For reasons explained here, I’ve been a little out of the loop when it comes to industry news. An extensive perusal of Spirits Business showed me that I haven’t missed a whole, whole lot. There haven’t been a ton of new openings or plans or brand revamps as there have been in recent years.

Overall, the spirits business is struggling. Younger people drink less compared to older generations, the fad for brown spirits has faded some in recent years inasmuch as some of the single malt and bourbon bandwagon jumpers have started to jump off and move on to the next thing, and ill-starred trade policies continue to sow confusion, uncertainty, and higher prices.

Spirits giant Diageo and several other concerns in Scotland have reported profits drastically below targets. Several acclaimed bourbon distilleries have declared bankruptcy. The revived Rosebank distillery has laid off staff. Glenglassaugh, itself a relatively recent revival, was mothballed. There have been murmurs of another “whisky loch” building.

Still, not everything is doom and gloom: Spirits Business reports that enthusiast darlings Thompson Brothers are working on a new distillery near Dornoch. There’s talk of reviving the legendary and long-defunct Ferintosh. Another new distillery is in the works at Auchenbowie.

Tormore Distillery, which went to the Singh brothers and Elixir Distillers as part of the sale that granted Pernod-Ricard control of The Whisky Exchange has finally issued its first bottlings under the new (and likely more involved) ownership.

Probably the most interesting and exciting news, also per Spirits Business, is a move I’ve predicted for some time: Speyside’s Coleburn distillery will reopen after more than 40 years of silence. Like other recently revived distilleries like Port Ellen and Brora, Coleburn was part of the UDV (now Diageo) stable and was culled during the “whisky loch” of the early 1980s; also like those facilities, many of the building remain intact, unlike less fortunate peers like Glenury Royal, Millburn, and Glen Albyn.