Booze News Weekly Roundup: Family Feud at Brown-Forman, Sazerac Acquires New Kentucky Distillery, and More

This is VinePair’s Booze News Weekly Roundup, where we gather the hottest headlines and product releases every Friday for a snapshot of what’s happening in the beverage alcohol industry. This week, we have updates on the Brown-Forman family’s infighting, a vote to strike at a Diageo distillery, the latest product releases, and more.

News to know:

Family feud at Brown-Forman: Two members of the Brown family — which holds a controlling stake in the legendary whiskey company — addressed a scathing letter to the spirits producer’s board in early July, reports reveal. Heirs to the Brown-Forman fortune W. L. Lyons Brown III and Stuart Brown accused the board of “rewarding failure” and hemorrhaging “billions of dollars of generational wealth for the Brown family and all other shareholders,” according to the Wall Street Journal, who reviewed the internal memo. The two flamed the company’s board out for keeping them in the dark about recent merger talks with Pernod Ricard and Louisville neighbor Sazerac. In the past three years, Brown-Forman’s stock value has tumbled from the mid-$70s to the mid-$20s, the letter notes.

A walkout looms at Cameronbridge Distillery: Members of the Unite the Union organization at the Diageo-owned Scotland distillery — home to the production of a broad portfolio of brands like Johnnie Walker, Smirnoff, and Tanqueray — opened a ballot to decide whether or not to strike. The walkout threat comes after Diageo’s chief executive officer Dave Lewis announced the company would shed thousands of jobs as part of his $1 billion cost-cutting plan.

Sazerac tacks a fourth distillery onto its Kentucky portfolio: The Louisville, Ky.-based spirits producer acquired Garrard County Distilling. It joins Barton 1792, The Glenmore, and Buffalo Trace as Sazerac’s lineup of its Bluegrass State-based distilleries.

Beer purchases during 2026 World Cup final outpace Super Bowl sales: A new report from consumer data and insights firm NielsenIQ reveals on-premise beer sales during the final match of the 2026 World Cup outperformed this year’s Super Bowl by 20 percent. The tournament’s final was beer’s most successful Sunday of the year for on-premise sales.

Product releases to watch:

Angel’s Envy adds a new finish to its Distillery Series: The premium American whiskey brand’s latest release in its limited-edition collection is a bourbon aged in ex-stout and ex-amburana barrels. The whiskey will be available at the Angel’s Envy Louisville distillery beginning Sept. 10 for a suggested retail price of $54.99.

Four Roses debuts second experimental release: The connoisseur-favorite brand introduced the newest edition in its Experimental Series, a lineup dedicated to going beyond its established recipe rulebook. Experimental Series No. 002 Honey Cask Finish is a blended bourbon aged in honey-seasoned barrels. The whiskey will be available at the Four Roses Distillery and the nearby Cox’s Creek Visitor Centers for a suggested retail price of $55 beginning Sept. 18.

The article Booze News Weekly Roundup: Family Feud at Brown-Forman, Sazerac Acquires New Kentucky Distillery, and More appeared first on VinePair.