Budget 2015: Chancellor cuts duty on cider and spirits by 2% and wine duty frozen

The Chancellor George Osborne has today cut the duty on cider and spirits by 2%, frozen duty on wine and cut beer by a penny a pint for the third year running in his last pre-election Budget.

Distillers City Debate to explore how innovative whisky is compared to other categories

Is the whisky category sufficiently innovative and how does it compare with other drinks categories will be the key issues up for debate at the Distillers City Debate 2015 organised by the Worshipful Company of Distillers.

SWA ramps up call to cut duty as domestic sales of whisky fall

Domestic sales of whisky have fallen nearly 5% in the last year, according to new figures from the Scotch Whisky Association.

Gruppo Campari sees sales up but profits hit by acquisitions and poor exchange rate

Italian drinks group Gruppo Campari saw sales rise 2.4% in 2014 - but group net profit fell 13.9% to €43.2m, following one-off costs involved in recent acquisitions and an unfavourable exchange rate.

Artisan gin producers throw weight behind WSTA campaign

Artisan gin distillers have joined the Wine and Spirit Trade Association's campaign calling for a 2% cut in alcohol duty.

Pernod Ricard's Denis O'Flynn urges senior industry figures to sign up and back WSTA

More senior businesses and figures in the UK wine and spirits industry need to get behind the work of the Wine & Spirit Trade Association to try and protects its future growth, according to Denis O'Flynn, managing director of Pernod Ricard UK, and the trade body's new chairman.

Lords committee calls for reform of EU tax laws

A House of Lords committee has called on the EU to reform the structure of alcohol tax so that variable taxes on wine and cider according to alcoholic strength can be introduced.

Mark Holdsworth, Half Hitch Gin, on breathing new life in to London gin

Camden Lock in north London was once the centre of the capital's gin production. Fifty years after the last distiller moved out, Mark Holdsworth is breathing new life into the area. He talks about craft gin and his plans for Half Hitch with Helen Arnold.

UK vs France: the differences in marketing regulation of alcoholic drinks

If we think drinks legislation is inhibitive in the UK we only need look across the Channel to cheer ourselves. We asked Dr Tom Farrell and Dr Beno&icirct Lecat which system is more fit for purpose in the 21st century.

Denis O'Flynn, Pernod Ricard UK, why we need to get behind the WSTA

Denis O'Flynn, managing director of Pernod Ricard UK, talks about his plans as the new chairman of the Wine & Spirit Trade Association.

Brown Forman Q3 rise in profits driven by Jack Daniel's and premium whiskey growth

Brown Forman's reported underlying net sales grew by 5% and operating income increased by 7% for the first nine months of fiscal 2015 ending on January 31, 2015, despite the headwinds of a strengthening US dollar and unfavourable foreign exchange.

Quintessential buys French spirits producer Lafragette & Legier

Colum Egan, master distiller at Bushmills, predicts a strong future for Irish whiskey

These are excavating times for Irish whiskey in general, and for Bushmills in particular. More than 20 distilleries have either started producing whiskey spirit or about to, the country's whiskey industry is awash with overseas money, and is more vibrant and dynamic than at any time in more than century.

IGNORE (DUPLICATE)

Diageo is launching a 'smart bottle' that will enable it to send personalised marketing message to its consumers after purchase.

Diageo harnesses mobile technology with new 'smart' whisky bottle

Diageo is launching a 'smart bottle' that will enable it to send personalised marketing message to its consumers after purchase.

Doctors call for the duty escalator to be reintroduced

Doctors and alcohol charities are calling on the government to reinstate the alcohol duty escalator in the Budget in March.

Now or never call by WSTA's Miles Beale for trade to back Drop the Duty campaign

With less than three weeks to go before the Budget, Miles Beale, chief executive of the Wine & Spirit Trade Association, has made an empassioned appeal to the industry to act now and get fully behind its campaign to persuade the Chancellor to cut alcohol duty by 2% in his March Budget.

Conviviality Retail signs franchise deal for GT stores to push its c-store off-licence model

Conviviality Retail has signed a 10-year franchise agreement with award winning East Anglian-based convenience retailer, Jonathan James to run 35 franchise stores. 

Hospitality and off-licence sectors throw weight behind Drop the Duty campaign

The hospitality and multiple off-licence sectors are throwing their support behind the trade's Drop The Duty campaign, as new research from CGA highlights the importance of wine and spirit sales to the UK on-trade.

George Clooney hopes to make a star out of his Casamigos premium tequila in the UK