Sprouts Testing THC Beverages - Quench Report Issue #23

Plus Recent History of Whisky Specialty, Prime and Mas+ End Legal Battle, Hot Jobs and more

Author

Matt Rice
January 12, 2026

Welcome to Issue #23 of The Quench Report, the newsletter that raises a glass and delivers the latest and greatest in Beverage Alcohol and the broader Beverage category.

What’s on tap for today:

  • 🧪 Sprouts Testing THC Beverages - The Largest Test to Date

  • 🥃 The Recent History of Whisky Specialty - Here Comes Aperol

  • 🆕 Prime and Mas+ End Legal Battle

  • 🔥 Hot Jobs Worth Applying To

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WHAT’S ON TAP - UPCOMING

📊 Jan 13
• Nielsen data through Jan 3
• Circana data through Jan 4

 🧪 SPROUTS TESTS THC BEVERAGES

Back in October, we reported on Target's cautious 10-store THC beverage test in Minnesota. Now we're seeing significantly broader grocery adoption.

The News: Sprouts Farmers Market began testing intoxicating hemp beverages across 120 stores this week. The natural foods retailer is carrying seven brands including Cann, Magic Cactus, Wynk, Nowadays, and Nektr Infusions, with THC dosages ranging from 2mg to 10mg per serving. Products also feature complementary cannabinoids like CBD and CBG.

See how Sprout’s test compares to Target’s below 👇️ 

🧠Our Thoughts

Potency Ceiling Rises - Target capped their test at 5mg THC per serving, raising questions about whether major retailers would stick to ultra-conservative limits. Sprouts' willingness to stock 10mg products suggests mainstream retail is becoming more comfortable with industry-standard dosing.

Better Data Access - Unlike Target, Sprouts' scan data is much more widely available through various retail tracking services. This will give the hemp beverage category its first real look at consumer purchasing patterns in a major conventional retail environment.

Scale Signal - At 120 stores versus Target's 10, this represents a genuine market test rather than a limited trial. Success here could accelerate category adoption across natural and conventional grocery.

🥃 WHISKY SPECIALTY EVOLUTION OVER TIME

The "Whisky Specialty" category captures flavored whisky products that fall outside standard definitions. Here's how the competitive landscape has shifted over the past decade 👇️

🧠Our Thoughts

Fireball Still Dominates - Despite sliding from its 2021 peak, Fireball has added 1.5 million cases over the past ten years. The brand remains the category anchor, and recent stabilization suggests it may be finding its long-term equilibrium rather than fading.

Aperol's Steady Climb - While Aperol has felt like a "hot brand" for years, it's still only at roughly 500,000 cases annually (which is shocking!) Given continued consumer interest in aperitifs and lower-ABV options, significant runway remains.

🆕 PRIME AND MAS+ END LEGAL DISPUTE

Context: In late October, we covered Surfside's lawsuit against ABI over the new Skimmers packaging. As a reminder 👇️ 

While that legal battle continues, another trade dress lawsuit was dropped last week, as Prime and Mas+ have ended their court battle. As with all these lawsuits, only the lawyers are likely to win.

Check it out Prime and Mas+ below👇️ 

THIS WEEK’S HOT JOBS IN BEVERAGES

These roles came to us via personal recommendations (not public job boards). Want your open role featured? Email: [email protected] 👇️ 

THANKS FOR READING

The Quench Report is a free weekly newsletter from Thirsty Insights, a beverage alcohol consulting company that serves top clients in strategy, insights, and analytics.

Any questions, please email us at [email protected]