I 
(Legislativ e acts) 
REGUL ATIONS 
REGUL ATION (EU) 2019/787 OF THE EUR OPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL 
of 17 Apr il 2019 
on the definition, descr iption, presentat ion and labelling of spir it drinks, the use of the names of 
spir it drinks in the presentation and labelling of other foods tuffs, the protection of geog raphical 
indications for spir it drinks, the use of ethyl alcohol and distillates of agricultural origin in 
alcoholic bev erages, and repealing Regulation (EC) No 110/2008 
THE EUR OPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUR OPEAN UNION, 
Having regar d to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and in particular Articles 43(2) and 114(1) 
thereof, 
Having regar d to the proposal from the European Commission, 
After transmission of the draf t legislative act to the national parliaments, 
Having regar d to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committ ee (1), 
Acting in accordance with the ordinar y legislative procedure (2), 
Whereas: 
(1)  Regulation (EC) No 110/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council (3) has proved successful in 
regulating the spirit drinks sector. Howe ver, in the light of recent exper ience and technological inno vation, 
mark et developments and evolving consumer expectations, it is necessar y to update the rules on the definition, 
descr iption, presentation and labelling of spirit drinks and to review the ways in which geographical indications 
for spirit drinks are registered and prote cted. 
(2)  The rules applicable to spirit drinks should contr ibute to attaining a high level of consumer protection, remo ving 
information asymmetr y, preventing decep tive practices and attaining market transparency and fair competition. 
They should safeg uard the reputation whic h the Union's spirit drinks have achieve d in the Union and on the 
world market by continuing to take into account the traditional practices used in the production of spirit drinks 
as well as increased demand for consumer protection and information. Techn ological innovation should also be 
take n into account in respect of spirit drinks, where it serves to impro ve quality , without affecting the traditional 
charact er of the spirit drinks concer ned. 
(3)  Spir it drinks represent a major outlet for the Union agricultural sector , and the production of spirit drinks is 
strong ly linked to that sector. That link deter mines the quality , safety and reputation of the spirit drinks produced 
in the Union. That strong link to the agri-food sector should theref ore be empha sised by the regulatory 
framew ork. 
(4)  The rules applicable to spirit drinks constitute a special case compared with the general rules laid down for the 
agri-food sector and should also take into account the traditional production methods in use in the diffe rent 
Member States. 17.5.2019 L 130/1 Official Jour nal of the European Union EN     
(1)OJ C 209, 30.6.2017, p. 54. 
(2)Position of the European Parliament of 13 March 2019 (not yet published in the Official Jour nal) and decision of the Council of 9 Apr il 
2019. 
(3)Regulation (EC) No 110/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 Januar y 2008 on the definition, descr iption, 
presentation, labelling and the protection of geographical indications of spirit drinks and repealing Council Regulation (EEC) 
No 1576/89 (OJ L 39, 13.2.2008, p. 16). (5)  This Regulation should set out clear criteria for the definition, descr iption, presentation and labelling of spirit 
drinks as well as for the protection of geographical indications, and should be without prejudice to the diversity 
of the official language s and alphabets in the Union. It should also set out rules on the use of ethyl alcohol and 
distillat es of agricultural origin in the production of alcoholic beverages and on the use of the legal names of 
spirit drinks in the presentation and labelling of foodstuffs. 
(6)  In order to meet consumer expectations and to conf orm to traditional practices, ethyl alcohol and distillat es used 
for the production of spirit drinks should be excl usively of agricultural origin. 
(7)  In the inter ests of consumers, this Regulation should apply to all spirit drinks placed on the Union market, 
whether produced in the Member States or in third countr ies. In order to maintain and improve the reputation 
on the world mark et of spirit drinks produced in the Union, this Regulation should also apply to spirit drinks 
produced in the Union for expor t. 
(8)  The definitions of and technical requirements for spirit drinks and the catego risation of spirit drinks should 
continue to take into account traditional practices. Specific rules for certain spirit drinks that are not included in 
the list of categor ies should also be laid down . 
(9)  Regulations (EC) No 1333/2008 (4) and (EC) No 1334/2008 (5) of the European Parliament and of the Council 
also apply to spirit drinks. However , it is necessar y to lay down additional rules concer ning colours and 
flavourings, which should only apply to spirit drinks. It is also necessar y to lay down additional rules concer ning 
the dilution and dissolution of flavouri ngs, colours and other author ised ingredients, which should only apply to 
the production of alcoholic beverages . 
(10)  Rules should be laid down regarding the legal names to be used for spirit drinks that are placed on the Union 
mark et, in order to ensure that such lega l names are used in a harmonised manner throughout the Union and to 
safeg uard the transparency of information to consumers. 
(11)  Given the importance and compl exity of the spirit drinks sector, it is appropr iate to lay down specifi c rules on 
the descr iption, presentation and labelling of spirit drinks, in particular as regards the use of legal names, 
geographical indications, compo und terms and allusions in the descr iption, presentation and labelling. 
(12)  Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council (6) should apply to the 
descr iption, presentation and labelling of spirit drinks, save as other wise provid ed for in this Regulation. In that 
regar d, given the importance and the complexity of the spirit drinks sector , it is appropr iate to lay down in this 
Regulation specif ic rules on the descr iption, presentation and labelling of spirit drinks that go beyond Regulation 
(EU) No 1169/2011. Those specif ic rules should also prevent the misuse of the term ‘spir it drink’ and of the legal 
names of spirit drinks, as regar ds products which do not meet the definitions and requirements laid down in this 
Regulation. 
(13)  In order to ensure the unif orm use of compound term s and allusions in Member State s and in order to provid e 
consumers with adequate information, thereby prot ecting them from being misled, it is necessar y to lay down 
provis ions concer ning their use for the purpose of presentation of spirit drinks and other foodstuffs. The purpose 
of such provi sions is also to prot ect the reputation of the spirit drinks used in this context . 
(14)  In order to provide consumers with adequate information, provisions on the descr iption, presentation and 
labelling of spirit drinks which qualify as mixtures or blends should be laid down. 
(15)  While it is impor tant to ensure that in general the maturation period or age stated in the descr iption, 
presentation and labelling of spirit drinks only refers to the youngest alcoholic compo nent, to take account of 
traditional ageing processes in Member States, it should be possible to provide, by means of delegat ed acts, for 
a deroga tion from that general rule and for appropr iate control mechanis ms in relation to brandies produced 
using the traditional dynamic ageing system known as the ‘criader as y soler a’ syste m or ‘soler a e criader as’ system. 17.5.2019 L 130/2 Official Jour nal of the European Union EN     
(4)Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 December 2008 on food additives (OJ L 354, 
31.12.2008, p. 16). 
(5)Regulation (EC) No 1334/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 December 2008 on flavourings and certain food 
ingredients with flavouring proper ties for use in and on foods and amending Council Regulation (EEC) No 1601/91, Regulations (EC) 
No 2232/96 and (EC) No 110/2008 and Directive 2000/13/EC (OJ L 354, 31.12.2008, p. 34). 
(6)Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 Octo ber 2011 on the provision of food 
information to consumers, amending Regulations (EC) No 1924/2006 and (EC) No 1925/2006 of the European Parliament and of the 
Council, and repealing Commission Directive 87/250/EEC, Council Directive 90/496/EEC, Commission Directive 1999/10/EC, 
Directive 2000/13/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council, Commission Directives 2002/67/EC and 2008/5/EC and 
Commission Regulation (EC) No 608/2004 (OJ L 304, 22.11.2011, p. 18). (16)  For reasons of legal certainty and in order to ensure that adequat e information is provid ed to consumers, the use 
of the names of raw mate rials or of adjectives as legal names for certain spirit drinks should not preclude the use 
of the names of such raw mater ials or of adjectives in the presentation and labelling of other foodstuffs. For the 
same reasons, the use of the German word ‘-geist’ as the legal name of a categor y of spirit drinks should not 
preclude the use of that word as a fancy name to supplement the legal name of other spirit drinks or the name 
of other alcoholic beverages , provid ed that such use does not mislead the consumer . 
(17)  In order to ensure that adequat e information is provided to consumers and to enhance quality production 
methods, it should be possible for the legal name of any spirit drink to be supplemented by the term ‘dry’ or ‘dry’, 
that is to say that term either translated in the languag e or languages of the relevant Member State, or 
untranslated as indicated in italics in this Regulation, if that spirit drink has not been sweet ened. Howe ver, in line 
with the principle that food information is not to be misleading, particularly by suggesting that the food 
possesses special charact eristics despite the fact that all similar foods possess such charact eristics, this rule should 
not apply to spirit drinks that under this Regulation are not to be sweetened, even for rounding off the taste , in 
particular to whisky or whiske y. This rule should also not apply to gin, distilled gin and London gin, to which 
specific sweet ening and labelling rules should continue to apply . Further more, it should be possible to label 
liqueurs charact erised in particular by a tart, bitter , tangy , acerbic, sour or citrus taste, regardless of their degree 
of sweet ening, as ‘dry’ or ‘dry’. Such labelling is not likely to mislead the consumer , since liqueurs are required to 
have a minimum sugar content. According ly, in the case of liqueurs, the term ‘dry’ or ‘dry’ should not be 
underst ood to indicate that the spirit drink has not been sweetened. 
(18)  To take into account consumer expectations about the raw mater ials used for vodka especially in the traditional 
vodka-producing Member States, adequate information should be provid ed on the raw mate rial used where vodka 
is made from raw mate rials of agricultural origin other than cereals or potatoes or both. 
(19)  In order to enforce and to check the application of the legislation relating to rules on ageing and labelling, and to 
combat fraud, the indication of the legal name and the maturation period of any spirit drink in electronic 
administrative documents should be made mandat ory. 
(20)  In some cases, food business operators wish to indicate the place of provenance of spirit drinks other than 
geographical indications and trade marks to draw consumers' attenti on to the qualities of their product. 
Theref ore, specifi c provisions on the indication of the place of provenance in the descr iption, presentation and 
labelling of spirit drinks should be laid down . In addition, the oblig ation, laid down in Regulation (EU) 
No 1169/2011, to indicate the countr y of origin or the place of proven ance of a primar y ingredient, should not 
apply in the case of spirit drinks, even if the countr y of origin or the place of provenance of the primar y 
ingredient of a spirit drink is not the same as the place of proven ance indicated in the descr iption, presentation 
or labelling of that spirit drink. 
(21)  In order to prote ct the reputation of certain spirit drinks, provisions should be laid down governing the 
translation, transcr iption and translit eration of legal names for expor t purposes. 
(22)  In order to ensure that this Regulation is applied consistently , Union reference methods should be established for 
the analysis of spirit drinks and of ethyl alcohol used in the production of spirit drinks. 
(23)  The use of lead-based capsules and lead-based foil to cover the closing devices of containers of spirit drinks 
should continue to be banned, in order to avoid any risk of contamination, in particular by accidental contact 
with such capsules or foil, and of environmental pollution from waste containing lead from such capsules or foil. 
