just-drinks authors and correspondents

Columns by Neil Ridley

Comment - Spirits (Brown) - Last Orders with Neil Ridley

Brown spirits aficionado Neil Ridley casts his eye over the latest goings-on in whisk(e)y, Cognac, dark rum et al.

Articles by Neil Ridley

How to avoid a legal row over your brand name - Comment 24 April 2018

What's in a brand name? A lot more than we would expect, according to spirits commentator Neil Ridley. And, he speaks from experience.

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What's the best way to market spirits brands to female consumers? - Comment 20 March 2018

Is gender becoming an all-consuming issue in whisky? just-drinks' brown spirits commentator, Neil Ridley, certainly hopes not.

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For which awards should you put your spirits brand forward? - Comment 22 February 2018

This month, spirits commentator Neil Ridley ponders whether there are too many spirits category awards these days, and what it actually means to win one.

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What's coming up in spirits in 2018? - Predictions for the Year Ahead - Comment 18 January 2018

This month, we've charged our category commentators with predicting the year ahead for their respective sectors. Here, Neil Ridley tells us how he sees 2018 panning out for the global brown spirits category.

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How Scotch whisky can flash its innovation credentials - Comment 29 November 2017

The Scotch whisky sector has long had an awkward relationship with the research & development department. Category commentator Neil Ridley, however, believes the two sides have plenty in common - and much more than we'd realise.

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Why the past isn't all it's cracked up to be, for younger consumers - Comment 31 October 2017

Nostalgia is a gloriously strange beast at the best of times. When it comes to marketing, however, brand owners would do well to consider the consumer's complicated relationship with the past. Spirits commentator Neil Ridley investigates.