IF the world’s biggest spirits company Diageo wants to be a leading player in American whiskey, the experience of another major company attempting a US merger won’t give it much cause for cheer.

Drinks giant Allied Domecq was today closer to being swallowed by rival Pernod Ricard after regulators in the United States gave the deal the green light.

BRITAIN’S Takeover Panel yesterday set a June 29 deadline for a consortium headed by Constellation Brands to make a rival offer for spirits group Allied Domecq which has already agreed to be taken over by France’s Pernod Ricard.

Alcohol-fuelled flames leapt 100ft into the sky as fire engulfed a seven-storey bourbon warehouse in Kentucky.