Rupert Hohwieler

Rupert Hohwieler is a senior staff writer at The Spirits Business who covers the global drinks industry with a focus on how food, cocktails and bar culture intersect. His work combines daily trade news, recurring product and marketing round-ups, and longer features that track how culinary ideas and brand strategy are reshaping spirits and mixed drinks. He reports for a specialist audience inside the drinks business, but his stories often sit at the point where the kitchen, the bar and the back office meet.

Food-led mixology and culinary cocktails

A defining strand in Hohwieler’s coverage is the way food influences modern cocktail creation and serves. He has explored how the lines between the kitchen and the bar are blurring in a feature on food-inspired mixology, examining the rise of culinary cocktails and the techniques bartenders borrow from chefs. His reporting on the Double Chicken Please team’s Dirty Martini ice cream sits in the same space, showing interest in playful crossovers that turn classic drinks into desserts and other hybrid formats tied to flavour and texture rather than strict category rules.

This focus carries through to venue-led stories. In his piece on speakeasy bar Charles H in Seoul unveiling a new cocktail menu, he highlights a programme explicitly inspired by wider culinary themes, reinforcing his attention to how food concepts are translated into drinks lists. When he covers bartender competitions such as the Torres Brandy Zero Challenge, he notes judging panels that include drinks authors and leading bar figures, again framing cocktails as part of a broader gastronomic culture rather than a standalone product. Taken together, these stories show a reporter who treats spirits and cocktails as part of a culinary ecosystem, not just as isolated beverages.

Category analysis, launches and consumption shifts

Alongside venue and culinary stories, Hohwieler regularly writes category features that map shifts in how specific spirits are made, marketed and consumed. In his vodka feature “Night and day: vodka’s consumption shift”, he looks at how vodka drinkers are moving away from nightclubs and towards different occasions, using the category’s change of pace to illustrate broader trends in when and how people drink. He contributes to The Spirits Business’ annual Brand Champions coverage with a piece on the best-selling speciality spirits, combining volume data with commentary on which brands are outperforming and why.

Product launches are another recurring theme. His “Top spirits launches in November 2025” round-up pulls together new releases across whisky and other spirits, setting them in the context of category development and consumer interest. In news pieces on launches such as independent Turkish bottler KA Icecek’s Project W whisky line, he highlights positioning choices like a focus on quality over age statement and the significance of being the first independent bottling project from Turkey. He also writes about the growing use of ready-to-drink formats in mixer and tonic brands, examining RTD tie-ups as a strategic move for companies looking to extend their reach and meet changing drinking habits. Across these stories, he deals in concrete product detail and commercial intent, giving readers a clear picture of how brands are trying to shape the market.

Bars, books, marketing moves and events

Hohwieler’s beat extends deep into bar culture, personalities and live events in the spirits world. He has profiled venues through news pieces on bars such as Charles H in Seoul, using menu changes to illuminate the creative direction of leading cocktail spots. In his coverage of the Crossroads bar team’s first cocktail book, he follows how a London bar’s philosophy is being translated into print, showing interest in both the drinks and the storytelling around them. An interview with Club Kokomo founders Mike and Brian Love, republished by the brand, underscores his willingness to engage directly with creators behind rum and other spirits labels, giving space to their business and brand-building narratives.

Marketing and events are another strong thread. In the Top 10 section of The Spirits Business, he compiles lists such as “Top marketing moves from June 2026”, highlighting notable campaigns and partnerships across the spirits sector. His reporting on World Gin Week’s launch details how a new event positions itself as the first of its kind, reflecting his interest in festivals and initiatives that aim to organise consumer attention around categories like gin. Coverage of competitions such as the Torres Brandy Zero Challenge 2026 focuses on winners like Camila Flechas and the judges drawn from leading bars and drinks writing, linking individual achievements to the wider ecosystem of awards and rankings. Across these pieces, Hohwieler consistently connects brand activity, bar programmes and consumer-facing events, building a picture of how the modern spirits business presents itself to the public.

Role within The Spirits Business

Within The Spirits Business masthead, Hohwieler holds a senior staff writer role, working alongside the publication’s editors to deliver daily news, features and special series across the global drinks industry. His work spans multiple sections of the publication, including news, on-trade coverage, product launches, marketing round-ups and category features, reflecting a brief that is both broad and deeply rooted in the trade. The common thread is a practical, industry-facing approach: he reports on what brands, bars and events are doing right now, with particular attention to food-led cocktails, strategic launches and the campaigns and competitions that shape how spirits are sold and served.