This unique vodka is made in titanium steel vats but the label on the bottle also claims it has been in production since 1348 and, to top it all off, both the bottle shape and label are very similar to other well-known US brands.

A daunting task! Bruce Procter of Diageo used the example of CHURCH GIRL vodka and asked Frank Schoneveld and Marc Sorini of McDermott Will & Emery and Paul Walsh of Bristows to set out the possible pitfalls that this new vodka might face in the EU, US and UK respectively.

Sorini said that while many people regard the US as one of the most open economies in the world, when it comes to alcohol “the regulatory system is more complicated, more expensive and more time consuming than you could have possibly imagined.”

He explained that European lawyers would be surprised to see that in the US alcohol makers cannot arrange exclusive pouring rights in bars or rights to certain shelf slots in supermarkets. The distribution system in the US is split into a three-tier system of importers and manufacturers, distributors and wholesalers, and on- and off-site retailers. Given that there is also a patchwork of state laws to contend with, people looking to launch new drinks in the US should “beware of common sense,” according to Sorini.

Schoneveld explained some of the intricacies in the EU system and advised people not only to register trade marks, but also to look at getting additional protection such as a protected designation, traditional speciality guaranteed and, if possible, protected geographical indication.

Walsh looked at some of the general UK issues for alcohol regulation, but also pointed out that if the CHURCH GIRL brand tried to expand into making whisky, life could get even more complicated. This is because new regulations will be passed later in 2008 that limit the total number of definitions of Scotch Whisky to five and create new geographical indications for five regions where single malt whisky is made: Cambletown, Islay, Highland, Lowland and Speyside.