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…
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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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…
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Scotch export data highlights headaches for distillers
This time six years ago, Scotch whisky was in a pretty good spot. Export shipments in 2019 had ticked up…
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Irish whiskey soured in 2025 but distillers can prosper
The 1988 acquisition of Irish Distillers Ltd (IDL) by Pernod Ricard is the great drinks industry acquisition that almost never…
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Diageo and baijiu: the curious story that might be set to end
It’s hard to escape an eerie feeling of déja-vu as we navigate the early weeks of 2026: geopolitical uncertainty; the…
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Distilling giants point way for aged spirits in 2026
As we all contemplate what kind of year 2026 will be for spirits – after tariffs, conflict and macroeconomic gloom…
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Why the spirits industry shouldn’t be too downbeat as we approach 2026
The issue at the heart of the challenging past few years for beverage alcohol is this: are we experiencing a…
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Roseisle, InchDairnie add to Scotch anxiety – but don’t despair
In September 2010, things were looking up for Scotch. After weathering the impact of the financial crash of 2008-9, the…
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Why Sir Dave Lewis can be Diageo’s ‘Big Sam’
In the wake of the crisis that engulfed the BBC over the splicing of Donald Trump’s speech on the broadcaster’s…
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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…