Wine & Spirits Weekly — 2026-04-24

Top Stories

London Spirits Competition 2026 Announces Winners

The 2026 London Spirits Competition revealed its full roster of winners this week, with more than 70 industry judges evaluating entries across three pillars: quality, value, and packaging. Four whiskies from four different countries each earned Double Gold and Special Awards, making this year's whisky category the most internationally diverse in the competition's recent history. The results carry significant commercial weight, as London Spirits medals are widely used by on- and off-trade buyers to guide purchasing decisions. The competition's emphasis on real-world value alongside liquid quality is increasingly relevant at a moment when price sensitivity is growing across on-premise accounts.

Denver International Spirits Competition 2026: Top Whiskey Winners Revealed

The Denver International Spirits Competition, considered one of America's toughest double-blind evaluations, also announced its 2026 whiskey results this week. Four whiskeys topped the rankings — but in a notable quirk that highlights the competition's rigorous methodology, the highest-scoring bottle did not take Best of Show. The double-blind format prevents judges from being influenced by brand prestige or packaging, lending the Denver results particular credibility among trade buyers and collectors seeking unbiased assessments of liquid quality.

Tamdhu Unveils Two Speyside Festival 2026 Releases

Speyside distillery Tamdhu has unveiled two festival-exclusive releases just ahead of the annual Speyside Whisky Festival: the Dalbeallie 09 expression and a Distillery Team single cask bottling. Both releases are built around the distillery's signature sherry-cask maturation program, which has become a calling card for Tamdhu in an increasingly crowded single malt market. Festival-only releases continue to be a key driver of direct-to-consumer revenue for Scottish distilleries, and Tamdhu's two-pronged offering caters to both collectors chasing traceable provenance and enthusiasts seeking limited-run expressions at accessible price points.

1 sources

whiskycast.com

whiskycast.com

Maker's Mark Launches Second Edition Star Hill Farm Wheat Whiskey

Maker's Mark, part of the Suntory Global Spirits portfolio, is launching the second edition of its Star Hill Farm wheat whiskey this week. The brand is positioning the release with an agricultural narrative — framing whiskey as a farm-to-bottle product rather than a manufactured commodity. "This whiskey represents flavor from nature; we're refocusing the conversation to view whiskey as an agricultural product, not just a spirit," the brand stated. The move reflects a wider premiumization push among legacy bourbon houses to differentiate limited releases through provenance storytelling.

Super-Premium-Plus Spirits Fall 15% in 2025

New data published this week by The Spirits Business reveals that the super-premium-plus spirits tier fell 15% in volume terms in 2025, marking a significant contraction for the segment that had been the industry's primary growth engine for nearly a decade. Irish whiskey and agave-based spirits (tequila and mezcal) were the only bright spots, with both categories continuing to attract new consumers. The data reinforces a broader industry narrative that "premiumization" is not uniformly lifting all boats — and that consumers are becoming more selective about which categories justify elevated price tags.

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thespiritsbusiness.com

thespiritsbusiness.com

Ratings & Reviews

• Tamdhu Dalbeallie 09 (Speyside, Scotland) — Festival Exclusive: A festival-only release from Tamdhu's celebrated sherry-cask maturation program. The Dalbeallie 09 single cask is positioned as a traceable, provenance-driven expression aimed at collectors attending the 2026 Speyside Festival. Tasting details were not yet published at time of writing — check directly for full notes.

• Tamdhu Distillery Team Single Cask (Speyside, Scotland) — Festival Exclusive: The second of Tamdhu's Speyside Festival 2026 pair, this Distillery Team bottling is a sherry-matured single cask selected by the distillery's own production crew — a format that tends to resonate strongly with enthusiast buyers seeking insider provenance.

• Blue Note Small Batch Wheated Bourbon Blend (Memphis, TN / B.R. Distilling Company) — New Release, April 21 2026: B.R. Distilling Company's Blue Note Bourbon has unveiled a limited-release Small Batch Wheated Bourbon Blend described as an expression "where wheat meets the Memphis heat." The award-winning brand's latest offering leans into the current consumer appetite for wheat-forward American whiskeys, positioning it alongside Maker's Mark's Star Hill Farm wheat release as evidence of a wheat-whiskey moment in the bourbon category.

Business & Market Moves

• iDealwine (Paris) — Fine Wine Auction Barometer 2026: Global online fine wine auction leader iDealwine released its annual data-driven auction barometer on April 20, offering a comprehensive look at what is trending in fine wine investment and collecting in 2026. The report is closely watched by auction houses, merchants, and collectors as a leading indicator of which regions and producers are gaining or losing favor in the secondary market. Specific findings from the barometer — including which appellations are seeing the strongest bid momentum — will be critical context for buyers planning purchases ahead of the 2025 Bordeaux en primeur campaign.

• Bordeaux 2025 En Primeur — Market Conditions Improve: The Drinks Business reported this week that Bordeaux 2025's en primeur market is showing its first signs of renewed buyer confidence in years. Most notably, Liv-ex data shows that, for the first time in three years, the bid-to-offer ratio is greater than 1 — meaning demand is now outpacing supply on the secondary market. Analysts describe the situation as "when complicated is good," noting that macro headwinds have kept prices pragmatic while the underlying vintage quality appears strong, particularly in St.-Estèphe based on early barrel tastings.

Trend Analysis

Two data points this week tell a revealing story about the current state of the premium spirits market. On one hand, the 15% collapse in super-premium-plus spirits volume in 2025 (per The Spirits Business) signals that the decade-long premiumization trade-up has hit a ceiling for most categories. On the other hand, the simultaneous buzz around the London Spirits Competition and Denver International Spirits Competition — both generating significant trade media coverage — shows that the appetite for prestige and validation through awards remains as strong as ever. The tension between commercial softness and award-season enthusiasm is also visible in new product launches: both Maker's Mark's Star Hill Farm second edition and Blue Note's wheated bourbon blend are positioned as limited, story-driven releases commanding premium pricing, yet they are launching into a market where super-premium consumers are demonstrably pulling back. The categories that are bucking the trend — Irish whiskey and agave spirits — share one trait: they continue to attract genuinely new drinkers rather than relying solely on upselling existing whiskey consumers. For producers in other categories, the lesson from this week's data is clear: awards and narrative alone may not be enough to sustain volume at elevated price points without broadening the consumer base.

What to Watch

• Speyside Whisky Festival 2026 — Tamdhu & Distillery Releases: With Tamdhu's two festival-exclusive sherry cask releases now confirmed, the Speyside Festival is shaping up as a key moment for collectors and enthusiasts tracking limited single malt availability. Buyers should monitor distillery allocation announcements closely, as festival-only bottlings from high-reputation sherry-cask producers have historically sold out within hours of doors opening.

• Bordeaux 2025 En Primeur Campaign: With Liv-ex's bid-to-offer ratio turning positive for the first time in three years and early St.-Estèphe barrel tastings described as strong, the 2025 en primeur campaign is shaping up as a pivotal buying window. Readers should watch for château release prices over the coming weeks to determine whether producers price pragmatically enough to sustain the renewed buyer momentum.

• iDealwine 2026 Auction Barometer — Regional Winners: The full findings of iDealwine's data-driven auction barometer (released April 20) deserve close attention from fine wine investors. Given Port's reported 25.9% sales increase in 2025 with 2026 pacing for an additional 13.7% year-over-year growth (per The Drinks Business), collectors should assess whether the barometer confirms continued momentum in historically under-collected categories as alternatives to pricier Burgundy and Champagne.