(24)  Concer ning the protect ion of geograp hical indications, it is impor tant to have due regard to the Agreement on 
Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Proper ty Rights (‘TRIPS Agreement’), and in particular Articles 22 and 23 
thereof, and to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (‘GA TT Agreement’) including Article V thereof on 
freedom of transit, whic h were approved by Council Decision 94/800/EC (7). Within such legal framew ork, in 
order to strengthen geograp hical indication protection and to combat counterf eiting more effectively , such 
prot ection should also apply with regar d to goods enter ing the customs territory of the Union without being 
released for free circulation, and placed under special customs procedures such as those relating to transit, 
storage, specifi c use or processing. 17.5.2019 L 130/3 Official Jour nal of the European Union EN     
(7)Council Decision 94/800/EC of 22 December 1994 concer ning the conclusion on behalf of the European Community , as regar ds 
matt ers within its compet ence, of the agreements reached in the Uruguay Round multilater al negotiations (1986-1994) (OJ L 336, 
23.12.1994, p. 1). (25)  Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council (8) does not apply to spirit 
drinks. Rules on the prot ection of geographical indications of spirit drinks should theref ore be laid down . 
Geographical indications should be registered by the Commission. 
(26)  Procedures for the registration, modifi cation and possible cancellation of Union or third countr y geographical 
indications in accordance with the TRIPS Agreement should be laid down whilst automatical ly recognising the 
status of existing geographical indications that are prot ected in the Union. In order to make procedural rules on 
geographical indications consistent in all the sectors concer ned, such procedures for spirit drinks should be 
modelled on the more exhaustive and well tested procedures for agricultural products and foodstuffs laid down in 
Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012, while taking into account specif icities of spirit drinks. In order to simplify the 
registration procedures and to ensure that information for food business operat ors and consumers is electron ­
ically available, an electronic register of geographical indications should be established. Geographical indications 
prot ected under Regulation (EC) No 110/2008 should automatically be prote cted under this Regulation and listed 
in the electronic register . The Commission should compl ete the verification of geographical indications contained 
in Annex III to Regulation (EC) No 110/2008, in accordance with Article 20 of that Regulation. 
(27)  For reasons of consist ency with the rules applicable to geographical indications for food, wine and aromatised 
wine products, the name of the file setting out the specifi cations for spirit drinks whic h are register ed as 
a geographical indication should be change d from ‘techn ical file’ to ‘product specif ication’. Techn ical files 
submitte d as part of any application under Regulation (EC) No 110/2008 should be deemed to be product 
specifications. 
(28)  The relationship between trade marks and geographical indications of spirit drinks should be clarified in relation 
to criteria for refusal, invalidation and coexist ence. Such clarification should not affect rights acquired by holders 
of geographical indications at national level or that exist by virtue of international agreements concluded by 
Member State s for the period before the establishment of the Union protection system pursuant to Council 
Regulation (EEC) No 1576/89 (9). 
(29)  Preser ving a high standard of quality is essential if the spirit drinks sector's reputation and value are to be 
maintained. Member State author ities should be responsible for ensur ing that that standard of quality is preser ved 
through compliance with this Regulation. The Commission should be able to monitor and verify such 
compl iance in order to ascer tain that this Regulation is being unif ormly enforced. Theref ore the Commission and 
the Member States should be required to share relevant information with each other . 
(30)  In applying a quality policy and in particular to attain a high level of quality of spirit drinks and diversity in the 
spirit drinks sector, Member States should be allowed to adopt rules on the production, descr iption, presentation 
and labelling of spirit drinks produced in their territory that are stricter than those laid down in this Regulation. 
(31)  In order to take into account evolving consumer demands, technological progress, developments in the relevant 
international standards, the need to imp rove the economic conditions of production and mark eting, traditional 
ageing processes, and the law of the importing third countr ies, and in order to safeg uard the legitimate interests 
of producers and food business operators as regar ds the protect ion of geographical indications, the power to 
adopt acts in accordance with Article 290 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (‘the Treaty’) 
should be deleg ated to the Commission in respect of: amendments to and derogat ions from the technical 
definitions and requirements for spirit drinks; author ising new sweetening products; derogations related to the 
specification of maturation period or age for brandy and the setting up of the public register of bodies in charge 
of super vising ageing processes; the establishment of an electronic register of geographical indications of spirit 
drinks, and detailed rules on the form and cont ent of that register; further conditions in relation to applications 
for the protection of a geograp hical indication and preliminar y national procedures, scrutiny by the Commission, 
the opposition procedure and cancellation of geographical indications; conditions and requirements for the 
procedure concer ning amendments to product specifi cations; and amendments to and derogations from certain 
definitions and rules on descr iption, presentation and labelling. It is of particular impor tance that the 
Commission carry out appropr iate consultations during its preparatory work, including at exper t level, and that 
those consultations be conduct ed in accordance with the principles laid down in the Interinstitutional Agreement 17.5.2019 L 130/4 Official Jour nal of the European Union EN     
(8)Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 November 2012 on quality schem es for 
agricultural products and foodstuffs (OJ L 343, 14.12.2012, p. 1). 
(9)Council Regulation (EEC) No 1576/89 of 29 May 1989 laying down general rules on the defin ition, descr iption and presentation of spirit 
drinks (OJ L 160, 12.6.1989, p. 1). of 13 Apr il 2016 on Better Law-Making (10). In particular , to ensure equal participation in the preparation of 
delegat ed acts, the European Parliament and the Council receive all documents at the same time as Member 
States' exper ts, and their exper ts systemat ically have access to meetings of Commission exper t groups dealing 
with the preparation of delegat ed acts. 
(32)  In order to ensure unif orm conditions for the imp lementation of this Regulation, implementing powers should 
be conferr ed on the Commission regarding the publication of the sing le document in the Official Journal of the 
European Union; and rega rding decisions on registration of names as geographical indications where there is no 
notice of opposition or no admissible reasoned state ment of opposition, or where there is an admissible reasoned 
statement of opposition and an agreement has been reached. 
(33)  In order to ensure unif orm conditions for the imp lementation of this Regulation, implementing powers should 
be conferr ed on the Commission regarding: the rules on the use of new sweetening products; the information to 
be provided by Member States with regar d to the bodies appointed to super vise ageing processes; the indication 
of the countr y of origin or place of provenance in the descr iption, presentation or labelling of spirit drinks; the 
use of the Union symbol for protect ed geographical indications; detailed technical rules on the Union reference 
methods for the analysis of ethyl alcohol, distillate s of agricultural origin and spirit drinks; granting a transitional 
period for the use of geographical indications and exte nsions of such periods; rejections of applications where the 
conditions for registration are not already fulfilled before the publication for opposition; registrations or 
rejections of geographical indications published for opposition where an opposition has been submitted and no 
agreement has been reach ed; appro vals or rejections of Union amendments to a product specification; approvals 
or rejections of requests for cancellation of the registration of a geographical indication; the form of the product 
specification and measures concer ning the information to be provi ded in the product specifi cation with regar d to 
the link between the geographical area and the final product ; the procedures for, form and presentation of 
applications, of oppositions, of applications for amendments and communications concer ning amendments, and 
of the cancellation process with rega rd to geographical indications; the checks and verifications to be carried out 
by the Member States; as well as the necessar y information to be exchanged for the application of this 
Regulation. Those powers should be exer cised in accordance with Regulation (EU) No 182/2011 of the European 
Parliament and of the Council (11). 
(34)  In order to ensure the implementation of the Agreement between the European Union and Japan for an 
Economic Partnership (12), it was necessar y to provide for a deroga tion from the nominal quantities set out in the 
Annex to Directive 2007/45/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (13) for spirit drinks in order to 
allow sing le distilled shochu produced by pot still and bottled in Japan to be placed on the Union mark et in 
traditional Japanese bottle sizes. That derogation was introduced by Regulation (EU) 2018/1670 of the European 
Parliament and of the Council (14) and should continue to apply . 
(35)  Given the nature and exte nt of the modifi cations whic h need to be made to Regulation (EC) No 110/2008, there 
is a need for a new legal framew ork in this area to enhance legal certainty , clarity and transparency . Regulation 
(EC) No 110/2008 should theref ore be repealed. 
(36)  In order to protect the legitimate interests of producers or stake holders concer ned as regar ds benefitting from the 
publicity given to sing le documents under the new legal framework, it should be made possible that sing le 
documents concer ning geographical indications registere d in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 110/2008 are 
published at the request of the Member States concer ned. 
(37)  Since the rules on geographical indications enhance prote ction for operat ors, those rules should apply two weeks 
from the entr y into force of this Regulation. However , provision should be made for appropr iate arrang ements to 
facilitate a smooth transition from the rules provi ded for in Regulation (EC) No 110/2008 to the rules laid down 
in this Regulation. 17.5.2019 L 130/5 Official Jour nal of the European Union EN     
(10)OJ L 123, 12.5.2016, p. 1. 
(11)Regulation (EU) No 182/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 Febr uary 2011 laying down the rules and general 
principles concer ning mechanisms for control by Member States of the Commission's exercise of impl ementing powers (OJ L 55, 
28.2.2011, p. 13). 
(12)OJ L 330, 27.12.2018, p. 3. 
(13)Directive 2007/45/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 September 2007 laying down rules on nominal quantities for 
prepack ed products, repealing Council Directives 75/106/EEC and 80/232/EEC, and amending Council Directive 76/211/EEC 
(OJ L 247, 21.9.2007, p. 17). 
(14)Regulation (EU) 2018/1670 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2018 amending Regulation (EC) 
No 110/2008 as regards nominal quantities for the placing on the Union market of sing le distilled shochu produced by pot still and 
bottled in Japan (OJ L 284, 12.11.2018, p. 1). (38)  As regards rules not relating to geographical indications, provi sion should be made to ensure that there is 
sufficient time to facilitate a smooth transition from the rules provided for in Regulation (EC) No 110/2008 to 
the rules laid down in this Regulation. 
(39)  The mark eting of existing stoc ks of spirit drinks should be allowed to continue after the dates of application of 
this Regulation, until those stoc ks are exhausted, 
HAVE ADOPTED THIS REGUL ATION: 
CHAPTER I 
SCOPE, DEFINITIONS AND CATEGORIES OF SPIRIT DRINK S 
Article 1 
Subject matter and scope 
1. This Regulation lays down rules on: 
—  the definit ion, descr iption, presentation and labelling of spirit drinks, as well as on the protection of geographical 
indications of spirit drinks; 
—  the ethyl alcohol and distillates used in the production of alcoholic beverages; and 
—  the use of legal names of spirit drinks in the presentation and labelling of foodstuffs other than spirit drinks. 
2. This Regulation applies to products refer red to in paragraph 1 that are placed on the Union market, whether 
produced in the Union or in third countr ies, as well as to those produced in the Union for expor t. 
3. As rega rds the protection of geographical indications, Chapt er III of this Regulation also applies to goods enteri ng 
the customs territory of the Union without being released for free circulation there. 
