Overview
- Germany’s Hamburg Higher Regional Court, which ruled Thursday, said only drinks that actually contain whiskey, gin or rum may use those names and it barred the term “American Malt” for near-alcohol-free products.
- The case centers on a start-up selling about 0.3% ABV substitutes that marketed bottles as “This is not Rum,” “This is not Gin” and “This is not Whiskey” and used phrases like “alcohol-free alternative to,” “based on” and “tastes like.”
- Judges applied the EU spirits regulation, which reserves protected category names for products that meet legal definitions, and they deemed “American Malt” an improper allusion to whiskey.
- The spirits industry association brought the suit and won a first ruling last July at the Landgericht, and both sides appealed before this second-instance decision.
- The ruling is not yet final because a further appeal was allowed, and the eventual outcome could reshape how low- and no-alcohol makers brand and describe their products in Germany.