On this label, the Nova Scotia heritage is pretty big and prominent. Even though the beer is made in downtown St. Louis.

The look is probably saved by the equally big reference to “style,” and the not so big reference to Missouri. Shock Top provides another example of the power of “style.” The label proclaims Belgian in medium-sized letters on the front label, and this is saved by the nearby reference to “style”  — also on the front label of this other beer made in the middle of the U.S.

Related Posts:

• Twistee Rules: Aggregate Packaging (0)
• Napa Vodka (0)
• How Long Until Cuban Rum? (4)

It doesn’t go quite as far as Roth Vodka, which mentions something like a vintage date. But in some ways, Napa Vodka goes further — because it refers to the specific grape varietal and the vaunted Napa origin — rather than just California more generally.

Wines & Vines explains:

The vodka was made from 2008 grapes harvested from a single vineyard in Napa Valley and fermented into wine, then distilled in a Vendome copper pot still at Stillwater Spirits in Petaluma, Calif. … It takes nearly 2 tons of grapes to produce the 3,000 gallons of wine needed to make 300 gallons of high-proof spirits, which are then diluted to 500 gallons. … While there appears to be no legal requirement, [owner Arthur] Hartunian secured approval from the Napa Valley Vintners and Napa Valley Grapegrowers for his project.

It sells for about $75 per bottle, and the Napa, California distillery produced only about 2,600 bottles.

Related Posts:

• Twistee Rules: Aggregate Packaging (0)
• How Long Until Cuban Rum? (4)
• Champagne Battle Spills into Time Magazine (3)

Most of the world’s rum is produced in the Caribbean. Not a lot has been made in the US.

But lately there are signs of incipient production in California. Here are two:  Agua Libre and Eurydice. Both are made by St. George Spirits in Alameda, California. A Swedish blog explains:

Eurydice starts with the fresh-pressed cane juice of 100% California-grown sugar cane. The cane, grown in Southern California, is harvested and crushed at St George Spirits’ Alameda facility where it is fermented with two strains of wine yeast designed to accent the fruit and floral notes of the cane.

It is good to see that TTB is not asserting that an appellation may not be indicated. On some occasions TTB has asserted that vintage-, varietal-, and appellation-type claims should not be made on distilled spirits products because these subtle characteristics are not discernible after distillation.

Related Posts:

• Twistee Rules: Aggregate Packaging (0)
• Napa Vodka (0)
• How Long Until Cuban Rum? (4)

Perhaps it was too remote. Sadly, it closed a few months ago. The above is one of the last of about 12 approvals over just five months (for the most recent owner of the brewery). It’s a tough business and I suppose it’s even tougher when things like supplies and repairs and visitors are a few hours away. New West explains why the brewery could not carry on, complete with good photos. In the article, Lang’s marketing director confirms:

“The idea was great, the location was awesome — it’s such a gorgeous piece of property. … But business-wise it’s just hard to make a living when you don’t have consumers all around you.”

Was it really America’s most remote brewery? By what measure? What’s the most remote brewery now?

Related Posts:

• To Flame or Not: Czech Absinthe Hits the US (7)
• Champagne Battle Spills into Time Magazine (3)
• World’s Most Popular Wine (1)

China is of course coming on strong in many fields, such as athletics and car production. And now it looks like China’s alcohol beverages, too, are modernizing. China Silk (as above) has a somewhat more modern label, compared to most Chinese wines we have seen over the years. Imperial Jade is also made in China and is a lychee flavored vodka. The front label claims it’s filtered eight times through jade and charcoal. The back label helpfully explains that jade “symbolizes strength, nobility, perfection and immortality.” It must be powerful stuff because it also embodies “wisdom, compassion, modesty, justice and courage.”

Related Posts:

• Twistee Rules: Aggregate Packaging (0)
• Too Remote Brewery (0)
• To Flame or Not: Czech Absinthe Hits the US (7)

It’s a tiny island, 5,000 miles away from the US (near the pointer). But it’s the source of at least two alcohol beverage products bound for the US market. Hinano Beer (above) is made in Tahiti, French Polynesia and it is imported by mighty Anheuser-Busch. A-B produces and imports a shockingly huge number of alcoholic beverage products — well beyond Bud and Michelob, and this is but one example of the many others.

Another Tahitian product is Manuia Tahiti, Passion Punch. The label suggest it is made with a rum base, but TTB’s qualifications suggest that the base is actually distilled from cane and pineapple. The database shows only a few other alcohol beverage products made in Tahiti, and this makes sense because the island is only 28 miles wide.

Related Posts:

• Twistee Rules: Aggregate Packaging (0)
• Too Remote Brewery (0)
• To Flame or Not: Czech Absinthe Hits the US (7)

This may look like just another ready-to-drink spirit but there is quite a lot going on here.

