TORONTO, Feb. 2, 2026 /CNW/ - Two brands deeply woven into Canadian culture are coming together to introduce one of the country's most recognizable serves in a ready-to-drink (RTD) format. J.P. Wiser's and Canada Dry are launching their Whisky & Ginger Ale premixed cocktail. Built for modern occasions, this new pairing is available nationwide beginning in February.

"Whisky and ginger ale have a long history of showing up wherever Canadians gather, from game night to everyday moments. That connection played a big role in how this partnership came to life," said Maura Cowan, Vice-President of Marketing at Corby Spirit and Wine. "As we look to the future, this launch reflects a deliberate approach to evolving the J.P. Wiser's brand. It's about exploring new innovations and occasions while remaining anchored in the values, quality, and standards that have defined it for generations."

With more than a century of Canadian heritage between them, J.P. Wiser's and Canada Dry approached this collaboration with a shared focus on precision and consistency. The whisky needed to remain expressive and balanced, while Canada Dry Ginger Ale had to deliver its signature crisp, refreshing taste. The result: a Whisky & Ginger Ale RTD at 7% ABV that feels familiar from the first sip.

"If there's one ginger ale Canadians trust with their whisky, it's Canada Dry," said Chris McMahon, Vice-President, Away-from Home Sales & Ready-to-Drink at Keurig Dr Pepper Canada. "This marks the first entry of our ginger ale into the ready-to-drink category, and partnering with J.P. Wiser's, one of Canada's most established and awarded whisky brands, made this pairing a natural evolution of Canada Dry."

Beginning in February, the new RTD will be available nationwide, offering a versatile option for a range of occasions. It will be available in a 473 mL single-serve can, with four-packs offered in BC, AB and QC. J.P. Wiser's & Canada Dry Whisky & Ginger Ale requires no mixing or measuring and can be served straight from the can or over ice, offering a bar-quality expression of a Canadian favourite.

Designed to meet consumers where this classic serve is already enjoyed, the partnership extends well beyond shelf. J.P. Wiser's and Canada Dry will activate nationally throughout the year across retail, on-premise, and culture. Planned activity includes in-store tastings and retail sampling programs, select bar and restaurant features, high-profile sponsorships tied to major sporting and cultural events, and a rotating series of immersive pop-up experiences and festival appearances.

As the Official Whisky of Game Night, J.P. Wiser's will also extend the partnership into game-day occasions that resonate with fans coast to coast. A dynamic digital and social campaign will further amplify the collaboration, celebrating Canadian moments and the nostalgia of this iconic pairing. Additional activations will be announced as the rollout continues.

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CALGARY, AB, Jan. 29, 2026 /CNW/ - Big Rock Brewery Inc. (TSX: BR) ("Big Rock" or the "Corporation") is excited to announce the appointment of Mr. William Woods to the position of Chief Financial Officer, effective February 28, 2026. Mr. Woods has been in the role since August 28, 2025 on an interim contract.

Mr. Woods joins us with over 25 years of Senior and C-suite financial leadership experience, and a proven track record of cost management and margin improvement, accountability, mentorship, and team building, resulting in significant profit growth. Prior to joining Big Rock, Mr. Woods most recently served as CFO at Dyand Mechanical Systems Inc., and prior to that has held multiple senior financial roles across the manufacturing, hospitality, natural resource/mining, biotech, transportation, telecommunications and real estate sectors.

"I look forward to working with Bill, with the vast amount of experience, he is a great addition to the talent currently on our team. We now have all the management pieces in place to significantly grow our business and expand into new markets" said David Kinder, President and Chief Executive Officer.

January 27, 2026 — North America’s 50 Best Bars, sponsored by Perrier, will return for its fifth edition in April2026. The three-day event program will be held in Vancouver, Canada, culminating with the highly anticipated awards ceremony taking place on Wednesday, April 22,2026 at the Vancouver Convention Centre.

The 2026 event program brings the North American bar community back to Vancouver following a successful destination debut in 2025, celebrating the region’s world-class cocktail culture and exceptional bartending talent in one of the continent’s most dynamic cultural hubs. Home to a collaborative bar community and exceptional talent, Vancouver’s bar scene is increasingly recognized on the global stage.

