September 24, 2025: DIAGEO pauses Balcones and George Dickel and other news
DIAGEO stops Balcones and G. Dickel but opens in Jalisco, Amaro Santoni's distillery in Tuscany, Fifth Gen. takes Lalo Tequila, Puebla to double mezcal production, Armagnac, whisky GI and more...
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Hello everyone!
Today, we have news about both closures and openings, as well as some other interesting things to read. I’ll start with some local Italian news.
Amaro Santoni opens distillery in Tuscany
The Italian brand Amaro Santoni has opened its new distillery in Chianciano Terme, Tuscany. The site, which features a botanical garden, is open to visitors.
The opening took place in July, and I realised I’d missed the news earlier this summer. I found it thanks to Georgie Collins’s article in The Spirits Business:
…but then I also found an earlier article by Silvia Pieraccini on the local publication T24:
Santoni investe cinque milioni nel nuovo stabilimento di amari e distillati a Chianciano
Company news
Fifth Generation to acquire majority of Lalo Tequila
Tito’s Vodka owner, Fifth Generation, has acquired a majority interest in Tequila brand Lalo. The value of the transaction has not been disclosed.
News by Just Drinks (author not mentioned):
Tito’s vodka owner Fifth Generation buys majority of Tequila brand Lalo
DIAGEO pauses production at Balcones and George Dickel
The international firm Diageo has temporarily stopped operations at its Balcones and George Dickel distilleries as part of its strategy to re-equilibrate production. The closures have left 17 workers redundant.
This is an exclusive news by Becky Paskin for The Spirits Business:
Some distilleries close down, while others open up. Read on for the next news story…
Mexico
DIAGEO opens new distillery in Jalisco
Diageo has just opened a new distillation plant in La Barca, Jalisco. This investment—initially worth $500 million—was first announced in 2021 and is the company’s most significant in Latin America and the Caribbean in the last ten years. The news seems to appear only on local newspapers and you can read it in Jorge Velazco’s article in the Mexican publication Informador:
Puebla aims to double mezcal production in 2026
The Puebla government has announced its intention to double mezcal production to one million litres in 2026. A sum of 110 million pesos has been allocated this year to increase agave plantations and improve technology.
Miguel Hernández is reporting the news for El Economista:
Something to look for
A book traces the story of Armagnac through Dartigalongue family
Two historians, Laurent Jalabert and Stéphane Le Bras, have written a book about the famous Armagnac producer, tracing its history and the story of Bas-Armagnac. The project took eight years to complete.
Article by Roland Houdaille in Le Journal de Gers:
Something to read
The whisky industry and geographical indications
As we approach Whisky Live Paris, I thought it might be interesting to end this press review with an article about the pros and cons of geographical indications in the whisky world.
This is by Jacopo Mazzeo in Whisky Magazine:
What does the rise of the geographical indication tell us about the whisky world today?
That’s all for today.
I guess I’ll see many of you in a couple of days in Paris. Please do send me a message if you’d like to meet, share ideas, and enjoy a dram together over there. In any case, you will read the next post on Friday or (more likely) Saturday morning.
Cheers ;)