Article 2 
Def inition of and requirements for spir it drinks 
For the purposes of this Regulation, a spirit drink is an alcoholic beverag e which compl ies with the follo wing 
requirements: 
(a)  it is intended for human consump tion; 
(b)  it possesses particular orga noleptic qualities; 
(c)  it has a minimum alcoholic strength by volume of 15 %, excep t in the case of spirit drinks that compl y with the 
requirements of categor y 39 of Annex I; 
(d)  it has been produced either: 
(i)  directly by using, individually or in combination, any of the follo wing methods: 
—  distillation, with or without added flavourings or flavouring foodstuffs, of fermente d products, 
—  the maceration or similar processing of plant mater ials in ethyl alcohol of agricultural origin, distillates of 
agricultural origin or spirit drinks or a combination thereof, 
—  the addition, individually or in combination, to ethyl alcohol of agricultural origin, distillates of agricultural 
origin or spirit drinks of any of the followi ng: 
—  flavourings used in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 1334/2008, 
—  colours used in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008, 
—  other author ised ingredients used in accordance with Regulations (EC) No 1333/2008 and (EC) 
No 1334/2008, 17.5.2019 L 130/6 Official Jour nal of the European Union EN     —  sweet ening products, 
—  other agricultural products, 
—  foodstuffs; or 
(ii)  by adding, individually or in combination, to it any of the following: 
—  other spirit drinks, 
—  ethyl alcohol of agricultural origin, 
—  distillate s of agricultural origin, 
—  other foodstuffs; 
(e)  it does not fall within CN codes 2203, 2204, 2205, 2206 and 2207; 
(f)  if wate r, which may be distilled, demineralised, permuted or softened, has been added in its production: 
(i)  the quality of that water compl ies with Council Directive 98/83/EC (15) and Directive 2009/54/EC of the 
European Parliament and of the Council (16); and 
(ii)  the alcoholic strength of the spirit drink, after the addition of the wate r, still compl ies with the minimum 
alcoholic strength by volume provid ed for in point (c) of this Article or under the relevant categor y of spirit 
drinks as set out in Annex I. 
Article 3 
Def initions 
For the purposes of this Regulation, the followi ng definitions apply:  
(1) ‘legal name’ means the name under which a spirit drink is placed on the mark et, within the meaning of point (n) 
of Article 2(2) of Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011;  
(2) ‘com pound term ’ means, in relation to the descr iption, presentation and labelling of an alcoholic beverage , the 
combination of either a legal name provid ed for in the catego ries of spirit drinks set out in Annex I or the 
geographical indication for a spirit drink, from which all the alcohol of the final product originates, with one or 
more of the followi ng: 
(a)  the name of one or more foodstuffs other than an alcoholic beverage and other than foodstuffs used for the 
production of that spirit drink in accordance with Annex I, or adjectives deriving from those names; 
(b)  the term ‘liqueur ’ or ‘cream’;  
(3) ‘allusion’ means the direct or indirect reference to one or more legal names provided for in the categor ies of spirit 
drinks set out in Annex I or to one or more geographical indications for spirit drinks, other than a referen ce in 
a compo und term or in a list of ingredients as referred to in Article 13(2), (3) and (4), in the descr iption, 
presentation or labelling of: 
(a)  a foodstuff other than a spirit drink, or 
(b)  a spirit drink that complies with the requirements of catego ries 33 to 40 of Annex I;  
(4) ‘geog raphical indication’ means an indication which identif ies a spirit drink as originating in the territory of 
a countr y, or a region or locality in that territory, where a given quality , reputation or other charact eristic of that 
spirit drink is essentially attributable to its geographical origin;  
(5) ‘product specifi cation’ means a file attached to the application for the protection of a geographical indication, in 
whic h the specifi cations with whic h the spirit drink has to compl y are set out, and whic h was refer red to as 
a ‘technical file’ under Regulation (EC) No 110/2008; 17.5.2019 L 130/7 Official Jour nal of the European Union EN     
(15)Council Directive 98/83/EC of 3 November 1998 on the quality of water inten ded for human consump tion (OJ L 330, 5.12.1998, 
p. 32). 
(16)Directive 2009/54/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 June 2009 on the exploitation and marketing of natural 
mineral waters (OJ L 164, 26.6.2009, p. 45). (6) ‘group’ means any association, irrespective of its legal form, that is mainly compo sed of producers or processors 
working with the spirit drinks concer ned;  
(7) ‘gen eric name’ means a name of a spirit drink that has become generic and that, although it relates to the place or 
the region where the spirit drink was originally produced or mark eted, has become the common name of that 
spirit drink in the Union;  
(8) ‘visual field’ means field of vision as defined in point (k) of Article 2(2) of Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011;  
(9) ‘to mix’ means to combine a spirit drink that either belongs to a catego ry of spirit drinks set out in Annex I or to 
a geographical indication with one or more of the following: 
(a)  other spirit drinks which do not belong to the same categor y of spirit drinks set out in Annex I; 
(b)  distillat es of agricultural origin; 
(c)  ethyl alcohol of agricultural origin;  
(10) ‘mixture’ means a spirit drink that has undergone mixing;  
(11) ‘to blend’ means to combine two or more spirit drinks of the same categor y that are distinguishable only by minor 
diffe rences in compo sition due to one or more of the followi ng factors: 
(a)  the method of production; 
(b)  the stills emplo yed; 
(c)  the period of maturation or ageing; 
(d)  the geographical area of production; 
the spirit drink so produced belongs to the same catego ry of spirit drinks as the original spirit drinks before 
blending;  
(12) ‘blend’ means a spirit drink that has undergone blending. 
Article 4 
Technical definitions and requirements 
For the purposes of this Regulation, the followi ng technical definitions and requirements apply:  
(1) ‘descr iption’ means the term s used in the labelling, in the presentation and on the packag ing of a spirit drink, on 
the documents accompan ying the transpor t of a spirit drink, on the commercial documents, particularly the 
invoices and deliver y notes, and in the adver tising of a spirit drink;  
(2) ‘presentation’ means the terms used in the labelling and on the packa ging, as well as in adver tising and sales 
promotion of a product, in images or such like, as well as on the container , including on the bottle or the closure;  
(3) ‘labelling’ means any word, particulars, trade marks , brand name, pictorial matter or symbol relating to a product 
and placed on any packag ing, document, notice, label, ring or collar accompan ying or refer ring to such product ;  
(4) ‘label’ means any tag, brand, mark, pictorial or other descr iptive matter , written, printed, stencilled, mark ed, 
embossed or imp ressed on, or attache d to the packag ing or container of food;  
(5) ‘pac kaging’ means the protective wrappings, cartons, cases, containers and bottles used in the transpor t or sale of 
spirit drinks;  
(6) ‘distillation’ means a ther mal separation process involving one or more separation steps intended to achi eve certain 
organolept ic proper ties or a higher alcoholic concentration or both, regar dless of whether such steps take place 
under normal pressure or under vacuum, due to the distilling device used; and can be sing le or multiple distillation 
or re-distillation;  
(7) ‘distillate of agricultural origin’ means an alcoholic liquid whic h is the result of the distillation, after alcoholic 
fermentation, of agricultural products listed in Annex I to the Treaty , which does not have the proper ties of ethyl 
alcohol and which retains the aroma and taste of the raw mat erials used; 17.5.2019 L 130/8 Official Jour nal of the European Union EN     (8) ‘to sweet en’ means to use one or more sweet ening products in the production of spirit drinks;  
(9) ‘sweete ning products’ means: 
(a)  semi-whit e sugar, whit e sugar, extra-white sugar, dextrose, fructo se, glucose syrup, sugar solution, invert sugar 
solution and inver t sugar syrup, as defined in Part A of the Annex to Council Directive 2001/111/EC (17); 
(b)  rectified concentrated grape must, concentrat ed grape must and fresh grape must ; 
(c)  burned sugar which is the product obtained excl usively from the controlled heating of sucrose without bases, 
mineral acids or other chemical additives; 
(d)  hone y as defined in point 1 of Annex I to Council Directive 2001/110/EC (18); 
(e)  carob syrup; 
(f)  any other natural carbohydrat e substances having a similar effect as the products referred to in points (a) to (e);  
(10) ‘addition of alcohol’ means the addition of ethyl alcohol of agricultural origin or distillat es of agricultural origin or 
both to a spirit drink; such addition does not include the use of alcohol for dilution or dissolution of colours, 
flavourings or any other author ised ingredients used in the production of spirit drinks;  
(11) ‘maturation’ or ‘ageing’ means the storage of a spirit drink in appropr iate recep tacles for a period of time for the 
purpose of allowing that spirit drink to undergo natural reactions that impart specif ic charact eristics to that spirit 
drink;  
(12) ‘to flavour’ means to add flavourings or flavouring foodstuffs in the production of a spirit drink by means of one 
or more of the followi ng processes: addition, infusion, maceration, alcoholic fermentation, or distillation of alcohol 
in the presence of the flavouri ngs or flavouring foodstuffs;  
(13) ‘flavouri ngs’ mean flavourings as defined in point (a) of Article 3(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1334/2008;  
(14) ‘flavouri ng substance’ means flavouring substance as defined in point (b) of Article 3(2) of Regulation (EC) 
No 1334/2008;  
(15) ‘natural flavouring substance ’ means natural flavouring substance as defined in point (c) of Article 3(2) of 
Regulation (EC) No 1334/2008;  
(16) ‘flavouri ng preparation’ means flavouri ng preparation as defined in point (d) of Article 3(2) of Regulation (EC) 
No 1334/2008;  
(17) ‘other flavouring’ means other flavouri ng as defined in point (h) of Article 3(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1334/2008;  
(18) ‘flavouri ng foodstuffs’ mean foodstuffs as defined in Article 2 of Regulation (EC) No 178/2002 of the European 
Parliament and of the Council (19) and that are used in the production of spirit drinks with the main purpose of 
flavouring the spirit drinks;  
(19) ‘to colour ’ means to use one or more colours in the production of a spirit drink;  
(20) ‘colours’ mean colours as defined in point 2 of Annex I to Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008;  
(21) ‘caramel’ means a food additive corresponding to E-numbers E 150a, E 150b, E 150c or E 150d and relating to 
products of a more or less intense brown colour whic h are intended for colour ing, as refer red to in Part B of 
Annex II to Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008; it does not correspond to the suga ry aromatic product obtained from 
heating suga rs and which is used for flavouring purposes;  
(22) ‘other author ised ingredients ’ means food ingredients with flavouring proper ties author ised under Regulation (EC) 
No 1334/2008 and food additives other than colours author ised under Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008; 17.5.2019 L 130/9 Official Jour nal of the European Union EN     
(17)Council Directive 2001/111/EC of 20 December 2001 relating to certain sugars inten ded for human consump tion (OJ L 10, 12.1.2002, 
p. 53). 
(18)Council Directive 2001/110/EC of 20 December 2001 relating to hone y (OJ L 10, 12.1.2002, p. 47). 
(19)Regulation (EC) No 178/2002 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 28 Januar y 2002 laying down the general principles 
and requirements of food law, establishing the European Food Safety Autho rity and laying down procedures in matters of food safety 
(OJ L 31, 1.2.2002, p. 1). (23) ‘alcoholic strength by volume ’ means the ratio of the volume of pure alcohol present in a product at 20 oC to the 
total volume of that product at the same temperature;  
(24) ‘volatile substances content’ means the quantity of volatile substances, other than ethyl alcohol and methanol, 
contained in a spirit drink produced excl usively by distillation. 