North America’s 50 Best Bars focuses on highlighting excellence in the bars industry specifically in the USA, Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean. The inaugural awards ceremony was held in New York City in 2022, followed by San Miguel de Allende in 2023 and 2024, and Vancouver in 2025. This year, the awards ceremony returns to Vancouver to honor and celebrate the talented bars and teams in destinations throughout the continent.

Emma Sleight, Head of Content for North America’s 50 Best Bars, says: “Following our first-ever celebration in Canada last year, we are thrilled to return to Vancouver to host the 2026 edition of North America’s 50 Best Bars. In 2025, the city’s dynamic hospitality scene hosted the region’s top bartending talent and showcased Canada’s growing impact on the bar industry. We’re so excited to return to Vancouver this April and recognize the individuals and destinations that are defining North America’s role in the global cocktail scene.”

The celebration begins the day before the reveal of North America’s 50 Best Bars 2026 with the Bartenders’ Feast and will be followed by the live countdown and the awards ceremony itself at the Vancouver Convention Centre on April 22, ending in the announcement of The Best Bar in North America 2026 and other special award winners. North America’s 50 Best Bars recognized the growth of the North American cocktail scene by unveiling the extended 51-100 list for the first time in 2025 and will do so again in 2026.

Royce Chwin, President & CEO of Destination Vancouver, says: "After the incredible energy of last year's event, we could not be more excited to welcome North America’s 50 Best Bars back to Vancouver this year. This event signals the growing recognition of Vancouver's cocktail culture, shaped by bold ideas, diverse influences and a strong sense of place. The return of North America’s 50 Best Bars creates an opportunity to bring the industry together, shine a spotlight on local talent, and give a warm Vancouver welcome to guests from across the continent.”

In advance of the North America’s 50 Best Bars awards ceremony, 50 Best will unveil a few special award winners, including the Michter’s Art of Hospitality Award and Altos Bartenders’ Bartender Award. The extended 51-100 list, showcasing those bars ranked between 51^st and 100^th, will also be revealed in the lead up to the awards ceremony.

The countdown of the list of North America’s 50 Best Bars, sponsored by Perrier, will also be broadcast live on YouTube to a global audience who are not able to attend in person.

Further details regarding the 2026 program and consumer events will be revealed in due course.

How the Voting Works

The ranking for North America’s 50 Best Bars will reflect the best bar experiences based on the votes of the Academy members, who comprise anonymous North American bar industry experts from the USA, Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean. The voting split of these bar industry experts is 33% bartenders and bar owners, 33%, drinks writers and educators and 33% well-traveled cocktail experts. There is a 50/50 gender balance among the voters.

This year’s Academy is made up of more than 300 voters. This change was implemented to obtain a wider snapshot and ensure a greater number of diverse voices are heard in the voting process. Moreover, as per all 50 Best lists for restaurants, bars, and hotels, a minimum of 25% of Academy members are refreshed annually to keep the perspectives dynamic and relevant. Members of the 50 Best organization do not vote and do not control the composition of the list; that is the collective role of the voting Academy. This means that bars cannot apply to be on the list and no sponsors have any influence on the list.

The Academy is divided into 7 regions: USA Northeast; USA Midwest; USA West; USA South; Canada East; Canada West; Mexico and the Caribbean. Each region has its own panel of members including a chairperson, called the Academy Chair. The Chairs each select a voting panel, ensuring a balanced selection. Each North America Academy member will vote for 7 bars, with a maximum of 5 in the home country (or state in the U.S.) where they are based. Voters also have the option to vote for a further 2 (or more) bars located outside of their home country (or U.S. state) up to a maximum of 7.

The lists of North America’s 50 Best Bars and The World’s 50 Best Bars are the results of two separate votes from two different voting Academies, taking place at different times and assessing different geographical regions. Therefore, the results from voting create two separate lists, with different rankings.

Voters are required to remain anonymous and voting is confidential, secure and independently adjudicated by Deloitte. Academy Chairs are not privy to, and have no knowledge of, the votes cast by the voters in their respective regions. They are not spokespeople for the 50 Best brand.

The list will be the result of a poll of more than 300 experts (all within the North American continent), who each cast votes for the bars where they have had their ‘best experience’ during the last 18 months before the voting deadline. The list is a simple computation of votes by North American voters for bars in North America. Further information on the Academy Chairs and how the voting works is available on the FAQs page .

