Vodka attains legally protected status
January 21, 2010
Drinks giant Diageo has won a High Court ruling which means vodka, the country’s most popular alcoholic tipple, will now receive the same legal protection that is awarded to other alcoholic drinks such as champagne, sherry and whisky. All vodka producers will now have to meet strict requirements if they are to be allowed to feature the word vodka on the bottle. The decision was made after Diageo complained that a drink being marketed as vodka was misleading customers. Vodcat is similar to vodka in that it is a virtually tasteless, clear, high alcohol drink. However its strength is 22 percent of alcohol by volume meaning that although it does contain some vodka it does not have the alcohol content of 37.5 percent of alcohol by volume needed to call itself vodka.
Vodcat, because of its lower alcohol content can be sold at a cheaper price than other proper vodkas such as Smirnoff which is owned by Diageo. Mr. Justice Arnold, who was hearing the case, said that he realised that by calling fermented alcohol products with an alcohol content of less than the required 37.5 percent of alcohol by volume vodka, the distinctiveness of vodka would be compromised. He went on to say that it was the first time that a producer of vodka would be given similar rights to a producer of champagne or a producer of sherry. Edwin Atkinson, director general of the Gin and Vodka Association said that the decision to protect producers of legitimate vodkas was most welcome.
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