Article 5 
Def inition of and requirements for ethy l alcohol of agricultural origin 
For the purposes of this Regulation, ethyl alcohol of agricultural origin is a liquid whic h complies with the follo wing 
requirements: 
(a)  it has been obtained excl usively from products listed in Annex I to the Treaty ; 
(b)  it has no detectable taste other than that of the raw mate rials used in its production; 
(c)  its minimum alcoholic strength by volume is 96,0 %; 
(d)  its maximum levels of residues do not exceed the followi ng: 
(i)  total acidity (expressed in acetic acid): 1,5 grams per hectolitre of 100 % vol. alcohol; 
(ii)  esters (expressed in ethyl acetate): 1,3 grams per hect olitre of 100 % vol. alcohol; 
(iii)  aldehydes (expressed in acetaldehy de): 0,5 grams per hect olitre of 100 % vol. alcohol; 
(iv)  higher alcohols (expressed in 2-methyl-1-propanol): 0,5 grams per hect olitre of 100 % vol. alcohol; 
(v)  methanol: 30 grams per hectoli tre of 100 % vol. alcohol; 
(vi)  dry extract: 1,5 grams per hectoli tre of 100 % vol. alcohol; 
(vii)  volatile bases containing nitrogen (expressed in nitrogen ): 0,1 grams per hect olitre of 100 % vol. alcohol; 
(viii)  furfural: not detectable. 
Article 6 
Ethy l alcohol and distillates used in alcoholic bev erages 
1. The ethyl alcohol and distillates used in the production of spirit drinks shall be exclusively of agricultural origin, 
within the meaning of Annex I to the Treaty . 
2. No alcohol other than ethyl alcohol of agricultural origin, distillates of agricultural origin or spirit drinks of 
catego ries 1 to 14 of Annex I shall be used to dilut e or dissolve colours, flavourings or any other author ised ingredients 
used in the production of alcoholic beverage s. Such alcohol used to dilute or dissolve colours, flavourings or any other 
author ised ingredients shall only be used in the amounts strictly necessar y for that purpose. 
3. Alcoholic beverage s shall not contain alcohol of synthetic origin or other alcohol of non-agr icultural origin, within 
the meaning of Annex I to the Treaty . 
Article 7 
Categor ies of spir it drinks 
1. Spir it drinks shall be catego rised in accordance with the general rules laid down in this Article and the specifi c 
rules laid down in Annex I. 
2. Without prejudice to the specifi c rules laid down for each of the catego ries of spirit drinks 1 to 14 of Annex I, the 
spirit drinks of those catego ries shall: 
(a)  be produced by alcoholic fermentation and distillation, and exclusively obtained from the raw mate rial provided for 
under the corresponding categor y of spirit drinks in Annex I; 17.5.2019 L 130/10 Official Jour nal of the European Union EN     (b)  have no addition of alcohol, whether dilut ed or not; 
(c)  not be flavoured; 
(d)  not be coloured with anything exce pt caramel used exclusively for adjusting the colour of those spirit drinks; 
(e)  not be sweet ened, excep t to round off the final taste of the product ; the maximum content of sweet ening products, 
expressed as inver t sugar , shall not excee d the thresholds set out for each catego ry in Annex I; 
(f)  not contain adjuncts other than whole unprocessed items of the raw mater ial from which the alcohol is obtained, 
and whic h are mainly used for decorative purposes. 
3. Without prejudice to the specifi c rules laid down for each of the catego ries of spirit drinks 15 to 44 of Annex I, 
the spirit drinks of those catego ries may: 
(a)  be produced from any agricultural raw mater ial listed in Annex I to the Treaty ; 
(b)  have addition of alcohol; 
(c)  contain flavouri ng substances, natural flavouring substances, flavouring preparations and flavouring foodstuffs; 
(d)  be coloured; 
(e)  be sweetened. 
4. Without prejudice to the specific rules laid down in Annex II, spirit drinks whic h do not comply with the specifi c 
rules laid down for each of the categor ies set out in Annex I may: 
(a)  be produced from any agricultural raw mater ial listed in Annex I to the Treaty or from any foodstuff or both; 
(b)  have addition of alcohol; 
(c)  be flavoured; 
(d)  be coloured; 
(e)  be sweetened. 
Article 8 
Delegated and implementing powers 
1. The Commission is empo wered to adopt delegat ed acts in accordance with Article 46 amending this Regulation by 
introducing amendments to the technical definitions and requirements laid down in point (f) of Article 2, and in 
Articles 4 and 5. 
The delega ted acts refer red to in the first subparagraph shall be strictly limited to meeting demonstrated needs resulting 
from evolving consumer demands, technological progress or the need for product inno vation. 
The Commission shall adopt a separate delegat ed act in respect of each technical definition or requirement refer red to in 
the first subparagraph. 
2. The Commission is empowered to adopt delegat ed acts in accordance with Article 46 supplementing this 
Regulation by laying down , in exce ptional cases, where the law of the impor ting third countr y so requires, derogations 
from the requirements set out in point (f) of Article 2, and in Articles 4 and 5, the requirements under the categor ies of 
spirit drinks set out in Annex I and the specifi c rules concer ning certain spirit drinks set out in Annex II. 
3. The Commission is empowered to adopt delegat ed acts in accordance with Article 46 supplementing this 
Regulation by specifying whic h other natural substances or agricultural raw mater ials having a similar effect to the 
products refer red to in points (a) to (e) of Article 4(9) are author ised across the Union as sweet ening products in the 
production of spirit drinks. 
4. The Commission may, by means of imp lementing acts, adop t unif orm rules for the use of other natural substances 
or agricultural raw mater ials author ised by delegat ed acts as sweet ening products in the production of spirit drinks as 
referred to in paragraph 3, deter mining in particular the respective sweetening conversion factors. Those implementing 
acts shall be adopt ed in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 47(2). 17.5.2019 L 130/11 Official Jour nal of the European Union EN     CHA PTER II 
DESCRIPTION , PRESENT ATION AND LABELLING OF SPIRIT DRINK S AND USE OF THE NAMES OF SPIRIT 
DRINK S IN THE PRESENT ATION AND LABELLING OF OTHER FOODSTUFFS 
Article 9 
Present ation and labelling 
Spir it drinks placed on the Union mark et shall compl y with the presentation and labelling requirements set out in 
Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011, unless other wise provided for in this Regulation. 
Article 10 
Legal names of spir it drinks 
1. The name of a spirit drink shall be its legal name. 
Spir it drinks shall bear legal names in their descr iption, presentation and labelling. 
Legal names shall be shown clearly and visibly on the label of the spirit drink and shall not be replaced or alter ed. 
2. Spir it drinks that compl y with the requirements of a catego ry of spirit drinks set out in Annex I shall use the 
name of that categor y as their legal name, unless that categor y permits the use of another legal name. 
3. A spirit drink that does not compl y with the requirements laid down for any of the catego ries of spirit drinks set 
out in Annex I shall use the legal name ‘spir it drink’. 
4. A spirit drink that complies with the requirements for more than one categor y of spirit drinks set out in Annex I 
may be placed on the market under one or more of the legal names provid ed for under those catego ries in Annex I. 
5. Notwithstanding paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Article, the legal name of a spirit drink may be: 
(a)  supplemente d or replaced by a geographical indication refer red to in Chapt er III. In this case, the geographical 
indication may be supplemented further by any term permitted by the relevant product specifi cation, provided that 
this does not mislead the consumer ; and 
(b)  replaced by a compo und term that includes the term ‘liqueur ’ or ‘cream’, provided that the final product complies 
with the requirements of categor y 33 of Annex I. 
6. Without prejudice to Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 and to the specif ic rules laid down for the catego ries of spirit 
drinks in Annex I to this Regulation, the legal name of a spirit drink may be supplemented by: 
(a)  a name or geographical reference provid ed for in the laws, regulations and administrative provis ions applicable in 
the Member State in which the spirit drink is placed on the market, provid ed that this does not mislead the 
consumer; 
(b)  a customary name as defined in point (o) of Article 2(2) of Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011, provid ed that this does 
not mislead the consumer; 
(c)  a compo und term or an allusion in accordance with Articles 11 and 12; 
(d)  the term ‘blend’, ‘blending’ or ‘blended’, provided that the spirit drink has undergone blending; 
(e)  the term ‘mixture’, ‘mixe d’ or ‘mixe d spirit drink’, provid ed that the spirit drink has undergone mixing; or 
(f)  the term ‘dry’ or ‘dry’, excep t in the case of spirit drinks that compl y with the requirements of catego ry 2 of Annex I, 
without prejudice to the specifi c requirements laid down in catego ries 20 to 22 of Annex I, and provid ed that the 
spirit drink has not been sweetened, not even for rounding off the taste . By way of derog ation from the first part of 
this point, the term ‘dry’ or ‘dry’ may supplement the legal name of spirit drinks that compl y with the requirements 
of categor y 33 and have theref ore been sweet ened. 17.5.2019 L 130/12 Official Jour nal of the European Union EN     7. Without prejudice to Articles 11 and 12 and Article 13(2), (3) and (4), the use of the legal names referred to in 
paragraph 2 of this Article or geographical indications in the descr iption, presentation or labelling of any beverage not 
compl ying with the requirements of the relevant cate gory set out in Annex I or of the relevant geographical indication 
shall be prohibited. That prohibition shall also apply where such legal names or geographical indications are used in 
conjunction with words or phrases such as ‘like’ , ‘type’, ‘style’, ‘made’, ‘flavour ’ or any other similar terms. 
Without prejudice to Article 12(1), flavourings that imitat e a spirit drink or their use in the production of a foodstuff 
other than a beverage may bear , in their presentation and labelling, references to the legal names referred to in 
paragraph 2 of this Article, provi ded that such legal names are supplemented by the term ‘flavour ’ or any other similar 
term s. Geographical indications shall not be used to descr ibe such flavourings. 
Article 11 
Compound terms 
1. In the descr iption, presentation and labelling of an alcoholic beverage, the use in a compo und term of either 
a legal name provided for in the categor ies of spirit drinks set out in Annex I or a geographical indication for spirit 
drinks shall be author ised on condition that: 
(a)  the alcohol used in the production of the alcoholic beverage originat es exclusively from the spirit drink referred to 
in the compound term , excep t for the alcohol that may be present in flavourings, colours or other author ised 
ingredients used for the production of that alcoholic beverag e; and 
(b)  the spirit drink has not been diluted by addition of water only , so that its alcoholic strength is below the minimum 
strength provided for under the relevant catego ry of spirit drinks set out in Annex I. 
2. Without prejudice to the legal names provided for in Article 10, the term s ‘alcohol’, ‘spir it’, ‘drink’, ‘spir it drink’ 
and ‘wat er’ shall not be part of a compo und term descr ibing an alcoholic beverage. 
3. Com pound term s descr ibing an alcoholic beverage shall: 
(a)  appear in unif orm charact ers of the same font, size and colour; 
(b)  not be interrupted by any textual or pictorial element which does not form part of them; and 
(c)  not appear in a font size which is larger than the font size used for the name of the alcoholic beverag e. 