1. It is two products on one label approval form. Box 19 (of the approval linked above) carefully notes “there are two pre-import letters associated with this product.”
2. It is important to sell these in a four-pack because each cup is only 25 ml. TTB does not allow 25 ml. for spirits. When four are joined together, as here, it conforms to the 100 ml. “standard of fill.” These standard of fill rules have been important to TTB for many decades. TTB calls this aggregate packaging.
3. To reinforce the aggregation, it is helpful to say NOT FOR INDIVIDUAL SALE.
4. Because they are tiny, it is helpful to state NOT FOR CHILDREN. This can help avoid the shame of a Liquid Lunchables designation.
5. It is important to put some labeling on the outer pack and some on the inner pack.

The origin (New Zealand) is also a bit unusual for spirits. There are a great many products in the Twistee Shots line, imported by Smart Beverage of Louisville, Kentucky.

Related Posts:

• Nude Beer (2)
• Napa Vodka (0)
• Liquor Sicle (2)

We never thought we’d see a TTB controversy make it into a big ad in the national media — let alone a full page ad in Time Magazine. The yellow ad is on page 69 of the December 29, 2008 “Person of the Year” double issue and it covers the entire page.

The French Office of Champagne is not at all pleased that some non-French wines qualify to be called Champagne, under US law. The ad says “Masquerading as Champagne … isn’t fair. … A legal loophole allows” some names to be misused.

In 2006, after many years of negotiations between the US and the European Union, and agreement, TTB set forth the current US rule in TTB Industry Circular 2006-1:

the U.S. made a commitment to seek to change the legal status of [terms like Champagne] to restrict their use solely to wines originating in the applicable EU member state, with certain exceptions. Because the IRC specifically defines semi-generic names, this law must be changed in order to restrict the usage of the names to wines originating in the EU. Assuming the law is so changed, the Agreement contains an exception to this rule. We refer to this exception as the “grandfather” provision. Under the “grandfather” provision, any person or his or her successor in interest may continue to use a semi-generic name or Retsina on a label of a wine not originating in the EU, provided the semi-generic name or Retsina is only used on labels for wine bearing the same brand name, or the brand name and the fanciful name, if any, that appear on a COLA that was issued prior to March 10, 2006.

E. & J. Gallo appears to have been very deft in navigating this elaborate path, to preserving the term Champagne on its top-selling brands such as Barefoot (above), Tott’s, Andre, and Ballatore. Box 19 of the Barefoot COLA shows that TTB grandfathered this brand.

Related Posts:

• How Long Until Cuban Rum? (4)
• What’s Your Poizin? (1)
• Stolichnaya (0)

There are lots of Santa labels of late, but this one got our attention because it combines many relevant elements in one small place. First, it is elderberry wine, and that’s fairly unusual. Second, it’s made in South Dakota, and that’s not so common. And then there is Santa. We don’t remember seeing so very many Santa Claus labels in past years. This may be because a great many states prohibit references to Santa on alcohol beverage products. The Wine Institute still discourages it, at least in wine ads.

Related Posts:

• Sparks and Caffeine: Nearly Extinguished (8)
• How Long Until Cuban Rum? (4)
• Ugly American Beer (2)

During the past 20 months TTB has approved several dozen absinthe brands. Almost all are produced in Switzerland, France, and the US — points west of the Czech Republic. Above shows two of the earliest-approved products made in the Czech Republic, approved a few days ago. This is significant due to a long rivalry between Czech and non-Czech absinthes. The Czech products are somewhat different, and these Stromu products show it well:  they have added flavors rather than herbs added before the final distillation; the proof is somewhat higher; Djabel suggests lighting the product on fire (back label). The latter is frowned upon by most other producers, to put it mildly. We would also expect many absinthe brands to fight over the trademark rights to the Green Fairy name; this term has long been applied to numerous absinthes all over the world. Here is a list of the first 20 or so absinthe products approved for US sale.

This also shows the massive leadtime sometimes required to bring an alcohol beverage product to market in the US. For Djabel: the importer got formula approval on July 11, 2008 (see item 11 on Djabel COLA); the importer probably applied for formula approval 1-2 months earlier, in May or June of 2008; TTB rejected a label submitted on August 8, 2008 (see item 18.d.); the importer resubmitted the label on September 3, 2008 (see item 20); and TTB finally approved the label on October 23, 2008 (see item 23). This is 5-6 months of hard work with many opportunities for missteps.

Finally, this well demonstrates the recurring trend, to portray alcohol beverages and especially asbinthe as sinful. Djabel’s back label says:

Djabel means “devil” in Czech. … During the dark-ages Bohemian “witches” and pagan worshipers used potions distilled from local herbs including wormwood (artemisa absinthium) as healing tonics and for social rituals. … please serve responsibly the traditional way by flambeing sugar in a spoon …

Related Posts:

• What’s Your Poizin? (1)
• Too Remote Brewery (0)
• Sin City Libations (0)