Welcome back to the BevNET spirits newsletter. This week I’m giving you a cheat sheet on the alcohol versus cannabis legislative duel, and looking at how much THC beverages are a threat to bev-alc. 

What insiders are reading: Another craft distillery gets into THC beverages, plus Cutwater hits triple-digit growth.

Thanks for reading. 

-BevNET spirits editor, Ferron Salniker

This week some of the alcohol industry’s biggest voices joined a growing chorus calling for a ban on the sale of intoxicating hemp-derived drinks. They’re crying "safety” – not let’s get hold of a nascent industry that offers drinkers an increasingly available mood-altering option as alcohol sales decline. 

What you need to know about a potential ban:

• In a letter Tuesday, the American Distilled Spirits Alliance (ADSA), Beer Institute (BI), Distilled Spirits Council of the U.S. (DISCUS), Wine America, and Wine Institute, urged Congressional leaders to act immediately to remove hemp-derived THC products from the marketplace until “a robust federal regulatory framework is established.”
• This joined the call coming from inside Congress to criminalize sales of all intoxicating hemp products, and the urging from attorneys general from states backing the ban and asking regulators to shut down the industry.
• In the absence of federal regulation, states are continuing to tamp down access individually through legislation or executive orders, creating a patchwork of legal and illegal markets.

But there’s a split in the alcohol industry, as some from the middle and retail tiers have been hungry for a piece of the cannabis pie. In the spring we saw dueling memos (not a memo!) as trade groups such as the American Beverage Licensees (ABL) and the WSWA – which just welcomed its first THC beverage member – countered others with regulation-over-prohibition stances.

As these groups bicker, we already know some distributors are beginning to heal their CBD trauma and load intoxicating hemp beverages on the truck as an answer to soft booze sales. Meanwhile, distillers are hopping on the hemp bandwagon. 

Here’s what to watch beyond regulation:

• Over a quarter of all consumers (26%) plan to try a cannabis beverage (THC- or CBD-infused), but the production costs remain higher for THC drinks and the impact cost differential is “providing less incentives for consumers to participate.” Alcohol suppliers would be wise to reiterate their value to compete.

• The craft distiller approach to THC beverages (transparent, local, actually tasting good) may represent a way for brands to distinguish themselves in the growing category. In the past few months, two major craft distilleries in the Mid West have launched their takes.
  
  
• As spirit makers experiment with THC beverages via sessionable replacements or 750ml cocktail ingredients, investors are keeping their eye on how these low-dose options might steal share from low-ABV offerings. How these THC beverage pioneers do on-premise in friendlier states may provide a good temperature check. 

Bridget Firtle, who also helms Rockaway Soda, will now bring the craft rum brand she launched in 2012 back to its “independent roots” after buying it back from Proximo Spirits.

Read what the founder had to say about merging corporate and craft.

In this month’s distribution moves, Tequila ready-to-drink brands (RTD) Tequio and SipMargs expand with major partners, Bardstown Bourbon makes moves in New York, and Archer Roose flies into a major travel channel.

Read the full story.

The spritz is no longer unstoppable: Ready-to-drink (RTD) cocktails are now a regular part of drinkers’ routines and growing at the expense of some of summer trends.

A pair of new ready-to-drink (RTD) offerings are coming from New Belgium in 2026, including Kirin’s top-selling canned cocktail and a vodka cocktail with a “subtle nod” to the Voodoo Ranger franchise. 

Get insight into their strategy.

The founders of BeatBox are hoping 2026 will bring them their second hit brand aimed at a new generation of consumers.

Read how the party punch will target second-generation Latino consumers.

Japan’s Kirin Holdings is looking to unload bourbon brand Four Roses for $1 billion, part of a recent trend of major spirits groups offloading non-core assets, including whiskey brands. 

Read more.

This month’s adult non-alc offerings include a pocket-friendly THC aperitif, a new oaky spirit replacement from Little Saints, and a citrusy spritz from Ghia.

See them all.

Molson Coors continues to back its “beyond beer” push into non-alcoholic categories, likely continuing to expand through the same combination of acquisitions and partnerships that has served it well thus far – although where in beyond beer is still vague. 

Read more.

Interest in trying cannabis drinks is strongest among younger generations – 38% of Gen Z, 37% of millennials, but can cannabis replace a cocktail?

Get the full story.

The BevNET Spirits Awards are now open to nominations. Categories this year include spirits company of the year (small and large), spirits industry leadership awards, best new RTD and RTS cocktails, best new NA spirits, and best new NA RTD cocktails. Apply until November 21.

Join me and leaders from Carbliss, Pernod Ricard’s Convivialite Ventures, Kin Euphorics and more as we chat about how to break out in crowded categories, the state of adult non-alc funding, and other hot topics. More info.