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Cocktails ready-to-drink? Jameson Whiskey parent CEO says they are here to stay

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Cocktails ready-to-drink? Jameson Whiskey parent CEO says they are here to stay


Spirit-based ready-to-drink cocktails aren’t just a passing fad, according to the CEO of Jameson Whiskey’s parent company. 

Conor McQuaid, who sits at the helm of Pernod Ricard North America, said that while products like hard seltzer have disrupted the market, spirit-based cocktails will be more of a mainstay for consumers as the industry invests more in the product. 

Pernod Ricard has a wide-ranging portfolio of wines, champagnes and spirits, including Malibu, Absolut Vodka, Glenlivet, and Jameson Irish Whiskey.

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“The enduring nature of a brand like Absolut or a brand like Jameson…gives us the anchor points and the confidence that this isn’t transient in the same way Jameson has been around since 1780,” McQuaid said. “I’m of the belief that this has more of an enduring nature than maybe some of the cycles that we’ve seen historically in this space where those certain brands have come and gone, over the decades. ” 

A selection of Jameson Single Pot Still Irish Whiskey

A selection of Jameson Single Pot Still Irish Whiskey bottles on display in a Duty Free shop at Dublin Airport, in Dublin, Ireland, on February 17, 2023. (Artur Widak/NurPhoto via Getty Images / Getty Images)

According to data from the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States (DISCUS), ready-to-drink products grew in popularity last year with sales up 26.8% reaching $2.8 billion in revenue

This represented the fastest growing spirits category by revenue, according to Christine LoCascio, DISCUS chief for policy, strategy and membership. 

DISCUS is a national trade association representing producers and marketers of distilled spirits sold in the United States.

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A decade ago, the ready-to-drink category in the U.S. accounted for less than 3% of the total U.S. beverage alcohol market. That grew to almost 12% in 2022, which was driven almost entirely by the hard seltzer subcategory, according to market research firm ISWR. 

Glenlivet whiskey

A view of The Glenlivet whiskey bottles at the Brilliant Minds Initiative dinner at Gramercy Park Hotel Rooftop on May 1, 2018 in New York City. ( Noam Galai/Getty Images) / Getty Images)

Still, trends are changing. 

Marten Lodewijks, head of consulting for Americas at IWSR, said in a recent report that “despite the hard seltzer craze we witnessed from 2017 to 2021 which was malt-driven, spirits-based products have actually grown faster, just off a smaller base.” 

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These products, “including the vodka- and tequila-based hard seltzers that entered the picture later, offer consumers a slightly more premium experience, and that has been key to their success over the malt-based alternatives that initially created the category,” he added. 

Absolut Vodka

In this photo illustration, a bottle of Absolut Vodka is displayed in a bar.  (Igor Golovniov/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images / Getty Images)

The problem is, 19 states still prohibit the sale of spirit-based ready-to-drink cocktails in grocery stores and 21 still prohibit the sale of them in convenience stores, according to DISCUS. 

In Texas, spirit-based ready-to-drink products can only be sold in 3,000 package stores but similar malt-based ones can be sold in more than 30,000 grocery and convenience stores, the trade group said, noting that this is hindering the distilled spirits industry, which is a “significant driver of economic activity.” in the U.S. 

Malt-based and spirit-based ready-to-drink products have the same alcohol content, about 5%, according to DISCUS. 

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Even with this hurdle, McQuaid is eyeing other opportunities to invest even further in the ready-to-drink category. 

In January, its Absolut brand and Ocean Spray launched ready-to-drink cocktails in the U.S. in multiple flavors. 



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Flags of Valor employs military veterans to create patriotic products

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Flags of Valor employs military veterans to create patriotic products


For Flags of Valor – a veteran-owned and operated business that has shipped more than 96,000 flags to doorsteps nationwide – the phrase “made in America” lies at the foundation of everything it stands for.

“For over 10 years, we’ve been saying the same thing – we build American products, on American wood, with American tools, made by American hands,” Flags of Valor founder and military veteran Brian Steorts told FOX Business. “And we do it while giving back to the causes that matter – supporting veterans, educating youth, and honoring service and sacrifice at every step.”

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Founded in Virginia in 2015, Flags of Valor is known for its handcrafted, wooden U.S. flags, as well as military and first responder flags. The business currently has 10 employees, the majority of whom are veterans and military spouses.

Flags of Valor currently has 10 employees, the majority of whom are veterans and military spouses.

Flags of Valor currently has 10 employees, the majority of whom are veterans and military spouses. (Flags of Valor)

Each material used by the Flags of Valor team – from the woodworking tools to the tape for the shipping boxes – is sourced from American companies, according to Steorts.

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“We believe that’s the only way it should be done,” Steorts said.

Steorts, a combat veteran who was deployed nine times, served in the U.S. Army as a paratrooper and later as an Air Force special operations pilot. 

