The Buck Bunny didn’t get very far. It stopped not far from this 2006 approval. Maybe the antlers, or the spirits, or Jägermeister got in the way.

A contributor in California was concerned about the spirits added to this product, and the overall appearance. He said:

It seems legally interesting because it seems to contradict the TTB labeling code about wines containing distilled spirits and being similar to distilled spirits. Maybe those rules don’t apply to flavored wines. Also, it reminds me of a Jackelope.

Quite possibly, it also reminded Peach Street Distillers of a Jackelope. Peach Street rolled out their Jackelope Gin about a year later.

The spirits are probably a minor problem, compared to the other issues noted above. It is common to add spirits to wine. It is less common to mention them, but it is usually required, when those spirits are not derived from the same fruit as the base wine. Here it is grape wine with citrus spirits. If it were grape wine with grape brandy, the spirits would be less likely to show on the label.

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Controversy in a cup. This little shooter raises a lot of TTB issues. First of all, it’s a gel-shot and those can be controversial from time to time. Next, it is technically a wine but it has added spirits — in the form of citrus neutral spirits (vodka, for all intents and purposes) and flavors. But wait, there’s more. It contains caffeine. It contains taurine. And … it contains added vitamins, in the form of Vitamin B6 and B12 (pyridoxine and cyanocobalamin).

Not too surprisingly, this 2006 gem of an approval is also “surrendered” (see about halfway down the form).

As of this writing, TTB does not allow vitamins to be directly added to beer, wine or spirits. Until recent months, TTB allowed vitamins to be added so long as their was no direct reference to the vitamins on the label or in advertising. TTB is at the early stages of developing regulations related to alcohol beverages containing vitamins, minerals and caffeine.

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TTB has been allowing caffeine in alcohol beverages since the day it became TTB, and ATF allowed it for decades prior. At first, it was most often found in things like coffee liqueur.

Then it jumped to beer about eight years ago (with this Sparks label that seems to be the earliest beer with caffeine approval, and one of the first with directly added caffeine — in beer, wine or spirits).

Well it took a while, but our favorite alkaloid has finally made the jump to wine. So far, we find at least four wines with clear evidence of caffeine. They are:

• Cafe Lue Orange Wine with Coffee
• Chang Rai Green Tea Wine
• Charbay Aperitif Wine with Tea Leaves
• P.I.N.K. Sake with Caffeine

Somehow I don’t imagine the skateboard crowd getting crazy with Charbay Aperitif Wine or P.I.N.K. Sake. A list of more than sixty approvals, for alcohol beverages with caffeine, is here.

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Is it safe to assume wine is made from grapes? Not really. Is it safe to assume wine is made from fruit? Apparently not, as indicated by River Myst’s onion wine. It is fermented from 55% onions, 27% potatoes, and 18% raisins.

Jailhouse is another example of a wine with very little “fruit” and a little bit of raisin. It is 90% honey, 9% orange, 1% raisin, and spices.

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In the last post we showed a couple of bubble gum flavored spirits products. Today we have a handful of other candy-related alcohol beverage products, showing that there is no shortage of candy-themed adult beverages.

Bols has Candy Cane Liqueur.

Ferrin’s has Candy Apple wine.

BPNC has a cotton candy cocktail.

Baileys has a caramel liqueur.

And Crater Lake has “Candy in a Bottle” wine.

If the adults, ID, Warning and taste don’t stop the juveniles, maybe the over $10 price will.

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Plenty of labels with teasing, pimps and strippers. I will go out on a limb and commend the photo on the left. It’s about as “tasteful” and arty as a “strip tease” label should be, in our opinion. And, she’s not so skinny as the woman to her right. I am not so sure I’d go out on the same limb for the imagery on the right, but it’s undoubtedly a fine choice if you’re in the market for an almond flavored grape wine (and much classier than this one). Strip Tease is Argentina sparkling red wine. VIP Almond Sparkle is made by Weibel in California.

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Here is Suck & Blow. It is orange wine with natural flavors. But somehow we don’t think people are buying this mainly for the fine wine. It looks like fun. It is one of only a few “interactive” beverages. The producer describes it as:

the only interactive jello shooter that turns an ordinary shot experience into something sexy, fun and extraordinary. It’s the unique method of delivery that drives everyone wild and creates an exciting new way for people to drink and meet. It’s perfect for livening up a party, energizing a bar and creating an atmosphere of fun and enjoyment. Drinking shots will never be the same.

TTB first approved this in 2004, when it was spirits-based. TTB insisted that the container must include the “not for children” icon. The brand is owned by a couple of blokes in South Carolina, and the product is bottled by Mango Bottling of Cocoa, Florida.

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Remember when Nixon said “You won’t have Nixon to kick around any more”? Well, we bet Plata Wine Partners is bummed that Sarah Palin is not around at the moment. They jumped on the news and came out with half a dozen “Lipstick on a Pig” labels in September of 2008. They were so enthused about the prospects here, that they claimed trademark rights to this name. Plata certainly moved quickly; President-Elect Obama referred to lipstick on a pig (without pointing to or naming any person) on September 9, 2008, and Plata filed with TTB nine days later. Governor Sarah Palin may have opened the door to some of this ridicule with her famous or infamous joke about hockey moms and lipstick. But we hasten to note that Plata’s actual label does not make any direct visual or textual reference to Palin, and we further note that she looks better in lipstick than we do. The label does say:  “The origin of ‘Lipstick on a Pig’ is a mystery. But it has captivated the public’s attention like few other phrases in recent history.”

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For all those occasions when Cisco or Schlitz Malt Liquor is far too classy, may we heartily recommend this fine almond flavored wine? Even if this is not a big seller in the US, this page vaguely suggests that this winery makes a similar product for export.

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There is a lot going on with this label. First and most obviously, it’s in the style of a cream liqueur, but it’s classified as a wine. The back label is in the style of a front label. And it’s made with whey neutral spirits. Wikipedia says whey is “the liquid remaining after milk has been curdled and strained; it is a by-product of the manufacture of cheese or casein.” It is further evidence that wine and spirits can be made from a huge number of commodities. Dr. John Murtagh was an expert on converting whey into spirits:

Since 1979 John has been retained as a consultant to Carbery Distillers Ltd. of Ireland, on the development and operation of their process for the fermentation of cheese whey, to produce very-high-quality neutral spirit for beverage and industrial uses. He has also been responsible for the commissioning of three whey-alcohol plants for Carbery licensees in New Zealand and the U.S., and continues to visit and assist these plants.

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