NEW YORK, Jan. 28, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- ABSOLUT and TABASCO® Brand are heating up the global spirits scene with the launch of a new spicy vodka, ABSOLUT^® TABASCO^™. Now available in the U.S. and rolling out across 50+ markets worldwide, this bold innovation comes from two iconic industry leaders who are redefining flavor.

Crafted by fusing ABSOLUT with a unique and completely natural essence created from the fermented, aged red pepper mash used to make TABASCO® Sauce, ABSOLUT® TABASCO^™ delivers the distinctive heat and aroma of the world's most famous pepper sauce in America's #1 spirit brand, as voted by consumers.¹ The resulting vodka has no added sugar and, like ABSOLUT original, is gluten-free but now with just the right amount of spice.

"ABSOLUT has never been afraid to mix things up or shy away from bold moves and flavor," said Caroline Begley, U.S. VP of Marketing for ABSOLUT. "This year we're bringing the heat with the launch of ABSOLUT ® TABASCO^™. We're proud to partner with another icon and one of the world's leading hot sauce brands to add a spicy kick to both classic and trending vodka cocktails."

The new chili pepper flavored vodka comes amid strong and growing demand for spicy food and beverages. Global audiences have an adventurous thirst for bold drinks now more than ever, with sales of spicy vodka forecast to increase 27 percent by 2029.² The latest innovation comes from the same brand that pioneered the flavored spirits space originally, while capturing the heat that spirit drinkers worldwide crave today.

From Bloody Marys to Spicy Lemonades or even as a shot, ABSOLUT ® TABASCO^™ is the perfect way to add heat to any occasion: from game-day gatherings and convivial brunches to music festivals and nights out. Each ABSOLUT ® TABASCO^™ serve delivers a smooth vodka accented with a heat that builds, leaving a warm, lingering tingle on the lips with every sip.

"With more than 150 years of pepper expertise, it only made sense for us at TABASCO® Brand to partner with ABSOLUT Vodka, another brand with a storied history that understands and cares about the craft that goes into its product," said Christian Brown, Head of Agriculture and 6th generation family member, McIlhenny Company, makers of TABASCO® Brand products. "TABASCO® Brand exists to light up everything we touch, and the powerful blending of these two iconic liquids (and unforgettable bottles) is long overdue!"

The ABSOLUT ® TABASCO^™ collaboration unites two best-in-class brands, each with more than a century of history and a legacy of authenticity and quality. Both ABSOLUT and TABASCO® were built on a foundation of locally sourced and crafted ingredients, and carry that tradition on through manufacturing processes still used today.

Founded in 1868 on Avery Island, Louisiana, where it is still produced today, TABASCO® Sauce uses just three ingredients: handpicked red peppers, salt and vinegar. Once mashed together, the red pepper mix is aged and fermented in reclaimed oak barrels for up to three years, creating the sauce's subtle, unique flavor.

ABSOLUT Vodka is also made using just three natural ingredients – pristine water sourced from a local deep well, a proprietary strain of yeast and winter wheat grown on nearby farms. This premium vodka is only distilled in the small town of Åhus in Southern Sweden, using the same continuous distillation process introduced by its Swedish founder, L.O. Smith, in the 1870s.

The brands' rich heritages come together through the design of the ABSOLUT ® TABASCO™ bottle. It seamlessly blends their iconic silhouettes into one; the bottle's colors and diamond label shout TABASCO^® Sauce, but the apothecary-inspired shape is unmistakably ABSOLUT.

"We are thrilled to bring the unique flavor of TABASCO^® Sauce to ABSOLUT's smooth, premium vodka," said Kate Neuhaus, Director of Global Marketing Communications at McIlhenny Company. "We share a rich heritage and a commitment to quality – and this new partnership is a testament to both. It's the perfect match. ABSOLUT^® TABASCO^™ is the purest form of heat ever bottled for adventurous flavor lovers everywhere!"

Inspired by ABSOLUT Vodka's legendary print ads, the product will be supported with a new campaign by Wieden + Kennedy London. Dramatizing the heat of ABSOLUT® TABASCO™, the campaign creates a world for spicy cocktail drinkers where volcanoes erupt not with lava, but fiery Bloody Marys. Dramatic, real volcanic visuals, shot on location south of Reykjavík, Iceland, build upon the brand's heritage of creating simple, witty, smile-in-the-mind work.