In 2013, he got into woodworking after returning from one of his deployments injured and “mentally and physically” broken, he said. During that same time period, Steorts also lost four friends in combat and his sister to mental health struggles.

Founded in Winchester, Virginia in 2015, Flags of Valor is known for its handcrafted, wooden U.S. flags, as well as military and first responder flags.

Founded in Winchester, Virginia, in 2015, Flags of Valor is known for its handcrafted, wooden U.S. flags, as well as military and first responder flags. (Flags of Valor)

“I wanted something patriotic on the wall of my house – something that meant something,” Steorts said. “I found therapy in [woodworking], and I found philanthropy in it by donating my first couple of flags to the widows of my buddies that passed, and I just knew I wanted to do more.”

While Flags of Valor’s best-selling products today are its wooden U.S. flags, the business also sells patriotic home and office decor, awards, memorial displays, corporate gifts, employee recognition pieces, Christmas ornaments, clothing and accessories, and more, Steorts said. 

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“One of the most important things we’re doing right now is building memorial flag cases – because our heroes deserve a final resting place for their flag that’s made by a veteran-owned American company, not mass-produced overseas,” he said.

Flags of Valor Founder Brian Steorts is pictured with Donald Trump

Flags of Valor Founder Brian Steorts is pictured with U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House in 2017. (Flags of Valor)

In addition to employing veterans, Flags of Valor has also given back by donating $1.7 million to veteran-operated nonprofits. 

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the company also launched a Kids Flag Building Kit, a hands-on activity to help educate children about the history and values the American flag represents. Each year, during the weeks of Veterans Day and Memorial Day, thousands of students across the nation use the kits to create their own American flags.  

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“We believe in educating our youth and passing freedom on to the next generation,” Steorts said. “It’s more than a project – it’s about patriotism, education and preserving what matters most.”



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Consumers may face higher beef prices from businesses

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Consumers may face higher beef prices from businesses


High beef prices have been weighing on U.S. businesses and consumers.

They have forced some businesses to make tough decisions about how to handle the increased costs, and some are passing the costs on to customers. 

Rob Passio, the owner of Lombardi’s Prime Meats in Philadelphia, told FOX Business correspondent Jeff Flock on “Varney & Co” that “there’s only so much you can absorb as far as the hit to your bottom line before you say to yourself you have to raise these prices.” 

The butcher shop, Passio said, hasn’t seen its customers balk at higher prices “because they see it.” 

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ground beef

Organic ground beef Oct. 30, 2020, in Bavaria, Nuremberg (Daniel Karmann/picture alliance via Getty Images / Getty Images)

“They see the inflation. They see the pricing. You know, everything is up,” he told Flock.

Bureau of Labor Statistics inflation data measured by the consumer price index (CPI) showed prices for beef and veal were up 2.4% month-over-month and 7.6% year-over-year in February. 

The overall CPI posted a 0.2% increase month-over-month and a 2.8% jump year-over-year.

Courtney Schmidt, sector manager at Wells Fargo Agri-Food Institute, told FOX Business last month that high beef prices were driven by tighter U.S. beef production with consistent consumer demand.

The U.S. cattle herd is experiencing a down cycle, with cattle inventories at historically low levels in 2025, according to Schmidt.

Beef is more expensive

Demand for beef has remained strong since the pandemic, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation. (Kennedy Hayes/Fox News  / Fox News)

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) reported in late January that U.S. farms had 86.7 million head of cattle and calves. The count for beef cows specifically was 27.9 million, a decline of 1% compared to the same time last year, according to the USDA.

“I know they’re killing smaller cattle, so they’re trying, I guess, to kill them faster to create the supply that demand is needing,” Passio said. 

Some big companies source beef from Canada and Mexico, Flock reported on “Varney & Co.”

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President Donald Trump imposed 25% import tariffs on goods entering the U.S. from those two countries March 4 and, more recently, introduced exemptions for Mexico and Canada on goods under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement until early April.

Such a levy on imported beef would “increase the price,” according to Passio, adding that consumers “are going to pay for it.”

“My philosophy is to sell it as low as you can to show a savings, a value to the customer. And hopefully you have more customers to generate your revenue,” the Lombardi Prime Meats owner told Flock.  

beef in supermarket

Packages of beef are displayed for sale at a supermarket Jan. 12, 2023, in Foster City, Calif. (Liu Guanguan/China News Service/VCG via Getty Images / Getty Images)

In the U.S., ground beef averaged $5.63 per pound in February, while the per-pound price of boneless sirloin steak came in at $11.90, according to data from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. Those average prices were 9.6% and 1.6% higher, respectively, than the same month in 2024.

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The USDA projected in a report released this month that U.S. beef production is poised to amount to 26.685 billion pounds this year. 

Daniella Genovese contributed to this report.



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