August 1, 2026: The Anuário da Cachaça 2026 is out, and other news
Brazil's cachaça yearbook, Campari offloads three brands, Tsingtao's Irish whiskey move, Mexico's agave crisis deepens, MGP's grim Q2, Rémy Cointreau's Cognac lift, a rum-soaked read, and more...
The Spirits Post is an international press review about the spirits industry brought to you by Eugenia Torelli, an Italian spirits journalist and judge. If this newsletter was forwarded to you by a friend, you can subscribe here to receive it directly in your inbox:
Hello everyone!
We have plenty to get through today, starting in Brazil with the freshly published Anuário da Cachaça 2026—a useful snapshot of where the category actually stands. From there, we move into major players territory: Campari sheds another batch of brands just as it posts its half-year results. Ireland gets an unexpected Chinese suitor, Mexico’s agave crisis takes a worrying turn, and we wrap up with more news from the US.
And for something a little different: my own dispatch from Marie-Galante, for anyone fancying a long, rum-soaked read this weekend.
Enjoy!
Brazil
Brazil’s cachaça sector counted: 1,538 producers, 234 million litres
Cachaça exports totalled 7.95 million litres in 2025, alongside other figures reported in the latest Anuário da Cachaça.
The freshly published Anuário da Cachaça 2026 maps the category’s 2025 performance across 1,538 producing establishments in 844 municipalities, led by Minas Gerais (564), São Paulo (230), and Rio Grande do Sul (106). Declared production reached 234.4 million litres, supporting 6,232 direct jobs, while exports totalled 7.95 million litres across 76 destinations, worth $17.07 million.
Read the news on Mapa’s official website:
For those who would like to look at the full dataset, the complete document can be found here:
Major players
Campari offloads Cognac, tequila and rum brands as H1 results land
Campari has sold Bisquit & Dubouché Cognac and Cabo Wabo tequila to Dublin’s Cobblestone Brands, plus Martinique’s Bellonnie et Bourdillon Successeurs (Trois Rivières, Maison La Mauny, Duquesne) to an unnamed French buyer. The combined proceeds are estimated at around €30 million, with the deal closing by October. This step continues Campari’s disposal of “non-core” assets, alongside H1 results showing net sales of €1.51 billion, up 2.7% organically.
Read Satarupa Bhowmik’s article for Just Drinks:
Campari’s official press release:
Cognac lifts Rémy Cointreau’s spirits in Q1
Rémy Cointreau posted Q1 sales of €223.2 million, up 1.3% organically. Cognac grew 7.7% to €141.9 million, driven by the Asia Pacific region and over 12% growth during China’s 618 e-commerce festival. The US saw solid growth, though Canada suffered from destocking. Liqueurs and spirits fell 6.6%, though key brands Cointreau, The Botanist, Bruichladdich, and Mount Gay all delivered positive depletion growth.
Report by Lauren Bowes for The Spirits Business:
Ireland and China
Chinese brewing giant Tsingtao teams up with Irish whiskey maker
Tsingtao, one of the world’s largest beer producers, has signed a long-term deal with Great Northern Distillery to supply Irish whiskey (aged three to 21 years) across China. The pair will also develop whiskey styles tailored to Chinese palates, while Gnd offers technical support as Tsingtao plans its own Chinese distillery. Irish whiskey exports fell 5% in value in 2025, making such diversification increasingly vital.
Read Rupert Hohwieler’s article in The Spirits Business:
Mexico
Agave crisis deepens as abandoned fields risk a pest outbreak
Abandoned agave plantations in Mexico are fuelling the spread of the agave weevil, specialists warn. Prices have collapsed from a 2023 record of 18,730 pesos per tonne to 12,500 in 2025, with a further drop to 4,500 projected—a 64% loss. Overproduction is to blame: stockpiled piñas could rise from 17 to 50 million by 2026, covering roughly 18 months of demand.
María Fernanda Solís’s report for Agrolatam:
El agave entra en crisis: caen los precios y una peligrosa plaga amenaza al tequila
USA
MGP’s whiskey business keeps sliding, down 59% in Q2
MGP’s distilling solutions division fell 42% in Q2, with brown spirits sales plunging 59% amid weak demand—the second consecutive quarterly slump. Total sales dropped 15% to $124.4 million, following the pause in production at two Kentucky distilleries in May. Mgp is now leaning into premium-plus options: Penelope Bourbon grew 13%, and Yellowstone also showed strong gains. Full-year guidance was reaffirmed at $480–500 million.
Read Nicola Carruthers’ article for The Spirits Business:
Something to read
A stew, a still, and an island that hasn’t finished with rum
Yes, this one is mine—for those of you who aren’t afraid of a long read! I followed Velier to the French Antilles this spring and spent some time on Marie-Galante, tracing the island’s sugar history from its 106 nineteenth-century sucreries down to the four distilleries left standing today: Bellevue, Bielle, Poisson, and Rhum Rhum.
There is a fair bit of chaudage involved (the island’s slow-cooked beef stew, which apparently has sealed more than one distilling partnership over the years), plus a deep dive into how Poisson’s Père Labat is renewing its stills and fields, and how Rhum Rhum’s double pot-still method sets it apart. Long, syrupy, and entirely unhurried, much like the island itself.
Read the article here:
Il tempo di uno chaudage e la dimensione del rhum a Marie-Galante
That should be enough reading material for your weekend, I expect. See you soon!
Cheers 🍹