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This week 📢I talk🎙️with Kate Jerkens at Uncle Nearest and Caitlyn LuBell at BoozeBiz and we discuss the beverage industry in 2025 and 2026. 👏🍷 🎇 🎉 ✨ 👏 🥂 😁

👀📹 Watch here: 👉👉 [PASTE HERE]🚀✨🍹

2025 was a reset year for beverage 🍷🍺🍹 RTDs surged, NA grew, costs spiked & hiring shifted. We break down data, trends, distributor chaos & what’s coming in 2026. 👀 👉 @ThirstyThursdaysat3PMEST

2025 shook the beverage industry to its core 🍸📉. From RTD dominance and NA growth, to California distributor chaos, premium pricing pressure, and talent market stress, this episode breaks it all down—no fluff, just real talk.

Key Takeaways 🔑

• 📉 Growth slowed—but didn’t stop
• 🍹 RTDs are winning on convenience & price
• 🚫 NA still struggles with sugar + shelf life
• 🏬 Distribution strategy > national expansion
• 🧠 Storytelling + velocity matter more than ever
• 💼 Hiring is tighter, salaries pressured
• 🔄 2025 = reset | 2026 = change + growth

🎯 Why this matters:
If you’re building, selling, hiring, or distributing in beverage—this episode helps you see the chessboard, not just the pieces.

Describe 2025 and 2026 in One Word

Jessie Ott
2025:

2026:

Caitlyn LuBell
2025:

2026:

Kate Jerkens
2025:

2026:

⏱️ Chapter Descriptions

• 0:00 Welcome + Why 2025 Was a Reset
• 1:02 Meet the Guests (BoozeBiz & Uncle Nearest)
• 2:30 Who Really Holds the Money? Generational Wealth
• 5:22 Economic Signals: Growth, Inflation & LEIs
• 7:18 Premiumization & Consumer Behavior
• 9:40 Inventory Digestion & Distributor Reality
• 11:30 California Distribution Chaos Explained
• 15:42 Smaller Distributors vs Big Houses
• 18:00 Pricing Wars & National Market Impact
• 21:44 Military, Multi-Outlet & Channel Performance
• 22:26 RTDs, NA Mixers & Brand Winners
• 25:30 The Real Cost of $30 Cocktails
• 29:00 Why RTDs Win on Convenience & Cost
• 33:55 Hiring Challenges & Salary Compression
• 41:10 Tastings, Education & Velocity
• 45:15 Why 2025 Was a Reset Year
• 50:07 Unemployment & Workforce Mismatch
• 56:

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This week 📢I talk🎙️with Lawrence Bremer Founder of St. Buena Vida Non-Alc Wine! Happy Dry January! 👏🍷 🎇 🎉 ✨ 👏 🥂 😁

What if Dry January actually felt like a celebration? 🍾
In this episode, Lawrence Bremer, founder of St. Buena Vida, shares how tech, taste, and logistics come together in one of the most innovative NA wines on the market.

🔥 Top Takeaways:
• 🤰 The origin story: a pregnancy, a bottle, and a surprise sip
• 🔬 Aroma capture tech that makes NA wine taste real
• 🚛 Global supply chain: Spain ➝ Germany ➝ U.S.
• 🥂 Crisp, clean bubbles with finish & balance
• 📈 Real sales data — not hype
• 🧠 Analytics mindset meets wine innovation
• 🧘 30 calories per glass = wellness crowd win

🎯 Whether you’re skipping booze or sipping smarter, this is a must-watch.
👇 Tap play and learn how NA wine is finally worth the pour.

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What are the 7 cocktails every drink is based on? 🍹 Dive into tiki, bitters, fire tricks & cocktail history w/ bartender legend Dr. Cush! 🎙️@ThirstyThursdaysat3PMEST

Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/azJZrXe5R2Q

💡 What happens when a comedian turns into LA’s best bartender? You get Dr. Cush’s Exotic Drinks — a one-man show mixing cocktail science, bar wisdom & some hilarious fire tricks 🔥🍊

✨ Highlights from the episode:

• 🍹 The 7 cocktails that rule all other cocktails
• 🔥 His signature drink: Dr. Cush’s Exotic Old Fashioned
• 📚 Why bartending is more books than booze
• 🍍 How pineapples became the symbol of hospitality
• 🧊 The lost art of ice (yes, really!)
• 🎭 From improv heel to hospitality hero
• 💻 Building an online bar community during COVID
• 💥 Flaming citrus, tiki wars, and cold pizza cocktails

🎯 CTA: Subscribe for weekly food & bev innovation talks 🎙️ — and try making the Hemingway Daiquiri or your own signature drink!

0:00 Intro to Dr. Cush 🍸
1:00 From comedy to cocktails
5:00 The 7 cocktails theory explained
12:00 Punch vs daiquiri: tiki breakdown
17:00 Cocktail vs experience: why it matters
25:00 Building an online bar community
31:00 Hemingway Daiquiri tutorial 🍹
41:00 The Dr. Cush Exotic Old Fashioned (🔥)
50:00 Shelf-stable lime juice recipe
1:03:00 State of the booze industry
1:10:00 Signature drink + fire tricks
1:20:00 Cocktail nerd history tour
1:30:00 Outro & cocktail class invite

Mentors in Drinks and Tiki

Steve the Bartender

Created Drinks Website: Kindred Cocktails Discovered: Pseudo Juice Calculator

Dave Arnold - Technique Liquid Intelligence

Jeffrey Beachbum Berry Owns Latitude 29 in New Orleans

Martin & Rebecca Cate own Smuggler's Cove in San Francisco

Wrote James Beard Award-winning “Smuggler’s Cove: Exotic Cocktails, Rum, and the Cult of Tiki

David Wondrich Drinks Historian and author, Link to his Books and awards

Sammy Ross Best Bar Dudes of All Time

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Host Jessie Ott's Profile on LinkedIn