Article 12 
Allusions 
1. In the presentation and labelling of a foodstuff other than an alcoholic beverage, an allusion to legal names 
provid ed for in one or more catego ries of spirit drinks set out in Annex I, or to one or more geographical indications 
for spirit drinks, shall be author ised on condition that the alcohol used in the production of the foodstuff originates 
excl usively from the spirit drink or the spirit drinks refer red to in the allusion, exce pt as regar ds the alcohol that may be 
present in flavourings, colours or other author ised ingredients used for the production of that foodstuff. 
2. By way of derogation from paragraph 1 of this Article and without prejudice to Regulations (EU) 
No 1308/2013 (20) and (EU) No 251/2014 (21) of the European Parliament and of the Council, an allusion in the 
presentation and labelling of an alcoholic beverag e other than a spirit drink to lega l names provided for in one or more 
catego ries of spirit drinks set out in Annex I to this Regulation or to one or more geographical indications for spirit 
drinks shall be author ised on condition that: 
(a)  the added alcohol originate s excl usively from the spirit drink or spirit drinks referred to in the allusion; and 
(b)  the propor tion of each alcoholic ingredient is indicated at least once in the same visual field as the allusion, in 
descending order of quantities used. That propor tion shall be equal to the percentage by volume of pure alcohol it 
represents in the total pure alcohol conte nt by volume of the final product. 17.5.2019 L 130/13 Official Jour nal of the European Union EN     
(20)Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 December 2013 establishing a common 
organisation of the markets in agricultural products and repealing Council Regulations (EEC) No 922/72, (EEC) No 234/79, (EC) 
No 1037/2001 and (EC) No 1234/2007 (OJ L 347, 20.12.2013, p. 671). 
(21)Regulation (EU) No 251/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 Febr uary 2014 on the definition, descr iption, 
presentation, labelling and the protection of geographical indications of aromatised wine products and repealing Council Regulation 
(EEC) No 1601/91 (OJ L 84, 20.3.2014, p. 14). 3. By way of derogation from paragraph 1 of this Article and from Article 13(4), in the descr iption, presentation and 
labelling of a spirit drink that compl ies with the requirements of catego ries 33 to 40 of Annex I, the allusion to legal 
names provid ed for under one or more categor ies of spirit drinks set out in that Annex or to one or more geographical 
indications for spirit drinks shall be author ised on condition that: 
(a)  the added alcohol originate s excl usively from the spirit drink or spirit drinks referred to in the allusion; 
(b)  the propor tion of each alcoholic ingredient is indicated at least once in the same visual field as the allusion, in 
descending order of quantities used. That propor tion shall be equal to the percentage by volume of pure alcohol it 
represents in the total pure alcohol conte nt by volume of the final product ; and 
(c)  the term ‘cream’ does not appear in the legal name of a spirit drink that complies with the requirements of 
catego ries 33 to 40 of Annex I or in the legal name of the spirit drink or spirit drinks referred to in the allusion. 
4. The allusions refer red to in paragraphs 2 and 3 shall: 
(a)  not be on the same line as the name of the alcoholic beverage; and 
(b)  appear in a font size which is no larger than half the font size used for the name of the alcoholic beverage and, 
where compo und terms are used, in a font size which is no larger than half the font size used for such compound 
term s, in accordance with point (c) of Article 11(3). 
Article 13 
Additional rules on descr iption, present ation and labelling 
1. The descr iption, presentation or labelling of a spirit drink may refer to the raw mater ials used to produce the ethyl 
alcohol of agricultural origin or distillates of agricultural origin used in the production of that spirit drink only where 
that ethyl alcohol or those distillates have been obtained excl usively from those raw mate rials. In such a case, each type 
of ethyl alcohol of agricultural origin or distillat e of agricultural origin shall be mentioned in descending order of 
quantity by volume of pure alcohol. 
2. The legal names refer red to in Article 10 may be included in a list of ingredients for foodstuffs, provided that the 
list is in accordance with Articles 18 to 22 of Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011. 
3. In the case of a mixture or a blend, the legal names provi ded for in the catego ries of spirit drinks set out in 
Annex I or geographical indications for spirit drinks may be indicated only in a list of the alcoholic ingredients 
appear ing in the same visual field as the legal name of the spirit drink. 
In the case refer red to in the first subparagraph, the list of alcoholic ingredients shall be accompan ied by at least one of 
the term s refer red to in points (d) and (e) of Article 10(6). Both the list of alcoholic ingredients and the accompan ying 
term shall appear in the same visual field as the legal name of the spirit drink, in unif orm charact ers of the same font 
and colour and in a font size which is no larger than half the font size used for the legal name. 
In addition, the propor tion of each alcoholic ingredient in the list of alcoholic ingredients shall be expressed at least 
once as a percentage, in descending order of quantities used. That propor tion shall be equal to the percentage by volume 
of pure alcohol it represents in the total pure alcohol content by volume of the mixture. 
This paragraph shall not apply to blends made of spirit drinks belonging to the same geographical indication or blends 
of which none of the spirit drinks belongs to a geographical indication. 
4. By way of derogat ion from paragraph 3 of this Article, if a mixture complies with the requirements for one of the 
catego ries of spirit drinks set out in Annex I, that mixture shall bear the legal name provided for in the relevant 
catego ry. 
In the case refer red to in the first subparagraph, the descr iption, presentation or labelling of the mixture may show the 
legal names set out in Annex I or geographical indications corresponding to the spirits drinks that were mixed, provid ed 
that those names appear: 
(a)  excl usively in a list of all the alcoholic ingredients contained in the mixture which shall appear in unif orm characters 
of the same font and colour and in a font size which is no larger than half the font size used for the legal name; and 
(b)  in the same visual field as the legal name of the mixture at least once. 17.5.2019 L 130/14 Official Jour nal of the European Union EN     In addition, the propor tion of each alcoholic ingredient in the list of alcoholic ingredients shall be expressed at least 
once as a percentage, in descending order of quantities used. That propor tion shall be equal to the percentage by volume 
of pure alcohol it represents in the total pure alcohol content by volume of the mixture. 
5. The use of the names of plant raw mater ials which are used as the legal names of certain spirit drinks shall be 
without prejudice to the use of the names of those plant raw mater ials in the presentation and labelling of other 
foodstuffs. The names of such raw mate rials may be used in the descr iption, presentation or labelling of other spirit 
drinks, provided that such use does not mislead the consumer . 
6. A maturation period or age may only be specified in the descr iption, presentation or labelling of a spirit drink 
where it refers to the youngest alcoholic compo nent of the spirit drink and in any case provi ded that all the operations 
to age the spirit drink took place under revenue super vision of a Member State or super vision providing equivalent 
guarant ees. The Commission shall set up a public register listing the bodies appointed by each Member State to 
super vise ageing processes. 
7. The legal name of a spirit drink shall be indicated in the electronic administrative document refer red to in 
Commission Regulation (EC) No 684/2009 (22). Where a maturation period or age is indicated in the descr iption, 
presentation or labelling of the spirit drink, it shall also be mentioned in that administrative document. 
Article 14 
Indication of place of provenance 
1. Where the place of provenance of a spirit drink, other than a geographical indication or trade mark, is indicated in 
its descr iption, presentation or labelling, it shall correspond to the place or region where the stage in the production 
process whic h conferred on the finished spirit drink its character and essential definitive qualities took place. 
2. The indication of the countr y of origin or place of proven ance of the primar y ingredient as refer red to in 
Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 shall not be required for spirit drinks. 
Article 15 
Language used for the names of spir it drinks 
1. The terms in italics in Annex es I and II and geographical indications shall not be translated either on the label or 
in the descr iption and presentation of spirit drinks. 
2. By way of derogation from paragraph 1, in the case of spirit drinks produced in the Union and destined for 
expor t, the term s refer red to in paragraph 1 and geographical indications may be accompanied by translations, 
transcr iptions or translit erations, provid ed that such term s and geographical indications in the original language are not 
hidden. 
Article 16 
Use of a Union symbol for geog raphical indications 
The Union symbol for protect ed geographical indications established pursuant to Article 12(7) of Regulation (EU) 
No 1151/2012 may be used in the descr iption, presentation and labelling of spirit drinks the names of which are 
geographical indications. 
Article 17 
Prohibition of lead-based capsules and lead-based foil 
Spir it drinks shall not be held with a view to sale or be placed on the market in containers fitted with closing devices 
covered by lead-based capsules or lead-based foil. 17.5.2019 L 130/15 Official Jour nal of the European Union EN     
(22)Commission Regulation (EC) No 684/2009 of 24 July 2009 implement ing Council Directive 2008/118/EC as regards the comput erised 
procedures for the movement of excise goods under suspension of excise duty (OJ L 197, 29.7.2009, p. 24). Article 18 
Union reference methods of analysis 
1. Where ethyl alcohol of agricultural origin, distillat es of agricultural origin or spirit drinks are to be analysed to 
verify that they comply with this Regulation, such analysis shall be in accordance with Union reference methods of 
analysis for the determi nation of their chemical and physical compo sition and organoleptic proper ties. 
Other methods of analysis shall be permitted, under the responsibility of the director of the laborat ory, on condition 
that the accuracy , repeatability and reproducibility of the methods are at least equivalent to those of the relevant Union 
reference methods of analysis. 
2. Where Union methods of analysis are not laid down for the detection and quantifi cation of substances contained 
in a particular spirit drink, one or more of the follo wing methods shall be used: 
(a)  methods of analysis that have been validat ed by internationally recognised procedures and that, in particular , meet 
the criteria set out in Annex III to Regulation (EC) No 882/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council (23); 
(b)  methods of analysis conf orming to the recommended standards of the International Org anisation for Standardisation 
(ISO); 
(c)  methods of analysis recognised and published by the International Org anisation of Vine and Wine (OIV); or 
(d) in the absence of a method as referred to in points (a), (b) or (c), by reason of its accuracy , repeatability and reprodu ­
cibility : 
—  a method of analysis approved by the Member State concer ned; 
—  where necessar y, any other suitable method of analysis. 
Article 19 
Delegated powers 
1. In order to take into account the traditional dynamic ageing process for brandy in Member States whic h is kno wn 
as the ‘criader as y soler a’ system or ‘soler a e criader as’ system as set out in Annex III, the Commission is empo wered to 
adopt delegat ed acts in accordance with Article 46 supplementing this Regulation by: 
(a)  laying down derogat ions from Article 13(6) concer ning the specific ation of a maturation period or age in the 
descr iption, presentation or labelling of such brandy ; and 
(b)  establishing appropr iate control mechanisms for such brandy . 
2. The Commission is empowered to adopt delegat ed acts in accordance with Article 46 supplementing this 
Regulation concer ning the setting up of a public register listing the bodies appointe d by each Member State to super vise 
ageing processes as provided for in Article 13(6). 
Article 20 
Implementing powers 
The Commission may, by means of implementing acts, adopt: 
(a)  the rules necessar y for communications to be made by Member States with regard to the bodies appointed to 
super vise ageing processes in accordance with Article 13(6); 
(b)  unif orm rules for indicating the countr y of origin or the place of provenance in the descr iption, presentation or 
labelling of spirit drinks referred to in Article 14; 17.5.2019 L 130/16 Official Jour nal of the European Union EN     
(23)Regulation (EC) No 882/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 Apr il 2004 on official controls perfor med to ensure 
the verification of compliance with feed and food law, animal health and animal welfare rules (OJ L 165, 30.4.2004, p. 1). (c)  rules on the use of the Union symbol referred to in Article 16 in the descr iption, presentation and labelling of spirit 
drinks; 
(d)  detailed technical rules on the Union reference methods of analysis refer red to in Article 18. 
