thirsty (™️) A guide to the drinks industry

El que sabe, sabe ... y Adrian Lopez @adrianlucky sabe 🇵🇷🤝🇲🇽 That's why the Head Bartender of @hankypankydf is coming back for to kick off Summer in El Calentón Puerto Rico! Throwback to @prcocktailweek Nov 2025 at @antiguo26 with @juanito.cien

Brown-Forman wants what it wants. And apparently, $15 billion isn't it. As reported by Reuters, the Louisville spirits institution behind Jack Daniel's declined Sazerac's $32-per-share, all-cash takeover bid - a $15 billion offer backed by Wells Fargo and Apollo Global Management. As of May 16, neither company has issued a public statement. But people are talking about it ... so here we are. Before Sazerac, Brown-Forman and Pernod Ricard explored what could have been one of the most powerful portfolio combinations in spirits history. Jack Daniel's alongside Jameson? The two (arguably) must-have calls whiskeys behind every bar, add in the iconic Absolut Vodka and Altos Tequila, the Bartenders' Bartender favorite pour. Both sides confirmed discussions ended mutually: "Brown-Forman and Pernod Ricard have terminated discussions...as the companies were unable to reach mutually agreeable terms." One conversation that didn't find its landing spot. At least not yet. Now consider what's on the table. Jack Daniel's isn't just whiskey, it's a whole lifestyle. Woodford Reserve is the Kentucky Derby. Let's not forget Simon Ford's bartender darling, Ford's Gin. There is also real power in Chambord and Herradura too. Brown-Forman has inter-generational cultural heavyweights and a lot of folks say it is trading at a discount ... even before any of this started. Here's the financial reality: Brown-Forman trades at $26.56. Sazerac's $32 offer was a 36% premium, and yet Morningstar had already flagged the stock as 25% undervalued before the Sazerac offer. So is $32 even the right number? Class B shareholders hold real stock but zero voting power. The Brown family controls all votes through Class A shares. Public investors watched a 36% premium walk out without a single say. Yes, people are drinking less. Yes, the industry has headwinds. But this is a political storm, not a structural one, Canada's boycott alone cratered Brown-Forman's Canadian sales 62% in one quarter. CEO Whiting called it publicly "worse than a tariff." Trade normalization and premium whiskey's global demand point toward an upside this offer may not have priced in. Fiscal results drop June 4, so let's see.

Mother's Day 2026 just broke three historic records. In this economy, everyone is cutting back, but never on Mom. Mother's Day continues to be the BIGGEST one-day hospitality big spender on the annual calendar. $6.4 billion spent in restaurants and bars alone. 80 million people dined out. $284 per person. And before anyone says it ... no, it wasn't just inflation. More people actually showed up to restaurants with 1 in 3 adults dining out. But here's what the data is really saying: People are going out less and everyday dining is down. But when something matters, a birthday, an anniversary, a holiday, they're showing up and they're spending more than they ever have. Mother's Day is the clearest proof of that despite the industry is struggling, when people decide a moment is worth "going out", the bar and the restaurant is still where they go. Look at what they ordered. Sparkling wine nearly doubled. Cocktails up 71%. Zero-proof up 34%. Bottle service up 50%. Nobody was ordering cheap. They came in to celebrate and they spent accordingly. That's the real signal for anyone in bars, beverage, or hospitality right now. The volume isn't coming back the way it was. But the intention is there on the days that count. If you're building a program, a menu, or a brand around this industry ... the question isn't how do you get people in every night. It's how do you become the place they think of when the moment matters. Mom already answered that question on Sunday. Sources: National Retail Federation, National Restaurant Association, NielsenIQ, Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Census Bureau, OpenTable, SpotOn

Loading on Jack and Mad Dog for Lockdown 2.0 🥃🦠😷 we nominate no_chill_bruh as our new CDC Director as we load up on toilet paper and practice our TikTok Dances like it's 2020. Obviously, this a joke. Please do not take medical advice from Threads (or us). Hantavirus is real and serious. We just needed to laugh today Sending love. 🖤 Spotted on Threads via no_chill_bruh Screenshot shared under fair use for commentary. DM to remove.

Two of our Favorite Mamas @lisamarismolina & @lpdrinksdc Judging @speed_rack Puerto Rico in Aguadilla during @prcocktailweek 2024 ... faced with the immense pressure of Judging the Bartender Competitors, instead of giving Final Round scores, they QUIT so they didn't have the pressure of deciding a Champion. They were kidding duh! And FYI @rakela858 won that year as Speed Rack PR Champion competing at @tales_of_the_cocktail 🇵🇷💝🔥🏆

J'Nai Angelle Williams would like a word with anyone in the Industry struggling to capture content or waiting for the 'perfect' moment to post ... read up on what @jnai.angelle has to say as someone who understands as Bartender, Cocktail & Spirits Educator, Content Creator, & Owner of @prettymagiccocktails and genuinely think about her question, "What if your voice is the thing someone else needs to keep going?" J'Nai is a New Orleans native with over a decade behind the bar, from dive bars to fine dining to posh hotels to cocktail competitions to brand activations, she has done it! A lil bragging on our friend J'Nai - Named NOLA's Finest Bartender by Essence, a Wine Enthusiast Future 40 honoree (shout out to @wineenthusiast Future 40 Honorees). J'Nai has built something very rare and extremely difficult in our Industry, mastering the craft AND visibility, at the same time, without a publicity or social media team behind her work ... and without apology. We asked her to speak to everyone who's been struggling to hit record. To show up. To be seen trying. Her answer was exactly what we needed to hear, and honestly, what we needed to say to ourselves too. "Visibility comes with friction. Not everyone will understand you and that's okay. The right people will." The internet can be brutal. The comments can be cruel. And still, the opportunities go to those who show up, who are seen. Not always the most qualified. Not always the most polished. The ones who post. J'Nai gets it, truly she does. And she's proof that showing up - consistently, creatively, as authentically real yourself is the whole strategy. We have a very feeling this won't be the last time you hear from her on Thirsty or featured globally and we heard from a lil birdy she is shaking up something new dropping soon ... so follow J'Nai at @jnai.angelle Learn more about her work at Pretty Magic Cocktails: @prettymagiccocktails ✍️ caption and feature by @tarathirsty *All photos provided by J'Nai Angelle

