Last week marked the announcement that Diageo was acquiring the Casamigos tequila brand for a cool $1 billion. This is a sexy price. And of course the announcement was made sexier by the fact that Casamigos was founded just four short years ago – so this is a significant payday in the life of what… Read More Not bad for a startup
This past week I had the good fortune to attend the kick-off event for the marketing of Proof – the annual event held by the Washington Distillers Guild as a showcase of distilleries in the Pacific Northwest. Proof is a great evening, and if you expect to be in Seattle the evening of July 8,… Read More Not Everything is Awesome
I love my adopted home of the Pacific Northwest, and very much enjoy my time in Seattle. But if I’m honest, I do occasionally scratch my head in disbelief at some of our city’s politics. This week I’ve been doing just that. By a vote of 7-1, the Seattle City Council this week approved an… Read More No Sweet Deal
Recently, my 14-year old son asked me – in the context of our home state’s relatively recent decision to permit recreational cannabis use – “Dad, how can something be legal under state law at the same time it is illegal under federal law?” Smart kid, that one. Although from the look on his face after… Read More Federalism
Earlier this week, reports surfaced that Constellation Brands has approached Brown-Forman with an unsolicited offer to purchase the company. If this transaction were to occur, it would transform the spirits market in a significant way, by bringing together two of the industries biggest players. As of the time of this post, Brown-Forman (maker of brands as diverse as… Read More Unwanted Advances
Tasting rooms are great. You walk in, chat with the folks behind the counter (who seem almost always to be friendly) and have a chance to try a new spirit. What’s not to like? Well, in Washington one thing you might not have liked is that you’d be required to taste your sample straight. For… Read More Adulteration
I travel a fair amount for work. Not every day – and not even every week – but enough to maintain MVP status on my airline of choice (thanks, Alaska!). And while I can’t say exactly when the change occurred, I’ve noticed something different on flights over the past year or so. There’s a new… Read More Loopholes in the sky
