October delivered a mix of high-stakes legal battles and major portfolio shifts across the beverage alcohol industry, as regulatory clarity emerged alongside renewed M&A activity and brand protection disputes. Below is Park Street University’s full recap of the top stories for the month of October.
Kirin Puts Four Roses Bourbon on the Block
Kirin Holdings is reportedly seeking buyers for Four Roses Bourbon, with the Japanese conglomerate working with UBS to gauge interest from potential acquirers and first-round offers expected as early as next month, according to The Financial Times. Sources indicate the Kentucky-based bourbon brand, which Kirin acquired in 2002 and traces its history to 1888, generates roughly $70 million in adjusted annual earnings and could command a price of up to $1 billion. The company is simultaneously expanding its Southeast Asian presence with a new office in Malaysia, supporting growth in beer, RTDs, and whisky across the region. (Source)
Surfside Producer Sues AB In-Bev for Vodka Lookalike
Pennsylvania-based Stateside Brands filed a federal trademark infringement lawsuit against Anheuser-Busch InBev, alleging that AB InBev’s Skimmers canned vodka brand, launched in April 2025, mimics the packaging design of its rapidly growing Surfside brand with suspiciously similar blue logos over sun motifs and multi-colored stripes. Surfside was the fastest-growing alcohol brand in the U.S. last year with 362% value growth, increasing from 1.3 million to 4.9 million cases between 2023 and 2024, and Stateside claims AB InBev designed Skimmers to capitalize on this success by creating nearly indistinguishable packaging that conveys the same commercial impression. (Source)
Craft Spirits Sales Reach $7.58 Billion as Producers Focus on Home Markets
The U.S. craft spirits category reached $7.58 billion in sales with 3.3% value growth in 2024 despite facing volume challenges for the second consecutive year, according to the 2025 Craft Spirits Data Project led by the American Craft Spirits Association and Park Street. While market volume decreased 6.1% to 12.7 million cases from 13.5 million in 2023, the industry’s 2,282 active craft distillers demonstrated resilience through strategic adaptation, with home state sales increasing their share of total craft spirit sales by 1.1 percentage points since 2021, reaching 48.5% of the market. (Source)
Sazerac Acquires Western Son Vodka
Sazerac has purchased Texas-based Western Son Vodka and Distillery for an undisclosed sum, adding the small-batch spirits company founded in 2011. Western Son, based in Pilot Point, Texas, produces a range of unflavored and flavored vodkas, including blueberry, lemon, and prickly pear varieties, along with a gin, with CEO Jake Wenz noting the acquisition provides opportunities to augment Sazerac’s portfolio while adding production capacity and capabilities to the company’s network. (Source)
U.S. Confirms Permanent Tax Credit Rules for Imported Craft Beverages
The U.S. Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau finalized a rule making permanent the system that allows foreign producers to assign excise tax benefits to importers under the Craft Beverage Modernisation Act, with the regulation taking effect on October 29 and locking in reduced tax rate refund procedures for imported spirits, wine, and beer. The rule provides greater regulatory stability by making permanent the temporary provisions that allow foreign producers to assign reduced excise tax rates and tax credits to U.S. importers, while also granting foreign producers an extra calendar quarter to submit tax benefit assignments by moving the deadline from December 31 to March 31 of the following year. (Source)
Diageo Files Motion to Dismiss Florida Tequila Lawsuit
Diageo filed a motion to dismiss the Florida class action lawsuit accusing the company of falsely marketing its Casamigos and Don Julio tequila brands as 100% agave, arguing that the plaintiffs’ claims are “implausible, lacking legal and logical merit” and rest entirely on an unvalidated test from a single European company with no scientifically proven applicability to tequila. The motion challenges the validity of scientific testing used as evidence in multiple suits, noting that the test was performed on just one sample each of Casamigos and Don Julio that the plaintiffs themselves did not purchase, yet allegedly proves every bottle sold for decades was mislabeled. (Source)
Bar Leone Claims Top Spot on World’s 50 Best Bars List
Bar Leone in Hong Kong made history as the first Asian bar to claim the No. 1 position on the World’s 50 Best Bars list at the annual ceremony held in Hong Kong, with the venue opened by Italian bartender Lorenzo Antinori in June 2023 rising from its No. 2 debut on the 2024 list after topping Asia’s 50 Best Bars in 2025. Last year’s winner, Mexico City’s Handshake Speakeasy, dropped to No. 2, while Barcelona venues Sips and Paradiso claimed spots three and four respectively, and London’s Tayēr + Elementary rounded out the top five with its produce-driven dual-concept approach. New York City’s Superbueno earned the highest U.S. ranking at No. 12 on the global list. (Source)