Presentamos a nuestra próxima speaker de PRCW Summer Edition: @tarathirsty Tara es una de las figuras más influyentes del bar world, usando @thirsty para darle visibilidad a las voces y mover la industria hacia adelante. 👉 Industry Day es el espacio para eso: aprender, cuestionar, conectar y seguir evolucionando como profesionales. No te quedes fuera 👀 Asegura tu acceso. Link en bio. #hospitality #industryinsights

Anyone else feel this? We have hear this from a lot of Bartenders, but no one can really explain why? Just straight (deep breath) pissed. Credit, thanks and shout out to the hilarious @lizzagone for this one. Check out her comedy!

We spoke to Alex Valencia @alexbarlencia this Cinco de Mayo and this is what he shared. Alex is one of the pioneers in introducing modern Mexican bar culture to the U.S. Born in Michoacán, raised in Guadalajara, and moved to New York City at 19 and has become a pillar of representation in the modern cocktail and Mexican spirits movement. He is one of those Industry veterans who deserves more recognition and flores, so we wanted to talk to him on May 5th about how he feels about today in 2026. He built his career at some of the most legendary bars in the city and has spent two decades at the forefront of Mexican culture in the U.S. bar community, long before it was celebrated in the way it is today. He founded La Contenta, the first NYC restaurant to champion agave spirits beyond tequila. He now leads Vallarta Tropical on the Lower East Side. He teaches. He mentors. He shows up. And he has one thing to say this Cinco de Mayo 🇲🇽🏆 @alexbarlencia @lacontentales @vallartanyc

Brotherly Love of @yayo_nm & @ricardonavam propelled @barmauromx to the #2 Bar in North America ... will wee see them back in Brooklyn this Summer?

May the Fourth be with you and everyome who's ever been a little too excited about Star Wars Day 🛸 Every year this Baby Yoda drink takes over the feed, and every year the origin story gets murkier. So we did what we do: we dug in to find the story. What we found is that the Baby Yoda cocktail isn't really a recipe, it's a style and character format. Lime wedge ears, fruit eyes (usually cherries), a little robe. A visual language that traveled from The Mandalorian to a slow Sunday shift in Omaha to Jennifer Aniston's Instagram Stories in under a year. The Bar industry has speed on social media, gotta admit that. It's also a reminder of something worth holding onto right now: cocktails have always been part of how culture moves. The viral cocktail moment didn't start with TikTok. It started with bartenders who were paying attention to what people cared about in a moment and built it into a glass. That's craft, creativity and hospitality. With everything hitting the Industry from every direction right now, we just wanted to spend today having a lil silly harmless fun and giving credit where it's long overdue. If we missed any part of the story, or you know an earlier version of the build, drop it in the comments. The bar community made something culturally iconic (and adorable) here 🛸🌌👽👨‍🚀🚀 May the Fourth be with you! See you next year, lil Baby Yoda 🐸 📸 by Sarah Miller @gin_a_ding_ding

At the 152nd Kentucky Derby, 23-1 longshot Golden Tempo came from dead last to win the Run for the Roses. Trainer Cherie DeVaux became the first Woman in Derby history to win with Puerto Rican Jockey Jose Ortiz. The brilliant Boricua Derby champion rode Golden Tempo to victory while his brother Irad Ortiz Jr. finished 2nd on Renegade for the first ever Siblings Exacta 1-2 finish in the 152 history. This capped off a massive weekend for Jose, who won the Kentucky Oaks just 24 hours earlier on Always a Runner - joining an elite club of only nine jockeys to ever sweep both races in one weekend. ​Golden Tempo’s team walked away with $3.1 million of a $5 million purse. The owners (Phipps Stable and St. Elias Stable) took home the lion's share, while Cherie DeVaux and Jose Ortiz each earned a career-defining $310,000 payout. The 14-karat solid gold trophy went with them. ​The 152nd Derby drew 150,415 fans to Churchill Downs and an estimated 250,000 people to the Louisville area overall. To feed a crowd this size, Churchill Downs transforms into a "Culinary City" in and of itself, operating 17 full-scale kitchens with over 100 Executive Chefs and 10,000+ hospitality workers working in sync. ​The event generates more than $400 million in regional economic impact annually, with hotel rates surging over 260% compared to surrounding weekends. The Kentucky Derby is not just a race. It is one of the most powerful single-weekend hospitality financial generators annually in the U.S. ​By the numbers: 🥃 125,000+ Mint Juleps 🥃 10,000+ bottles of Kentucky Bourbon 🧊 475,000 lbs of crushed ice 📈 $487 million in total betting handle — an all-time Derby Week record. Source: Official Churchill Downs 2026 Facts & Figures (Oaks/Derby Weekend)