It's all in the touch

Good morning Staker! Here’s what’s cookin’ today. Sales of Jack Daniels in Canada plummet, Rome’s new subway is also a museum, and the King Crimson crew is headed back out on the road 🎸

Let’s get into it!

Brown-Forman—the maker of Jack Daniel’s and several other spirits—says sales were down 62% in Canada in Q2 amid the early days of Canada’s nationwide boycott of American liquor.

While Canada only makes up 1% of Brown-Forman’s global sales on average, the ongoing boycott of Jack Daniel’s and the distillery-owner’s other spirits in parts of the country is having a greater impact than expected.

Net sales are down 5% for the year, and the ready-to-drink market—which is a planned source of major future business—is also being impacted, with RTD Jack-based cocktail sales down 4%.

While some Canadian provinces have since begun restocking liquor stores with American spirits, others continue to boycott them. The Liquor Control Board of Ontario—the largest single buyer of booze in Canada—took Brown-Forman products off its shelves in March, and hasn’t looked back.

“The continued unavailability of American spirits products in Canada resulted in a significant impact to our top line performance,” CFO Leanne Cunningham said on an earnings call.

Cunningham says when the year is over, the company expects sales to be down by between 1% and 4%.

The cool thing about building a subway in Rome is that the major excavation work required leads to discoveries dating back thousands of years, many of which otherwise may never have seen the light of day.

This was an especially relevant factor when constructing the station 100 feet beneath the Roman Colosseum. It opened the other day, along with the adjacent stop at Porta Metronia, where a nearly 2,000-year-old military barracks was discovered.

The 31-stop subway line, Metro C, has been plagued by delays, which any dweller of a big city can relate to these days. However, Rome’s excuse may actually be legitimate, given the preservation efforts required when digging through thousands of years of history.

Those travelling through Colosseo Station will find encased artifacts on display, including “ceramic vases and plates, stone wells and suspended buckets, as well as the ruins of a cold plunge pool and thermal bath from a first-century dwelling,” according to the Associated Press.

Columbia Sportswear designs clothing most appropriately fitted for outdoorsy in the Pacific Northwest. That actually makes its latest collaboration with Star Wars as appropriate as it gets.

The Endor Collection contains 20 different pieces, many of which resemble exactly what Luke, Leia, and Han Solo wore during the Rebel Alliance’s trip to Endor, the home of the Ewoks, and the battle site where the 2nd Death Star’s shield was destroyed and the Empire defeated.

The collection includes a trench coat made up of three garments, just like Han Solo’s, along with ponchos worn by Luke and Leia. You better believe there are also pieces for young children so their parents can dress them up like Ewoks.

Columbia used its most tech-forwad materials and processes it the creation of every piece in the lineup.

“We wanted to make sure they were authentic to the original costume, but truly functional, as well,” said Erin Steele, Special Projects Manager at Columbia.

“We worked carefully to ensure our versions captured that same imperfect, authentic look. Finally, we leveraged our Omni-Tech waterproof-breathable fabric to make it truly ready for real-world adventures.”

Beat announced last week that it’s playing a show in London in June after a wildly successful North American run last year honoring the 1980s era of one of prog rock’s most important and successful acts, King Crimson.

The other day,the band expanded on the announcement, revealing it will actually play an entire tour across Europe, starting in London on June 8, followed by 25 more shows throughout June and July, finishing off in Poland on July 17.

The lineup consists of former members of King Crimson proper, Tony Levin and Adrian Belew, along with the sensational Steve Vai on guitar and the beat-defying phenom on drums, Danny Carey.

Vai himself will be a busy boy next year, having just announced the 40-date North American SatchVai Band tour beginning in early April and finishing off on May 30 in Virginia. He’ll have just a week to pivot to King Crimson before joining the band on stage in London.

"BEAT is coming to Europe in the summer of 2026 to celebrate the incredible 1980s music of King Crimson," Beat and Vai said in a joint social media statement. "It’s going to be a powerful run of shows."

Oh the good old days of spending too much time finding a parking spot at the mall, only to have to fight your way through crowds to get your holiday shopping done. I think we might miss it…maybe just a little.

Speaking of holiday shopping, if your loved ones have been bugging you for a list of things you want, why not share the one we came across from our friends at Age of Majority. We’re especially excited about #7…looking at you, Staker Paul 😜

Sounds of the season

The holiday fun continues! This time we’re tuning in to classic songs and lyrics.

So let’s get to! Give today’s trivia and see how many holiday ditties you know. Complete the game and you’ll earn a shot at a $25 Amazon Card ;)

Winner will be notified on Friday afternoon. Keep an eye on your inbox and don’t forget to check your spam folder!*