Welcome in, today is Thursday, July sixteenth, and we begin with NIQ's newest on-premise read on where beverage alcohol growth is actually moving. NIQ's latest On Premise analysis describes a landscape defined by divergence, according to reporting from BevNET and Brewbound. Spirits continue to strengthen their leadership position, delivering value growth and gaining share, while beer and wine remain under pressure. The beer picture is not one line, though. NIQ finds performance varies significantly by segment, by format, and by occasion, alongside shifts in on-premise consumption that run past topline category numbers. For portfolio and channel planners, that gives a fresh data reference for where to place effort. Industry reaction leans practical. Some in the trade note that category-level momentum masks a tighter operating constraint at the account level, where tap handles are scarce and alcoholic and non-alcoholic options compete for the same slot. A recurring point is that for smaller suppliers, volume velocity in the account, not category growth, is the binding factor. Also today, the India-UK Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement is in force. It took effect on the fifteenth, per The Spirits Business, The Drinks Business and Drinks International, and it resets the tariff arithmetic on Scotch into one of the category's largest volume markets. Customs duty on UK whisky falls from one hundred fifty percent to seventy-five percent immediately, then steps down to forty percent over ten years. Gin, vodka, rum, brandy and liqueurs sit on a separate, slower schedule, opening at one hundred ten percent and reaching seventy-five by year ten, and only where a shipment clears a minimum import price threshold and rules of origin, according to India Briefing. Firstpost reports industry expectations of roughly five to ten percent in initial retail relief, varying by state, because state excise, registration fees and distributor margins stay in the price. Industry reaction leans skeptical on delivery, with a recurring note that the machinery behind a trade policy, rather than the signature on it, decides which exporters capture the benefit. Separately, a development on the unwinding of Republic National Distributing Company. Following our earlier reports on the near-complete wind-down and on suppliers chasing payments, Quality Brands has closed its previously announced acquisition of RNDC's businesses in Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota. Shanken's Impact Newsletter puts those three states at one hundred sixty-two million dollars in RNDC revenue last year, and Shanken News Daily reports approximately one hundred sixty RNDC employees are moving across. For brands in those territories, route-to-market now runs through a regional house. Some in the trade read the pattern, a footprint of more than thirty-five states splitting across seven acquirers, as a structural reshaping of the second-tier regional distributor role rather than one company's failure, with supplier margin pressure cited as a possible driver. Also today, Horse Soldier Bourbon has opened its American Freedom Distillery, a two hundred million dollar build backed by Gallo, according to The Spirits Business, which describes it as Kentucky's latest whiskey destination. The Spirits Business is alone on the detail so far. What it adds up to is fresh production capacity and another stop on the visitor trail, arriving into a period of reported softness in American whiskey demand. Now, a few more headlines moving the trade today. Brown-Forman's board has opened its formal search for Lawson Whiting's successor, per IVCPOST, with Whiting staying on until one is appointed. Just Drinks carries commentary from Richard Woodard arguing that pricing pragmatism is returning to Scotch, offered as one writer's read of the category's economics. Sazerac has picked the Spanish business Osborne to distribute its products in Spain, according to Just Drinks. BrewDog co-founder James Watt says he has made a fresh offer to Tilray Brands to reacquire the brewer through his Second Best brand, five months after an unsuccessful attempt, per Brewbound and Just Drinks. No response from Tilray has been reported. And finally, Fawn Weaver has been fired as chief executive of Uncle Nearest by the company's court-appointed receiver, according to Just Drinks and The Spirits Business. Both outlets attribute the removal to the receiver, and neither reports a stated reason. It is a governance development at a distiller whose public identity has been closely tied to its founder.