German firm banned from marketing alcohol-free alternative as whiskey

A court in Germany, where people take their drinks seriously, sought to settle a long-running dispute on Thursday over alcohol-free whiskey, rum and gin alternatives.

The case concerns a start-up business that sells spirits containing only 0.3% alcohol - meaning they can be marketed as alcohol-free - as an alternative to strong booze.

The drinks are advertised under slogans like "This is not rum," "This is not whiskey" and "This is not gin."

The marketing sparked ire from a spirits industry group, which sought an injunction under competition law, citing violations of the EU Spirits Regulation.

A lower court in Hamburg sided with the booze lobby back in July, a ruling that was upheld by the Hamburg Higher Regional Court on Thursday, following an appeal by both sides.

The court ruled that only beverages that actually contain whiskey, gin and rum may be labelled using those words, even though the company's label literally states that its drinks do not contain the spirits in the traditional sense.

It also banned the company from using the words "American Malt" on its whiskey alternative, as this constitutes an unauthorized reference to the whisky category under the Spirits Ordinance.

The verdict can still be appealed over potential legal errors.

The case echoes a long-running EU dispute over vegetarian products including "veggie burgers" and "tofu sausages."

The meat industry has long pushed for a blanket ban on the use of meat-related terms for vegetarian and plant-based products, a move supporters say would protect consumers and farmers.

Earlier this month, negotiators from EU states and the European Parliament reached an agreement to settle the meaty row.

Under the deal, it will be prohibited to market vegetarian products using terms for animals or cuts of meat, like "veggie chicken" or "tofu ribs."

However, terms referring to preparations, including "veggie burgers" and "tofu sausages," will remain acceptable.

Conservative German European Parliament member Peter Liese commented at the time: "If a product is labelled vegetarian or vegan, then any reasonably intelligent person knows that it does not contain meat products."