DramMaster Daily Whisky News — 11 August 2026

Beyoncé Takes Full Control of SirDavis as LVMH Exits

Beyoncé has bought out LVMH's stake in SirDavis, taking full ownership of the American whisky brand she launched with the French luxury group in 2024. The deal was confirmed across multiple outlets including Reuters, This is Money, and Retail Gazette on 10 August. Financial terms were not disclosed.

SirDavis was positioned as a premium American rye whisky, produced in partnership with LVMH's Moët Hennessy division. The brand was part of LVMH's broader push into spirits beyond its Cognac and champagne portfolio. Beyoncé's buyout means the pop star now controls the brand outright — production, distribution, and brand direction.

LVMH's exit from SirDavis comes amid a broader cooling in the celebrity spirits space. Several high-profile celebrity-backed brands have struggled to maintain momentum after launch, and Diageo's 2023 writedown of Aviation Gin and other acquisitions signalled that star power alone doesn't sustain a spirits brand. Whether Beyoncé's full ownership — and the creative control that comes with it — changes that trajectory is the question the industry will be watching.

Murray's take: LVMH doesn't exit businesses that are working. The luxury giant's departure from SirDavis less than two years after launch tells you more than any press release will. Beyoncé taking full control could be the smartest thing that happens to the brand — celebrity spirits work when the celebrity actually runs them, not when they're a face on someone else's spreadsheet. The next 12 months will show whether SirDavis is a whisky brand or a merch line.

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Suntory's Oaksmith Eyes 2 Million Cases as Indian Whisky Surges

Suntory Global Spirits is targeting a 2-million-case milestone for Oaksmith, its Indian whisky brand that blends Scotch malts, American bourbon, and Indian grain spirit. The brand grew 44.6% in 2025 to reach 1.5 million cases, according to Drinks International's Millionaires' Club 2026 report.

Oaksmith launched in 2023 as Suntory's first truly international Indian whisky, designed specifically for the Indian palate. The blend uses traditional Japanese craftsmanship combined with Scotch malt whiskies and American bourbons — a formula that has resonated in a market where domestic whisky dominates volume but premiumisation is accelerating.

Suntory's broader H1 2026 results, reported by The Spirits Business, showed stagnant overall alcohol sales, making Oaksmith's growth a standout. India has emerged as one of the world's fastest-growing whisky markets, with domestic single malts increasingly competing on the international stage and blended whisky volumes climbing year over year.

Murray's take: 44.6% growth to 1.5 million cases in two years is not a trend — it's a category shift. Suntory built Oaksmith for India, not for export, and that's exactly why it's working. The 2-million-case target isn't ambitious; it's arithmetic at current growth rates. The real question is whether Suntory can keep the blend consistent at that volume, or whether Oaksmith becomes the next brand where scaling kills the quality that built it.

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The Glenturret Cracks Down on Fake Cask Sales with The Online Eye

The Glenturret, Scotland's oldest working distillery (founded 1763), has appointed specialist firm The Online Eye to identify and act against misleading whisky cask sales bearing its name. The Crieff-based distillery announced the partnership on 10 August.

The Online Eye has already found multiple cases where casks offered for sale or investment were incorrectly described as The Glenturret whisky. The firm's founders developed one of the most widely used social media monitoring solutions in UK policing and bring over 30 years of military and law enforcement experience.

Managing director John Laurie said: "The Glenturret name carries generations of craftsmanship, integrity and excellence. As our reputation has grown internationally, so too has the need to protect our clients, our partners and the wider category from those who seek to misuse that reputation for commercial gain." He added: "Where our name is used to mislead consumers or investors, we will act firmly and decisively."

Peter Lloyd, senior intelligence strategist at The Online Eye, described the risk as "a clear reputational and consumer protection risk." The move comes amid growing regulatory scrutiny of the unregulated whisky cask investment sector across the UK.

Murray's take: Whisky cask investment fraud has been an open wound in the industry for years, and most distilleries have treated it as someone else's problem. The Glenturret bringing in law enforcement-grade monitoring is the right response — fraudsters use distillery names because those names carry trust, and that trust gets destroyed when buyers discover their "Glenturret cask" is worth a fraction of what they paid. Every distillery with a reputation worth protecting should be doing this. Most aren't.

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Crazy Cock Sweeps 5 Gold at World Whisky Masters 2026

South Seas Distilleries has won five Gold medals at The World Whisky Masters 2026 for its Crazy Cock Indian Single Malt portfolio, announced 10 August. Every Crazy Cock expression entered — Dhua, Rare, Madhuca I, Madhuca II, and Madhuca III — secured Gold. South Seas says it is the only Indian distiller to achieve five Golds at the event.

The result follows a strong showing at IWSC UK 2026, where Crazy Cock Madhuca III was the highest-ranked Indian single malt with a Gold medal. The three Madhuca editions took the top three Indian whisky rankings at IWSC, and the portfolio accounted for five of the 10 medals awarded to Indian single malts at that competition.

Judges at the World Whisky Masters singled out Madhuca I for praise, noting its "creamy buttery nose" with toasted pecan, dried fruits, and Medjool dates. One judge described it as "delicious."

Crazy Cock Madhuca is the first single malt whisky in the world to be finished in Mahura casks. South Seas has matured India's oldest spirit, Mahura, alongside its single malt. The distiller traces its legacy to 1922 and describes itself as India's oldest single malt whisky maker, claiming to have pioneered oak cask maturation in India.

Murray's take: Five Golds from five entries is a perfect score, and in a blind tasting that's not marketing — it's liquid. The Mahura cask finish is genuinely novel: a world-first that isn't a gimmick because the whisky backs it up. Indian single malt has moved from "interesting experiment" to "serious contender" in the last three years, and Crazy Cock's performance across two major competitions puts it at the front of that shift.

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The Head Whisky & More Opens in Falkirk, Bringing Independent Bottlers to Scotland's Central Belt

A new independent whisky, wine, and spirits shop called The Head Whisky & More opens on 13 August on Lint Riggs in Falkirk, Scotland. Founder Saskia Forneri brings 12 years of drinks industry experience spanning southern France retail, London flagship stores, and distillery visitor-centre operations.

The shop centres on independent bottlers from across the UK and beyond, alongside a curated selection of official distillery bottlings with different distilleries highlighted monthly. The wine selection features over 100 bottles with a European focus, supplemented by a range of world spirits. A dedicated tasting space will host daily sessions for groups of up to six.

Forneri chose Falkirk for its drinks heritage — from James Aitken's brewery in 1740 to the rise and revival of Rosebank, plus the recent opening of Falkirk Distillery. The town sits between Edinburgh and Glasgow, making it a natural stop for whisky travellers. To celebrate the launch, the shop offers 10% off purchases over £50 during the first three days (13–15 August).

Murray's take: Independent whisky retail is having a moment in Scotland, and Falkirk is a smarter location than it looks. Rosebank's revival and Falkirk Distillery's opening have put the town back on the whisky map, and a shop focused on independent bottlers — not the usual supermarket core range — gives whisky travellers a reason to stop. Forneri's background in both French independent retail and distillery visitor centres is the right combination: she knows how to sell whisky without selling it like a tourist attraction.

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