Those implementing acts shall be adopt ed in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 47(2). 
CHAPTER III 
GEOGRAPHIC AL INDIC ATIONS 
Article 21 
Protection of geog raphical indications 
1. Geographical indications prote cted under this Regulation may be used by any operat or marketing a spirit drink 
produced in conf ormity with the corresponding product specification. 
2. Geographical indications prot ected under this Regulation shall be protect ed against: 
(a)  any direct or indirect commercial use of a registere d name in respect of products not covered by the registration 
where those products are compar able to the products registered under that name or where using the name exploits 
the reputation of the prot ected name, including where those products are used as an ingredient ; 
(b)  any misuse, imitation or evocation, even if the true origin of the products or services is indicated or if the prote cted 
name is translat ed or accompan ied by an expression such as ‘style’, ‘type’, ‘method’, ‘as produced in’, ‘imitation’, 
‘flavour’, ‘like’ or similar , including when those products are used as an ingredient ; 
(c)  any other false or misleading indication as to the proven ance, origin, nature or essential qualities of the product in 
the descr iption, presentation or labelling of the product liable to conve y a false impression as to the origin of the 
product ; 
(d)  any other practice liable to mislead the consumer as to the true origin of the product. 
3. Geographical indications prot ected under this Regulation shall not become gener ic in the Union. 
4. The prot ection refer red to in paragraph 2 shall also apply with regar d to goods entering the customs territory of 
the Union without being released for free circulation there. 
Article 22 
Product specif ication 
1. A geographical indication protect ed under this Regulation shall compl y with a product specification which shall 
include at least: 
(a)  the name to be prote cted as a geographical indication, as it is used, whether in trade or in common languag e, only 
in the languages which are or were histo rically used to descr ibe the specifi c product in the defined geographical 
area, in the original script and in Latin transcr iption if different; 
(b)  the catego ry of the spirit drink or the term ‘spir it drink’ if the spirit drink does not comply with the requirements 
laid down for the catego ries of spirit drinks set out in Annex I; 
(c)  a descr iption of the charact eristics of the spirit drink, including the raw mater ials from whic h it is produced, if 
appropr iate, as well as the principal physical, chemical or organoleptic characteri stics of the product and the specifi c 
characteri stics of the product compar ed to spirit drinks of the same cate gory; 
(d)  the definit ion of the geographical area delimit ed with regard to the link referred to in point (f); 
(e)  a descr iption of the method of producing the spirit drink and, where appropr iate, the authentic and unvary ing local 
production methods; 17.5.2019 L 130/17 Official Jour nal of the European Union EN     (f)  details establishing the link between a given quality , reputation or other charact eristic of the spirit drink and its 
geographical origin; 
(g)  the names and addresses of the compet ent author ities or, if available, the names and addresses of the bodies that 
verify compl iance with the provisions of the product specifi cation pursuant to Article 38 and their specific tasks; 
(h)  any specific labelling rule for the geographical indication in question. 
Where applicable, requirements rega rding packaging shall be included in the product specifi cation, accompan ied by 
a justification showi ng why the packag ing must take place in the defined geographical area to safeg uard quality , to 
ensure the origin or to ensure control, taking into account Union law, in particular Union law on the free move ment of 
goods and the free provi sion of services. 
2. Technical files submitted as part of any application before 8 June 2019 under Regulation (EC) No 110/2008 shall 
be deemed to be product specifications under this Article. 
Article 23 
Content of application for registration of a geog raphical indication 
1. An application for registration of a geographical indication pursuant to Article 24(5) or (8) shall include at least: 
(a)  the name and address of the applicant group and of the compe tent author ities or, if available, the bodies that verify 
compl iance with the provi sions of the product specification; 
(b)  the product specifi cation provided for in Article 22; 
(c)  a sing le document setting out the following: 
(i)  the main points of the product specif ication, including the name to be prot ected, the categor y to which the spirit 
drink belongs or the term ‘spir it drink’, the production method, a descr iption of the character istics of the spirit 
drink, a concise definit ion of the geographical area, and, where appropr iate, specifi c rules concer ning packag ing 
and labelling; 
(ii)  a descr iption of the link between the spirit drink and its geographical origin as referred to in point (4) of 
Article 3, including, where appropr iate, the specif ic elements of the product descr iption or production method 
justifying the link. 
An application as refer red to in Article 24(8) shall also include the publication reference of the product specifi cation and 
proof that the name of the product is prote cted in its countr y of origin. 
2. An application dossier as referred to in Article 24(7) shall include: 
(a)  the name and address of the applicant group; 
(b)  the sing le document refer red to in point (c) of paragraph 1 of this Article; 
(c)  a declaration by the Member State that it considers that the application meets the requirements of this Regulation 
and the provis ions adopt ed pursuant thereto; 
(d)  the publication reference of the product specifi cation. 
Article 24 
Application for registration of a geog raphical indication 
1. Applications for the registration of a geographical indication under this Chapt er may only be submitted by groups 
who work with the spirit drink, the name of which is proposed for registration. 
2. An author ity designated by a Member State may be deemed to be a group for the purposes of this Chapt er if it is 
not feasible for the producers concer ned to form a group by reason of their number , geographical locations or organisa ­
tional charact eristics. In such case, the application dossier refer red to in Article 23(2) shall state those reasons. 17.5.2019 L 130/18 Official Jour nal of the European Union EN     3. A sing le natural or lega l person may be deemed to be a group for the purpose of this Chapt er if both of the 
follo wing conditions are fulfilled: 
(a)  the person concer ned is the only producer willing to submit an application; and 
(b)  the defined geographical area possesses character istics whic h differ appreciably from those of neighbour ing areas, 
the character istics of the spirit drink are different from those produced in neighbour ing areas or the spirit drink has 
a special quality , reputation or other charact eristic whic h is clearly attributable to its geographical origin. 
4. In the case of a geographical indication that designat es a cross-border geographical area, several groups from 
differ ent Member States or third countr ies may submit a joint application for registration. 
Where a joint application is submitte d, it shall be submitte d to the Commission by a Member State concer ned, or by an 
applicant group in a third countr y concer ned, directly or through the author ities of that third countr y after consultation 
of all the author ities and applicant groups concer ned. The joint application shall include the declaration referred to in 
point (c) of Article 23(2) from all the Member States concer ned. The requirements laid down in Article 23 shall be 
fulfilled in all Member States and third countr ies concer ned. 
In the case of joint applications, the relat ed national opposition procedures shall be carried out in all the Member States 
concer ned. 
5. Where the application relat es to a geographical area in a Member State, the application shall be submitted to the 
author ities of that Member State . 
The Member State shall scrutinise the application by appropr iate means in order to check that it is reasoned and meets 
the requirements of this Chapt er. 
6. As part of the scrutiny referred to in the second subparagraph of paragraph 5, the Member State shall initiate 
a national opposition procedure that ensures adequat e publication of the application refer red to in paragraph 5 and that 
provid es for a reasonable period within whic h any natural or legal person having a legitimate inter est and resident or 
established on its territory may submit an opposition to the application. 
The Member State shall examine the admissibility of any opposition received in accordance with the criteria refer red to 
in Article 28. 
7. If, after assessment of any opposition received, the Member State considers that the requirements of this Chapt er 
are met, it may take a favourable decision and submit an application dossier to the Commission. In such a case, it shall 
inform the Commission of admissible oppositions received from a natural or legal person that has lega lly mark eted the 
products in question, using the names concer ned continuously for at least five years preceding the date of the 
publication refer red to in paragraph 6. Member States shall also keep the Commission informed of any national judicial 
proceedings that may affect the registration procedure. 
The Member State shall ensure that where it take s a favourable decision pursuant to the first subparagraph, that decision 
is made public and that any natural or legal person having a legitimate interest has an oppor tunity to appeal. 
The Member State shall ensure that the version of the product specifi cation on whic h its favour able decision is based is 
published, and shall provid e electronic access to the product specifi cation. 
The Member State shall also ensure adequat e publication of the version of the product specifi cation on whic h the 
Commission take s its decision pursuant to Article 26(2). 
8. Where the application relat es to a geographical area in a third countr y, the application shall be submitted to the 
Commission, either directly or via the author ities of the third countr y concer ned. 
9. The documents refer red to in this Article which are sent to the Commission shall be in one of the offici al 
languag es of the Union. 
Article 25 
Provisional national protection 
1. On a provisiona l basis only , a Member State may grant protection to a name under this Chapt er at national level, 
with effect from the date on which an application is submitted to the Commission. 17.5.2019 L 130/19 Official Jour nal of the European Union EN     2. Such national protection shall cease on the date on which either a decision on registration under this Chapt er is 
take n or the application is withdra wn. 
3. Where a name is not register ed under this Chapt er, the consequences of such national prote ction shall be the sole 
responsibility of the Member State concer ned. 
4. The measures taken by Member States under paragraph 1 shall produce effects at national level only , and shall 
have no effect on intra-Union or international trade. 
Article 26 
Scrutiny by the Commission and publication for opposition 
1. The Commission shall scrutinise by appropr iate means any application that it receives pursuant to Article 24, in 
order to check that it is reasoned, that it meets the requirements of this Chapt er, and that the interests of stak eholders 
outside the Member State of application have been taken into account. Such scrutiny shall be based on the sing le 
document referred to in point (c) of Article 23(1), shall consist of a check that there are no manifest errors in the 
application, and, as a general rule, shall not excee d a period of six months. However , where this period is exceed ed, the 
Commission shall immediately indicate in writing to the applicant the reasons for the dela y. 
The Commission shall, at least each month, make public the list of names for whic h registration applications have been 
submitted to it, as well as their date of submission. The list shall also contain the name of the Member State or third 
countr y from which the application came. 
2. Where, based on the scrutiny carried out pursuant to the first subparagraph of paragraph 1, the Commission 
considers that the requirements of this Chapt er are met, it shall publish in the Official Journal of the European Union the 
sing le document referred to in point (c) of Article 23(1) and the publication reference of the product specifi cation. 
Article 27 
Opposition procedure 
1. Within three months from the date of publication in the Official Journal of the European Union, the author ities of 
a Member State or of a third countr y, or a natural or legal person having a legitimate interest and resident or established 
in a third countr y may submit a notice of opposition to the Commission. 
Any natural or lega l person having a legitimat e interest and resident or established in a Member State other than that 
from whic h the application was submitted , may submit a notice of opposition to the Member State in which that person 
is resident or established within a time limit permitting an opposition to be submitte d pursuant to the first 
subparagraph. 
A notice of opposition shall contain a declaration that the application might infringe the requirements of this Chapt er. 
A notice of opposition that does not contain such a declaration shall be void. 
The Commission shall forward the notice of opposition without dela y to the author ity or body that submitte d the 
application. 
2. If a notice of opposition is submitte d to the Commission and is followed within two months by a reasoned 
statement of opposition, the Commission shall check the admissibility of this reasoned statement of opposition. 
