June 2nd, 2025: Tequila, Cognac and other stories
The abocantes story goes on, Cognac is facing a difficult moment, Brown-Forman new distribution set up and more...
Happy Italian Republic’s Day! (from the Speyside)
Tequila and abocantes: AFA filed its defence, CNIT backs CRT
We’ve been talking about the abocantes’ issue and how this is impacting the image of the industry. There have been new developments in the story in recent days and Nicola Carruthers is following the story step by step on The Spirits Business.
Last week the Additive Free Alliance (AFA) filed its defence to the Consejo Regulador del Tequila’s (CRT) lawsuit, denying that the body has “exclusive and legitimate control” over the category’s certification. You can read Carruthers’ well detailed article here:
AFA rejects CRT’s exclusivity claim over Tequila
The next step involves the National Chamber of the Tequila Industry (CNIT), that sent a letter to the newspaper to clarify the CRT role for the industry, showing concern over the AFA’s claim about adulterated Tequila products certified “100% agave” by the CRT, adding that this has no scientific evidence. Read the article here:
CNIT backs CRT over Tequila exclusivity claim
However this is going to end from a legal point of view, the situation is quite delicate in terms of communication. When such matters get to the public, the whole industry will have to deal with it and so will the CRT. The “free from” claim has a considerable marketing strength, and a clear impact on purchase motivation.
Here is an example from the Italian large-scale distribution, in an article on Linkiesta Gastronomika. It is a recent survey on customers purchase habits based on “free-from” labels, if you’d like to read something different:
Flag awareness | Il cibo ci piace italiano
Let’s move to Cognac, to see what the situation looks like.
The difficulties of Cognac, between US and China
Cognac is experiencing a hard moment: the US tariffs on one side, China’s antidumping action on the other side and an abundant 2025 harvest coming in the middle. Here is a comprehensive article by Alexandre Abellan on Vitisphere.
Cognac ne veut pas submerger le marché des vins, mais peut-il l’éviter ?
Brown-Forman’s new distribution model
The Italian distribution was not the only change for Brown-Forman, which is revolutionising its distribution in its key-markets. Henry Mathieu writes about it in his article on Global Drinks Intel:
Brown-Forman overhauls US distribution model
Will this strategy pay off for the company?
Signs of recovery from the US market in April
Small signs of hope from one of the world’s most important markets. Despite a year-on-year decline, spirits in the US showed an improved performance in April. Rupert Hohwieler is reporting the latest SipSource data report on The Spirits Business:
Spirits in US show signs of resilience in April
Keep following The Spirits Post’s press review for more news.