichladdich cocktails highlight changing nature of RTDs
In the global scheme of things, it might not appear to be the most consequential drinks product launch of 2026.…
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American whiskey is witnessing a sorry saga but we’ve been here before
It’s called – in not terribly elegant language – a semiquincentennial. On 4 July, the United States of America will…
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Why spirits slowdown could prompt majors to diversify
At first glance, the takeover of Daiichi Sankyo Healthcare by Suntory Holdings earlier this month appears to be of only…
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Green shoots? It’s still too early to call recovery in spirits
April in the Northern Hemisphere is a month of promise: longer days, flowers in bloom, warmth. In my neck of…
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Waterford Whisky saga underlines changing times in Irish whiskey
It’s taken close to 18 months, but a buyer has finally been found for Ireland’s Waterford Whisky, which went into…
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Spirits’ struggles mean more cautious majors – and harder task for startups
Well, that didn’t take long. Just a couple of weeks after Diageo CEO Sir Dave Lewis bemoaned the company’s underrepresentation…
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Sir Dave Lewis takes Diageo on first step of “turnaround journey”
“It’s been pretty intense.” Seven weeks into his tenure as Diageo CEO, Sir Dave Lewis has been left in little…