3. Within two months from the receipt of an admissible reasoned state ment of opposition, the Commission shall 
invite the author ity or person that submitted the opposition and the author ity or body that submitte d the application to 
engag e in appropr iate consultations for a period that shall not exceed three months. That deadline shall start on the date 
when the invitation to the interest ed parties is delivered by electronic means. 
The author ity or person that submitte d the opposition and the author ity or body that submitted the application shall 
start such appropr iate consultations without undue dela y. They shall provid e each other with the relevant information to 
assess whether the application for registration compl ies with the requirements of this Chapt er. If no agreement is 
reac hed, that information shall also be provid ed to the Commission. 17.5.2019 L 130/20 Official Jour nal of the European Union EN     When the inter ested parties reach an agreement, the author ities of the Member State or of the third countr y from which 
the application was submitte d shall notify the Commission of all the factors whic h enabled that agreement to be 
reac hed, including the opinions of the applicant and of the author ities of a Member State or of a third countr y, or of 
other natural and legal persons having submitte d an opposition. 
Irrespective of whether an agreement has been reac hed or not, the notificati on to the Commission shall be made within 
one month from the end of the consultations. 
At any time during those three months, the Commission may, at the request of the applicant extend the deadline for the 
consultations by a maximum of three months. 
4. Where, followi ng the appropr iate consultations referred to in paragraph 3 of this Article, the details published in 
accordance with Article 26(2) have been substantially amended, the Commission shall repeat the scrutiny referred to in 
Article 26. 
5. The notice of opposition, the reasoned statement of opposition and the relat ed documents which are sent to the 
Commission in accordance with paragraphs 1 to 4 shall be in one of the official language s of the Union. 
Article 28 
Grounds for opposition 
1. A reasoned statement of opposition as referred to in Article 27(2) shall be admissible only if it is received by the 
Commission within the time limit set out in that Article and if it shows that: 
(a)  the proposed geographical indication does not comply with the definition in point (4) of Article 3 or with the 
requirements refer red to in Article 22; 
(b)  the registration of the proposed geographical indication would be contrar y to Article 34 or 35; 
(c)  the registration of the proposed geographical indication would jeopardise the existence of an entirely or partly 
identical name or of a trade mark or the existence of products which have been lega lly on the mark et for at least 
five years preceding the date of the publication provided for in Article 26(2); or 
(d)  the requirements refer red to in Articles 31 and 32 are not compl ied with. 
2. The grounds for opposition shall be assessed in relation to the territory of the Union. 
Article 29 
Transitional periods for use of geog raphical indications 
1. The Commission may adopt implementing acts granting a transitional period of up to five years to enable spirit 
drinks originating in a Member State or a third countr y, and the name of which contrave nes Article 21(2), to continue 
to use the designation under which they were market ed on condition that an admissible statement of opposition under 
Article 24(6) or Article 27 shows that the registration of the name would jeopardise the existen ce of: 
(a)  an entirely identical name or of a compo und name, one term of which is identical to the name to be registere d; or 
(b)  other names similar to the name to be registered which refer to spirit drinks which have been legally on the mark et 
for at least five years preceding the date of the publication provided for in Article 26(2). 
Those implementing acts shall be adopt ed in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 47(2). 
2. Without prejudice to Article 36, the Commission may adopt implementing acts exte nding the transitional period 
grant ed under paragraph 1 up to 15 years, or allowing continued use for up to 15 years in duly justif ied cases, provid ed 
it is shown that: 
(a)  the designation refer red to in paragraph 1 has been in legal use consistently and fairly for at least 25 years before the 
application for prote ction was submitte d to the Commission; 17.5.2019 L 130/21 Official Jour nal of the European Union EN     (b)  the purpose of using the designation referred to in paragraph 1 has not, at any time, been to prof it from the 
reputation of the registe red geographical indication; and 
(c)  the consumer has not been nor could have been misled as to the true origin of the product. 
Those implementing acts shall be adopt ed in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 47(2). 
3. When using a designation refer red to in paragraphs 1 and 2, the indication of the countr y of origin shall clearly 
and visibly appear on the labelling. 
Article 30 
Decision on registration 
1. Where, on the basis of the information available to the Commission from the scrutiny carried out pursuant to the 
first subparagraph of Article 26(1), the Commission considers that the conditions for the registration of a proposed 
geographical indication are not fulfilled , it shall inform the Member State or third countr y applicant concer ned of the 
reasons for rejection and shall give it two months to submit obser vations. If the Commission receives no obser vations 
or if, despite the obser vations received, it still considers that the conditions for registration are not fulfilled it shall, by 
means of imple menting acts, reject the application unless the application is withdra wn. Those implementing acts shall 
be adopt ed in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 47(2). 
2. If the Commission receives no notice of opposition or no admissible reasoned statement of opposition under 
Article 27, it shall adopt implementing acts, without applying the procedure referred to in Article 47(2), to register the 
name. 
3. If the Commission receives an admissible reasoned state ment of opposition, it shall, following the appropr iate con­
sultations refer red to in Article 27(3), and taking into account the results thereof, either: 
(a)  if an agreement has been reach ed, register the name by means of implementing acts adopt ed without applying the 
procedure referred to in Article 47(2), and, if necessar y, amend the information published pursuant to Article 26(2) 
provid ed such amendments are not substantial; or 
(b)  if an agreement has not been reached, adopt implementing acts deciding on the registration. Those implementing 
acts shall be adopt ed in accordance with the examination procedure refer red to in Article 47(2). 
4. Acts of registration and decisions on rejection shall be published in the Official Journal of the European Union. 
The act of registration shall grant the protection refer red to in Article 21 to the geographical indication. 
Article 31 
Amendment to a product specif ication 
1. Any group having a legitimate interest may apply for appro val of an amendment to a product specification. 
Applications shall descr ibe and give reasons for the amendments requested. 
2. Amendments to a product specification shall be classified into two cate gories as regards their importance: 
(a)  Union amendments requir ing an opposition procedure at Union level; 
(b)  standard amendments to be dealt with at Member State or third countr y level. 
3. An amendment shall be considered a Union amendment if it: 
(a)  includes a change in the name or any part of the name of the geographical indication registered under this 
Regulation; 
(b)  consists of a chang e of the legal name or the cate gory of the spirit drink; 17.5.2019 L 130/22 Official Jour nal of the European Union EN     (c)  risks voiding the given quality , reputation or other character istic of the spirit drink that is essentially attributable to 
its geographical origin; or 
(d)  entails further restr ictions on the marketing of the product. 
Any other amendments shall be considered standard amendments. 
A standard amendment shall also be considered a temporar y amendment when it concer ns a temporar y change in the 
product specifi cation resulting from the imposition of oblig atory sanitar y and phyt osanitar y measures by the public 
author ities or is linked to natural disasters or adverse weather conditions formally recognised by the compet ent 
author ities. 
4. Union amendments shall be approved by the Commission. The approval procedure shall follow , mutatis mutandis, 
the procedure laid down in Article 24 and Articles 26 to 30. Applications for Union amendments submitted by a third 
countr y or by third countr y producers shall contain proof that the request ed amendment compl ies with the laws 
applicable in that third countr y to the prot ection of geographical indications. 
5. Standard amendments shall be approved by the Member State in whose territory the geographical area of the 
product concer ned is located. As regards third countr ies, amendments shall be approved in accordance with the law 
applicable in the third countr y concer ned. 
6. The scrutiny of the application for amendment shall only address the proposed amendment. 
Article 32 
Cancellation 
1. The Commission may, on its own initiative or at the request of any natural or legal person having a legitimate 
inter est, adopt implementing acts to cancel the registration of a geographical indication in either of the followi ng cases: 
(a)  where compl iance with the requirements for the product specifi cation can no long er be ensured; 
(b)  where no product has been placed on the market under the geograp hical indication for at least seven consecutive 
years. 
Articles 24, 26, 27, 28 and 30 shall apply mutatis mutandis to the cancellation procedure. 
2. Notwithstanding paragraph 1, the Commission may, at the request of the producers of the spirit drink market ed 
under the registe red geographical indication, adopt implementing acts cancelling the corresponding registration. 
3. In the cases refer red to in paragraphs 1 and 2, before adopting the implementing act, the Commission shall 
consult the author ities of the Member State, the author ities of the third countr y or, where possible, the third countr y 
producer whic h had originally applied for the registration of the geographical indication concer ned, unless the 
cancellation is directly request ed by those original applicants. 
4. The implementing acts referred to in this Article shall be adopt ed in accordance with the examination procedure 
referred to in Article 47(2). 
Article 33 
Register of geog raphical indications of spir it drinks 
1. The Commission shall adopt, by 8 June 2021, delegat ed acts in accordance with Article 46 supplementing this 
Regulation by establishing a publicly accessible electronic registe r, which is kept up to date , of geographical indications 
of spirit drinks recognised under this scheme (‘the register ’). 
2. The name of a geographical indication shall be registered in its original script. Where the original script is not in 
Latin charact ers, a transcr iption or translit eration in Latin charact ers shall be register ed together with the name in its 
original script. 17.5.2019 L 130/23 Official Jour nal of the European Union EN     For geographical indications register ed under this Chapt er, the register shall provid e direct access to the sing le 
documents and shall also contain the publication reference of the product specifi cation. 
For geographical indications register ed before 8 June 2019, the register shall provi de direct access to the main specifi ­
cations of the technical file as set out in Article 17(4) of Regulation (EC) No 110/2008. 
The Commission shall adopt delegat ed acts in accordance with Article 46 supplementing this paragraph by laying down 
further detailed rules on the form and content of the register . 
3. Geographical indications of spirit drinks produced in third countr ies that are prot ected in the Union pursuant to 
an international agreement to which the Union is a contracting party may be entered in the register as geographical 
indications. 
Article 34 
Homonymous geog raphical indications 
1. If a name for which an application is submitte d is a whole or partial homon ym of a name already registered under 
this Regulation, the name shall be register ed with due regar d to local and traditional usag e and any risk of confusion. 
2. A homonymous name which misleads the consumer into believing that products come from another territory 
shall not be registe red even if the name is accurate as far as the actual territory , region or place of origin of those 
products is concer ned. 
3. The use of a register ed homonymous geographical indication shall be subject to there being a sufficient distinction 
in practice between the homon ym register ed subsequently and the name already in the register , having rega rd to the 
need to treat the producers concer ned in an equitable manner and not to mislead the consumer . 
4. The prote ction of geographical indications of spirit drinks refer red to in Article 21 of this Regulation shall be 
without prejudice to the protect ed geographical indications and designations of origin of products under Regulations 
(EU) No 1308/2013 and (EU) No 251/2014. 
Article 35 
Specif ic grounds for refusal of protection 
1. A generic name shall not be prot ected as a geographical indication. 
To establish whether or not a name has become a generic name, account shall be taken of all relevant factors, in 
particular: 
(a)  the existing situation in the Union, in particular in areas of consum ption; 
(b)  the relevant Union or national legislation. 
2. A name shall not be protect ed as a geographical indication where, in the light of a trade mark's reputation and 
renown , prote ction could mislead the consumer as to the true identity of the spirit drink. 
