Either it is Gin—with its minimum 37.5 per cent alcohol—or it is not, and you cannot call it that

Brussels – A non-alcoholic beverage cannot be sold as gin because the name “is reserved for a specific alcoholic beverage.” Full stop. So, no more “gin and tonic” aperitifs without alcohol; in short, other names will have to be invented. This was ruled by the Court of Justice of the European Union, along the lines of the parliamentary decisions about the naming of sausages for non-meat products, which actually contradicts a previous ruling of the same Court. 

The debate on this issue is in great flux.

This story stems from a German association fighting unfair competition that sued a company over the sale of a soft drink called Virgin Gin
Alkoholfrei (alcohol-free Gin). According to the plaintiff, this name is contrary to EU law, according to which gin should be produced by flavouring an ethyl alcohol of agricultural origin with juniper berries and have a minimum 37.5 per cent by volume alcohol content. 

The case ended up before the Court of Justice, which held that Union law clearly prohibits the presentation and labelling of a beverage such as the one in dispute as “non-alcoholic gin,” due to the very fact that such a beverage does not contain alcohol. According to the European Courts, the fact that the legal designation “gin” is accompanied by the indication “non-alcoholic” is “irrelevant in this respect.” 

The Court emphasised that the prohibition “does not prevent the sale of the product in question, but only its sale with a legal designation reserved for a specific spirit drink, gin.” In addition, it explained, “the prohibition is proportionate, insofar as it is intended to protect consumers from any risk of confusion as to the composition of the products and producers of gin meeting the requirements of EU law from unfair competition.” 

It is important to know that the Court does not resolve the national dispute. It is up to the national court to resolve the case, but in accordance with the Court’s decision. The final decision, however, is equally binding on other national courts to which a similar problem is submitted.