News & Insights

Many of us remember the Tequila song, assuring us that tequila makes us happy (at least until the hangover arrives). Yet there will be one location where this song will probably not be so welcome.

Andrew Clark Hutchinson, a Scot born in Mexico City, set up a distillery on the Solway shoreline in Scotland. He turned his attention to creating a tequila spirit after successfully developing award winning gins.

Working alongside distiller Gerard Macluskey the pair have recently unveiled their new concoction – ‘Vespero’. Yet whilst apparently it is made like tequila, smells like tequila and tastes like tequila, it cannot be called tequila. Why? Because this is a protected territorial brand name meaning that a drink may only be described as tequila if it is distilled in Mexico.

Tequila is protected in the same way that other drinks such as champagne and cognac are. Why are such names protected? Trade agreements have been set up to ensure that only products that meet a strict set of criteria can be labelled with these protected brands. It helps to ensure that the brand becomes synonymous with a certain quality of product.

This is where brand protection will become imperative. It is good to see that the distillery have taken steps to protect their new brand name with a trade mark. In this way they can at least help to ensure that their name cannot be copied. Who knows, perhaps Vespero will become the new tequila? Just don’t call it that.

If you need any help protecting your branding then please contact one of our Intellectual Property experts.

This article is for general information only and does not constitute legal or professional advice. Please note that the law may have changed since this article was published.