It may be hard to believe, but the beverage world didn't stop last week during BevNET's annual summer conference in New York City. While most of the edit team was in Manhattan, spirits editor Ferron Salniker was in Chicago for the annual Distilled Spirits Council of the United States (DISCUS) conference hearing from spirits executives, trade leaders, distilling experts, and industry stakeholders about the present and future of the booze business. Here are a few of our top-level takeaways:

• Tequila is still tops, but American whiskey is definitely back in fashion, growing 10.5%, to $5.1 billion in 2022. Its rise has been fueled by a confluence of factors, including suppliers producing better products, the increased availability of distillery experiences to engage consumers, and mixologists creating more premium whiskey cocktails, according to Ugo Fiorenzo, Campari managing director of U.S. and Canada. Still, there is one demographic whose consumption of whiskey lags compared to vodka, tequila and RTDs: women.
• Following several years of explosive growth, sales of RTDs are expected to plateau, but are firmly ingrained in drinking culture now. Successful RTDs will be the ones that focus on innovation, flavors, lower calories and sustainable packaging, said Paul Basford, president and managing director for William Grant & Sons, who added that he expects the number of brands to contract.
• The steady encroachment of soft drink companies into RTD beverage alcohol was a frequent topic throughout the DISCUS conference. “We are at a crossroads, if we do not police ourselves, someone else is going to,” said Matt Dinsmore, managing partner of Wilbur’s Total Beverage and Wyatt’s Wet Goods in Colorado.

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• With vodka losing steam to tequila and whiskey, Brown-Forman Corporation has announced an agreement to sell the Finlandia vodka brand to Coca-Cola Hellenic Bottling Company (HBC) for $220 million. 
• The Switzerland-based bottler of Coca-Cola products said the deal “enhances its journey towards becoming the leading 24/7 beverage partner,” and expects the vodka to help bolster its reputation in the premium spirits market, create new opportunities for higher-end non-alcoholic ready-to-drink products and strengthening partnerships with customers in strategically key channels. 
• Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which began in February 2022, created struggles for the vodka brand after Brown-Forman suspended operations in Russia. Other major vodka brands have halted exports as well.

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In this week’s new products roundup, Aprch Beverage Co. announces the second edition of its collaborative Partner Project, kumquat Energy dives into the energy drink scene and Three Trees unveils what it claims to be the first barista milk free of vegetable oils, gums, or stabilizers.

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On location at BevNET Live Summer 2023 in New York City, the hosts reflected on an exciting first day of the event, along with that of bar industry trade show Bar Convent Brooklyn, held on June 13 and 14. They also discussed an evening of cocktails with filmmaker and spirits entrepreneur Steven Soderbergh and a visit to Pop Up Grocer’s permanent location in Greenwich Village. Read the story.

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Rewatch every presentation from our two-day event in NYC. Dive into Taste Radio studio interviews, the New Beverage Showdown, and insights from beverage industry experts on succeeding in retail, developing partnership strategies, fundraising, leveraging D2C as part of an omnichannel strategy, and more. Insiders have full access - watch here.