Harpers Wine & Spirit Trade News

Whisky cask marketplace Cask Trade opens first warehouse

Published: 31 March, 2025

Cask Trade, the whisky cask marketplace founded in 2018, has opened its first warehouse located in the famed Speyside whisky region.

Japanese whisky adopts new logo in GI status push

Published: 28 March, 2025

The Japan Spirits & Liqueurs Makers Association (JSLMA) has announced the adoption of a new logo to reinforce its industry standards regarding whisky production, first established in February 2021.

Indian whisky: staking its place in the spirits world

Published: 19 March, 2025

What do you think is the biggest-selling whisky in the world? Johnnie Walker? Jack Daniel’s? Nope. It is in fact Officer’s Choice, an Indian whisky unable to be sold as whisky in the UK or EU because it contains molasses spirit. However, India is now producing increasingly sophisticated single malts with brands like Rampur, Indri and Paul John setting their sights on the British market.

Mangrove appoints Kealan Lafferty as new brand ambassador

Published: 11 March, 2025

The UK spirits distributor Mangrove Global has announced the appointment of Kealan Lafferty as its new brand ambassador within the company’s world whisky team. His role will see him promote Mangrove’s selection of global whiskys to members of the on-trade.

Spirits to steal the show at LWF 2025

Published: 05 March, 2025

The upcoming London Wine Fair will showcase the best and brightest of the UK's spirits industry, with an inaugural section dedicated to artisan gin, rum, vodka and whisky.

Compass Box appoints Nishat Gupte as CEO

Published: 03 March, 2025

Following the recent announcement of Neil Everitt to the role of chairman, Scotch whisky maker Compass Box has announced the appointment of Nishat Gupte as the company’s new CEO.

Global Scotch sales: Slight decline with £5.4bn exported in 2024

Published: 14 February, 2025

Figures from the Scotch Whisky Association (SWA) reveals that the total global export value for Scotch whisky stood at £5.4bn for 2024. This represents a slight decline of 3.7% in exports by value compared to 2023.

SWA highlights daily loss for HMRC of £500,000 duty

Published: 14 January, 2025

SWA chief executive has claimed the industry is “not crying wolf” over the impact of the double-digit rise in spirit duty since August 2023. According to Treasury figures, the revenue from spirits duty fell by £255m for the period running 1 August 2023 to 30 November 2024, which equates to an eye-watering half a million-pound loss in revenue every day for HMRC.

Demand for rare whisky softens as 'taxes and tariffs threaten global sales'

Published: 10 December, 2024

The once booming market for deluxe single malt is in decline, according to new data published by a leading financial advisory firm.

Global on-trade ‘showing signs of revival’ says new report

Published: 06 December, 2024

Data released by the IWSR has revealed a year-on-year rise in “on-trade consumption incidences” in certain markets, gathering information from consumers in countries such as China, Germany, Italy, Mexico, the UK and the US.

Holyrood celebrates international success via Dutch partnership

Published: 02 September, 2024

Edinburgh-based Holyrood Distillery has reported strong export growth as mid-year sales already exceed that of 2023 by 15% thanks to an exclusive partnership with Dutch importer and distributor High Spirits.

Producer Q&A: Michael d’Souza, John Distilleries

Published: 27 February, 2024

With India now slaking over half the globe’s thirst for whisky, Andrew Catchpole asks winemaker-turned-leading distiller Michael d’Souza for the inside track.

Bladnoch distillery partners with Enotria & Coe

Published: 12 February, 2024

Bladnoch, Scotland’s southernmost distillery, has partnered with leading wine and spirits distributor Enotria & Coe to accelerate growth of the single malt whisky brand across the UK.

Five minutes with Stef Holt, Mangrove Global

Published: 06 February, 2024

Jo Gilbert catches up with Stef Holt on her new role as the first curator of world whisky for Mangrove Global.

Bordeaux Index: Fine wine takes a tumble in 2023

Published: 22 January, 2024

‘Frenzied activity’ characterised the fine wine market during the second half of 2021 and most of 2022 in particular for Champagne and Burgundy, when prices increased by 69% and 58% respectively according to Bordeaux Index. However, things were much more subdued in 2023, with the platform also predicting some return of optimism in 2024.

Spirits specialist joins Berry Bros. & Rudd

Published: 09 January, 2024

Berry Bros. & Rudd has appointed a spirits curator to oversee its growing portfolio, which now includes a soon to be opened new spirits shop.

Nick Gillett: Predicting the big Christmas spirits trends

Published: 16 October, 2023

When it comes to this point of the year, customers start turning their thoughts towards Christmas. I know we say this every year, but Christmas 2023 really is going to be one of the most important festive seasons of the last ten years. While a great season won’t solve the various problems put upon the industry by government (duty hikes, rail strikes, and soaring energy costs, to name but a few) it’ll certainly go some way to protecting against the inevitable quiet months in early 2024.

Cask Whisky Association aims to protect whisky

Published: 22 September, 2023

The brand-new Cask Whisky Association (CWA) has been launched with the aim of protecting the overall reputation of Scotch whisky, while creating a ‘safe environment’ for whisky enthusiasts and customers to buy and sell casks.

New BSI guidelines will improve quality of UK and Irish whisky

Published: 11 September, 2023

The Scottish, Welsh, English and Irish whisky industries have agreed on a consistent method of production to ensure quality is consistent across the entire category.

Berry Bros. & Rudd champions sustainability pioneers with new Collective

Published: 11 September, 2023

Historic London-based merchant Berry Bros. & Rudd is revamping its spirits portfolio, with the launch of The Collective, a new annual release of spirits, which brings together a group of like-minded distillers.