Author: The Proof Line Editorial

The on-premise regains share of attention.A new snapshot from the Bank of America Institute reinforced a familiar split: alcohol-store spending softened while bars and experiential categories held up. For suppliers, the implication is less about “Dry January” as a headline and more about where incremental demand is being expressed—by occasion and venue—into spring planning. RTDs…

Adult soft drinks drew strategic M&A capitalAG Barr agreed to acquire Fentimans and Frobishers for roughly £51m, expanding its position in premium adult soft drinks as alcohol growth remains uneven. The transaction signals that established beverage groups are reallocating capital toward mixer, botanical, and functional formats that benefit from existing distribution scale. The deal was…

Control states end 2025 with a narrow lift.According to the National Alcohol Beverage Control Association, December spirits 9L volume rose 0.4 percent, but dollars fell 1.4 percent, implying a –1.8 percent price-mix. The gain was largely calendar-driven, with 10 additional selling days versus last year, underscoring how fragile underlying demand remains. For 2025, spirits finished…

Beer ordering steadies, but the bar stays low.The National Beer Wholesalers Association’s Beer Purchasers’ Index rose to 39 in January, a 14-point rebound from December, while “at-risk” inventory ticked to 45—moving conditions from outright contraction to a more cautious reset. According to the NBWA BPI release, below-premium was the lone segment at the expansion threshold…

Distributor distress moved from theory to execution.Stoli Group USA confirmed it will convert its U.S. bankruptcy proceedings to Chapter 7 liquidation, formally ending efforts to reorganize its domestic spirits business. According to reporting by Brewbound (coverage), the move follows the rejection of a restructuring plan by a federal judge and hands control to a court-appointed…

Holiday lift arrives—too late to change the quarter.Scanner data confirmed that year-end demand failed to produce a meaningful rebound. According to NielsenIQ’s Total Alcohol Pulse (weekly executive summary available here), U.S. beverage-alcohol dollar sales declined 6.1 percent year over year in the four weeks ending December 20, while volume fell 5.6 percent. The modest late-December…