October 13, 2025: Bourbon stocks hit record high and other news
Updates from Charente, Bourbon stocks in Kentucky, English whisky GI, leadership news, non-alc bev ads, World's 50 Best, Antarctic ageing, expensive whiskies and more...
The Spirits Post is an international press review about the spirits industry brought to you by , 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 from the Cognac region!
I’ll be around for a few days more before flying back to Italy. So, why don’t we start from the local news?
Charente, 3.500 hectares to explant
Following the US and China deals on tariffs, the Bureau National Interprofessionnel du Cognac (BNIC) has recently announced a “temporary recalibration” of the vineyards in Charente and Charente-Maritime. The plan includes the temporary resting of 7,000 to 10,000 hectares and the uprooting of 3,500 hectares, for which they are seeking financial support from the EU.
You can find more details in Fabien Paillot’s article for Le Parisien:
This update follows last week’s news, you can re-read it in our 6 October press review:
I’ve been speaking to producers of all sizes here, and everyone is concerned about the situation. There appears to be a noticeable difference in approach between the younger and older generations. Some experienced producers are particularly worried that this moment of instability might deter young workers, causing them to turn to other sectors. I’m sure this region will endure this setback, waiting for its time to recover. Producers are already working hard to diversify their target markets, and national consumption definitely needs a revival.
Bourbon stock reached record of 16m in Kentucky
According to the Kentucky Distillers’ Association (KDA), the number of ageing barrels of Bourbon in Kentucky has hit an all-time high, reaching 16.1 million. The taxes levied on this considerable stock are a significant price to pay for the storage, as they have risen by 27% since 2024 and by 163% over the last five years.
You can read more details in Nicola Carruthers’s article in The Spirits Business:
Here is the KDA official press release, in case you’d like to have a look:
The Bourbon State: Challenges Continue Amid Record Barrel Inventory & Skyrocketing Taxes
Update on the English Whisky GI status
The English Whisky Guild’s (EWG) proposal for the English Whisky GI was initially approved in February this year. Following a three-month public consultation period, the draft is now under further consultation after several English distilleries and the Scotch Whisky Association (SWA) submitted statements of opposition.
Nicola Carruthers is penning an article about this topic in The Spirits Business, featuring statements by EWG founding director and co-founder of Fielden, Tagore Ramoutar:
Leadership updates
Stock Spirits CEO to step down at the end of November
Steven Libermann will replace Jean-Christophe Coutures as CEO of Stock Spirits from the beginning of December, as Coutures steps down for family reasons.
Article by Henry Mathieu in Global Drinks Intel:
Almost 50% of UK non-alc ads could be non-compliant
According to the UK Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), 48% of advertising for alcohol-free products have potential compliance issues with current labelling rules. The main issues appear to be linked to “missing or unclear abv information” concerning products with alcohol levels at or below 0.5%.
Article by Fiona Holland in Just Drinks:
Nearly half non-alc ads potentially breaking rules, finds UK’s ASA
How does the World’s 50 Best Bars Award work?
The 17th edition of The World’s 50 Best Bars has just released its 2025 results. Hamish Smith pens an article for Drinks International about how the competition operates. More than 800 drinks experts from across the globe, with a 50/50 gender balance, are responsible for the votes, and the panel is refreshed by a minimum of 25% each year.
Now, I have a question: how is it possible that all of these people don’t venture outside the globe’s main cities?
This article doesn’t answer that, but it is interesting to read nonetheless:
The world’s first Antarctic-aged whisky has been bottled
I know, you probably thought you’d seen it all, but you hadn’t.
Argentina-based La Alazana Distillery has announced the world’s first single malt matured in Antarctica, called Isla Marambio. It is an eight-year-old whisky matured for five years in Argentina and then transferred to Base Marambio for another three years, where it was aged at temperatures ranging from –35°C to 10°C.
If you are curious, you can read Georgie Collins’s article in The Spirits Business:
Argentinian distillery bottles world’s first Antarctic-aged whisky
Something to read
What it feels like to drink a £37,000 whisky?
Olivia Potts writes about tasting the Glenrothes ’51 and shares her thoughts on whiskies bottled to be sold purely as investments. I found it an amusing read, and it reminded me of a special tasting I had at Whisky Live Paris a few weeks ago: I had the chance to taste the Glenlivet 85-year-old released by Gordon & MacPhail (my article for Falstaff Italia is due out in the next few days). I genuinely hope that some of those 125 decanters will actually be opened, because that whisky is truly excellent to enjoy. Someone has to be able to afford it, and sadly, Olivia Potts and I are not in that group! 😉
Here is the article she wrote for The Spectator:
There’s another lovely story I picked up from my trip to the Speyside last spring.
Do you remember that time when the winter was so cold and the snow was so abundant it caused a roof to collapse on a warehouse at The Glenfiddich? A whisky from the salvaged casks was then bottled and released as Snow Phoenix. I met a man who was working at The Glenfiddich at that time, and he told me that a couple of those bottles were signed by the distillery manager. One was given as a present to a girl who had just completed her university studies, and guess what happened? It was drunk at a party, and the bottle was thrown away.
Nothing comparable to the £37,000 Glenrothes, but I find it somehow close and a quite ironic end of the story.
That’s all for today.
Thank you for reading this blog and sharing it with your friends in the business. I really appreciate it when people stop me to talk about news and perspectives; that’s one of the best aspects of my job. Please keep sharing, sending me tips, and commenting.
I’ll still be travelling on Wednesday, but I’ll do my best to find time for the press review!
Cheers from Cognac!