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Olujo: the bottle is the strategy
This tequila brand has committed to craft at a level that's hard to compete with
Apr 21
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NEWBIES: Cueva Nueva – bringing la hora del vermut to the world
Is Spanish vermut’s philosophy of slow living, deeply and carefully enjoyed, about to have its moment?
Apr 14
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Emma Louise Tucker
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NEWBIES: Esther: not your usual rum brand
“We’re not really riding on any trend,” says Esther co-founder Emunah Winer. “We are the disruptor brand.”
Apr 7
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Emma Louise Tucker
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Happy hour: your next beer is a puff of air
Zero calories, zero sugar, zero alcohol, zero flavour? Are drinks brands forgetting why people drink in the first place?
Mar 27
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Sake is a big challenge – and a big opportunity
The sake brands are coming, and drinkers in the west are ready to be persuaded.
Mar 25
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Emma Louise Tucker
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REPORT: The New Rules of Brand Building in Beverage & Alcohol - 2026
Jan 14
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Margaret Kerr-Jarrett
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Drinking has entered the "age of potency"
Nov 25, 2025
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Margaret Kerr-Jarrett
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NEWBIES: Mother's Milk – anti-hangover cocktails in a can
Mar 6
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What happens when you actually know how to sell things - the BRĒZ case study
Jul 23, 2025
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Margaret Kerr-Jarrett
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Join the founders and strategists moving the needle in beverage and alcohol.
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Behind the curtain at The New Rules: how we can help you
We own a design agency. We run The New Rules. We’ve co-founded a tequila. We founded a rum. We can help you, too.
Mar 19
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Margaret Kerr-Jarrett
1
Sistine is winning by building back-to-front
Bottled spritz Sistine developed a brand world and philosophy before they even thought about the liquid.
Mar 17
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Margaret Kerr-Jarrett
1
Candela Mamajuana: from souvenir to top-shelf spirit
Founder Alejandro Russo thinks people are ready to fall back in love with rum again – but winning them over means letting go of the old tropes
Mar 13
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Margaret Kerr-Jarrett
1
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NEWBIES: Mother's Milk – anti-hangover cocktails in a can
“Hydration is HOT right now,” says Kristie Kish, who together with co-founder Jennifer Roman-Matito is building a RTD coconut water cocktail brand for…
Mar 6
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How the agency Young Jerks built the Mr Black brand
Part serendipity, part genius, and a founder that was prepared to be provocative
Mar 3
6
Happy Hour: What next for Brewdog?
THC drinks, fizzy red wine and sake are on the up. Meanwhile the future of the ‘original’ indie craft beer brand looks rocky.
Feb 27
2
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Why Velocity is the New Valuation
A conversation with Angel Investor Emile Ward. (Founders: this one's for you)
Feb 24
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Margaret Kerr-Jarrett
3
IESSI has what so many non-alc brands lack: complexity
This is a brand with true depth of flavor and a commitment to design that very few others can match.
Feb 18
1
Alcohol as cultural technology: the 13,000-year case
My interview with author, professor, and philosopher Edward Slingerland on the evolution of trust and the magic of the short-circuited brain.
Feb 13
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Margaret Kerr-Jarrett
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NEWBIES: JIN JIN – building out the next non-alc category
Put down your alcohol-free beer, your adaptogen soda, and your de-alcoholised wine: enzymatic cordial JIN JIN is bringing the delights of fermentation…
Feb 10
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Emma Louise Tucker
2
The non-alc buzz can’t last forever
Huge potential for growth, masses of investment, buckets of enthusiasm… the non-alc sector is booming. We asked Dry Atlas co-founder Victoria Watter how…
Feb 3
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Emma Louise Tucker
1
Happy Hour: do brands still love Dry Jan?
Is it just us, or has some of the enthusiasm waned? And what's going on in the marketing teams of heritage bev/alc brands?
Jan 30
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