New legislation on the labelling of spirit drinks (rum, cognac, etc.)

Explanation of terms

To make this blog easier to follow, we would like to clarify a few terms:

• Spirit drink is an alcoholic beverage obtained by distillation from fermented agricultural products and has an alcoholic strength of at least 15% at room temperature. Examples include cognac, rum and jenever.
• A blend is a combination of two or more spirit drinks of the same category that show only minor variations in composition.
• Geographical indication is an indication that shows that a spirit drink originates in a country, region or place, where a given quality, reputation or other characteristic of that spirit drink is essentially attributable to its geographical origin. Examples include Scotch whisky or Cassis de Dijon.

Inconsistencies in 2019

In 2019, a regulation was drawn up containing several clarifications of the labelling requirements applicable to blends, but these were not applied consistently.

By way of illustration:

Every spirit drink belongs to a specific category (for example: cognac, gin, rum, etc.). When several drinks of the same category are mixed together (= a blend), it is in principle logical for the blend to also belong to this category. However, this was not the case for all blends under regulation 2019/787.

As a result, blends that fell outside this scope could not use their category as a legal name. Not in the description, presentation or labelling. This did not benefit the reputation of these drinks. For example, a blend of different types of whisky could no longer be called whisky.

Revised version 2021

A revision was needed and has been a reality since 25 May 2021. This is intended to guarantee legal certainty for the producer on the one hand and provide correct information to the consumer on the other.

Specific labelling requirements applicable to all blends were introduced. It no longer matters whether or not spirit drinks with a geographical indication were used. In both cases, the blend can adopt the legal name applicable to the individual categories.

A second major change is the tightening of the legislation. Each category or geographical indication has certain requirements. If these are not met, it is prohibited to use legal names or geographical indications in the description, presentation or labelling of these drinks. This prohibition also remains applicable when these legal names or geographical indications are used in combination with words such as ‘kind’, ‘type’, ‘style’, ‘manner’, ‘taste’, or similar terms.

Getting started!

The amended regulation was introduced on 25 May 2021 and is applied retroactively. You can consult the full and extensive version of both regulations below:

• Delegated regulation 2021/1096 amending regulation 2019/787: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:32021R1096&from=EN
• Proposal regulation 2021: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=PI_COM:Ares(2021)1453867&from=EN

Do you need help with the interpretation or implementation of this revised legislation? Our AMNorman experts are happy to help you on your way. Get in touch here.