Vodka-based ‘whisky’ ordered destroyed

The Supreme Court of Appeal has interdicted a company from selling two products which purport to be whisky.

It also restrained the company from representing the products as being whisky or whisky-flavoured when they were not, and as having an alcohol content of 43% or higher when they did not.

The company was also ordered to have all the products or advertising material containing any of the offending matter destroyed within 14 days of the date of the court order.

The order was made on Friday during the dismissal of an appeal by Milestone Beverage CC, which produces the two products — Royal Douglas and King Arthur.

The label of Royal Douglas contained the expressions “Premium Quality”, “Whisky Flavoured”, “Spirit Aperitif” and “Double Distilled”.

The words or expressions “Premium”, “Whisky Flavoured”, “Spirit Aperitif” and “Double Distilled” appeared on the King Arthur label. The base product was vodka.

The Scotch Whisky Association, which took Milestone to court, said Milestone projected an undoubted Scottish provenance for their products, which they misrepresented as Scotch whisky, alternatively whisky.

The association is the whisky industry’s trade association.

It took the company to the Pretoria high court in 2015 after the continued sale of these products as whisky.

The association said Milestone displayed an obvious intention to unlawfully pass liquor products off as whisky.

The high court on March 4 2019 interdicted Milestone from selling these products.

Milestone applied for leave to appeal to the Supreme Court of Appeal. On Friday that appeal was dismissed with costs.