3. A name shall only be prot ected as a geograp hical indication if the production step s whic h give the spirit drink the 
quality , reputation or other charact eristic that is essentially attributable to its geographical origin, take place in the 
relevant geographical area. 
Article 36 
Relationship betw een trade mark s and geog raphical indications 
1. The registration of a trade mark the use of which corresponds or would correspond to one or more of the 
situations refer red to in Article 21(2) shall be refused or invalidat ed. 17.5.2019 L 130/24 Official Jour nal of the European Union EN     2. A trade mark the use of which corresponds to one or more of the situations referred to in Article 21(2), which has 
been applied for, registered, or established by use, if that possibility is provid ed for by the legislation concer ned, in good 
faith within the territory of the Union, before the date on which the application for prot ection of the geographical 
indication was submitte d to the Commission, may continue to be used and renewed notwithstanding the registration of 
a geographical indication, provi ded that no grounds for its invalidity or revocation exist under Directive (EU) 2015/2436 
of the European Parliament and of the Council (24) or Regulation (EU) 2017/1001 of the European Parliament and of 
the Council (25). 
Article 37 
Exis ting regis tered geog raphical indications 
Geographical indications of spirit drinks registered in Annex III to Regulation (EC) No 110/2008 and thus prot ected 
under that Regulation shall autom atically be protect ed as geographical indications under this Regulation. The 
Commission shall list them in the register refer red to in Article 33 of this Regulation. 
Article 38 
Verification of compliance with the product specif ication 
1. Member States shall draw up and keep up to date a list of operators that produce spirit drinks with a geographical 
indication registe red under this Regulation. 
2. In respect of the geographical indications that designate spirit drinks originating within the Union registere d under 
this Regulation, verification of compl iance with the product specification referred to in Article 22, before placing the 
product on the mark et, shall be carried out by: 
(a)  one or more compet ent author ities referred to in Article 43(1); or 
(b)  control bodies within the meaning of point 5 of the second subparagraph of Article 2 of Regulation (EC) 
No 882/2004, operating as a product certification body . 
Where a Member State applies Article 24(2), verification of compl iance with the product specifi cation shall be ensured 
by an author ity other than that deemed to be a group under that paragraph. 
Notwithstanding the national law of Member State s, the costs of such verification of compl iance with the product 
specific ation may be borne by the operators whic h are subject to those controls. 
3. In respect of the geographical indications that designat e spirit drinks originating within a third countr y register ed 
under this Regulation, verification of compl iance with the product specifi cation, before placing the product on the 
mark et, shall be carried out by: 
(a)  a public compet ent author ity designate d by the third countr y; or 
(b)  a product certification body . 
4. Member States shall mak e public the names and addresses of the compet ent author ities and bodies refer red to in 
paragraph 2, and update that information periodically . 
The Commission shall make public the name and address of the compet ent author ities and bodies referred to in 
paragraph 3 and update that information periodically . 
5. The control bodies refer red to in point (b) of paragraph 2 and the product certification bodies refer red to in point 
(b) of paragraph 3 shall comply with and be accredited in accordance with European standard ISO/IEC 17065:2012 or 
any applicable future revision or amended version thereof. 17.5.2019 L 130/25 Official Jour nal of the European Union EN     
(24)Directive (EU) 2015/2436 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 December 2015 to appro ximate the laws of the Member 
States relating to trade marks (OJ L 336, 23.12.2015, p. 1). 
(25)Regulation (EU) 2017/1001 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 June 2017 on the European Union trade mark 
(OJ L 154, 16.6.2017, p. 1). 6. The compet ent author ities referred to in paragraphs 2 and 3 that verify compl iance of the geographical indication 
prote cted under this Regulation with the product specifi cation shall be objective and impartial. They shall have at their 
disposal the qualified staff and resources necessar y to carry out their task s. 
Article 39 
Sur veillance of the use of names in the market place 
1. Member States shall carry out checks, based on a risk analysis, as regards the use, in the market place, of the 
geographical indications register ed under this Regulation and shall take all necessar y measures in the event of breac hes 
of the requirements of this Chapt er. 
2. Member States shall take appropr iate administrative and judicial steps to prevent or stop the unlawful use of the 
names of products or services that are produced or mark eted in their territory and that are covered by geographical 
indications registered under this Regulation. 
To that end, Member States shall designate the author ities that are responsible for taking those steps, in accordance with 
procedures determined by each individual Member State . 
Those author ities shall offer adequate guarant ees of objectivity and impartiality , and shall have at their disposal the 
qualified staff and resources necessar y to carry out their tasks. 
3. Member States shall inform the Commission of the names and addresses of the compet ent author ities responsible 
for controls as regards the use of names in the mark et place, and designated in accordance with Article 43. The 
Commission shall make public the names and addresses of those author ities. 
Article 40 
Procedure and requirements, and planning and repor ting of control activities 
1. The procedures and requirements laid down in Regulation (EC) No 882/2004 shall apply mutatis mutandis to the 
checks provided for in Articles 38 and 39 of this Regulation. 
2. Member States shall ensure that activities for the control of oblig ations under this Chapt er are specifically included 
in a separate section within the multi-annual national control plans in accordance with Articles 41 to 43 of Regulation 
(EC) No 882/2004. 
3. The annual repor ts referred to in Article 44(1) of Regulation (EC) No 882/2004 shall include in a separat e section 
the information refer red to in that provision concer ning the control of the oblig ations established by this Regulation. 
Article 41 
Delegated powers 
1. The Commission is empowered to adopt delegat ed acts in accordance with Article 46 supplementing this 
Regulation by setting out further conditions to be followed, including in cases where a geographical area includes more 
than one countr y, in respect of: 
(a)  an application for the registration of a geographical indication as referred to in Articles 23 and 24; and 
(b)  preliminar y national procedures as referred to in Article 24, scrutiny by the Commission, the opposition procedure, 
and the cancellation of geographical indications. 
2. The Commission is empowered to adopt delegat ed acts in accordance with Article 46 supplementing this 
Regulation by establishing conditions and requirements for the procedure concer ning the Union amendments and 
standard amendments, including temporar y amendments, to product specifi cations as referred to in Article 31. 17.5.2019 L 130/26 Official Jour nal of the European Union EN     Article 42 
Implementing powers 
1. The Commission may adop t implementing acts laying down detailed rules concer ning: 
(a)  the form of the product specifi cation refer red to in Article 22, and measures on the information to be provi ded in 
the product specifi cation with regard to the link between the geographical area and the final product as refer red to 
in point (f) of Article 22(1); 
(b)  the procedures for, form and presentation of, oppositions as refer red to in Articles 27 and 28; 
(c)  the form and presentation of applications for Union amendments and of communications concer ning standard and 
temporar y amendments as refer red to in Article 31(4) and (5) respectively ; 
(d)  the procedures for and form of the cancellation process referred to in Article 32, as well as on the presentation of 
the requests for cancellation; and 
(e)  the checks and verifications to be carried out by the Member States, including testing, as refer red to in Article 38. 
2. The Commission shall adopt, by 8 June 2021, imple menting acts laying down detailed rules concer ning the 
procedures for, form and presentation of, applications as refer red to in Articles 23 and 24, including for applications 
concer ning more than one national territory. 
3. The implementing acts referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 shall be adopt ed in accordance with the examination 
procedure refer red to in Article 47(2). 
CHAPTER IV 
CHECK S, EXCHANGE OF INFOR MA TION , MEMBER STATES' LEGISL ATION 
Article 43 
Checks on spir it drinks 
1. Member States shall be responsible for checks on spirit drinks. They shall take the measures necessar y to ensure 
compl iance with this Regulation and designate the compet ent author ities responsible for ensur ing this Regulation is 
compl ied with. 
2. The Commission shall ensure the unif orm application of this Regulation and, where necessar y, shall, by means of 
implementing acts, adopt the rules concer ning administrative and physical checks to be conducted by the Member States 
with regard to the respect of the oblig ations resulting from the application of this Regulation. Those implementing acts 
shall be adopt ed in accordance with the examination procedure refer red to in Article 47(2). 
Article 44 
Exchange of information 
1. Member States and the Commission shall communicate to each other the information necessar y for the 
application of this Regulation. 
2. The Commission may adopt imp lementing acts concer ning the nature and the type of the information to be 
exchanged and the methods for exchanging information. 
Those implementing acts shall be adopt ed in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 47(2). 
Article 45 
Member States' legislation 
1. In applying a quality policy for spirit drinks produced in their own territory and in particular for geographical 
indications listed in the register or for the prot ection of new geographical indications, Member State s may lay down 
rules on production, descr iption, presentation and labelling that are stricter than those set out in Annex es I and II in so 
far as they are compati ble with Union law. 17.5.2019 L 130/27 Official Jour nal of the European Union EN     2. Notwithstanding paragraph 1, Member States shall not prohibit or restr ict the impor t, sale or consump tion of 
spirit drinks produced in other Member States or third countr ies which compl y with this Regulation. 
CHAPTER V 
DELEGA TION OF POWER, IMPLEMENTING PROVISIONS, TRANSITIONAL AND FINAL PROVISIONS 
SECTION 1 
Deleg ation of power and implementing provisions 
Article 46 
Exercise of the delegation 
1. The power to adop t delega ted acts is conferred on the Commission subject to the conditions laid down in this 
Article. 
2. The power to adopt delegat ed acts referred to in Articles 8 and 19 shall be conferred on the Commission for 
a period of seven years from 24 May 2019. The Commission shall draw up a repor t in respect of the delega tion of 
power not later than nine months before the end of the seven-y ear period. The delega tion of power shall be tacitly 
extende d for periods of an identical duration, unless the European Parliament or the Council opposes such extension not 
later than three months before the end of each period. 
3. The power to adopt delegat ed acts refer red to in Articles 33 and 41 shall be confe rred on the Commission for 
a period of five years from 24 May 2019. The Commission shall draw up a repor t in respect of the delegatio n of power 
not later than nine months before the end of the five-year period. The delegatio n of power shall be tacitly extende d for 
periods of an identical duration, unless the European Parliament or the Council opposes such extension not later than 
three months before the end of each period. 
4. The power to adopt delegat ed acts refer red to in Article 50 shall be conferr ed on the Commission for a period of 
six years from 24 May 2019. 
5. The delegat ion of power refer red to in Articles 8, 19, 33, 41 and 50 may be revok ed at any time by the European 
Parliament or by the Council. A decision to revok e shall put an end to the delegatio n of power specifi ed in that decision. 
It shall take effect the day followi ng the publication of the decision in the Official Journal of the European Union or at 
a later date specifi ed therein. It shall not affect the validity of any delegat ed acts already in force. 
6. Before adopting a delega ted act, the Commission shall consult exper ts designated by each Member State in 
accordance with the principles laid down in the Interin stitutional Agreement of 13 Apr il 2016 on Bett er Law-Making. 
7. As soon as it adop ts a delegat ed act, the Commission shall notify it simultaneously to the European Parliament and 
to the Council. 
8. A deleg ated act adopt ed pursuant to Articles 8, 19, 33, 41 and 50 shall enter into force only if no objection has 
been expressed either by the European Parliament or by the Council within a period of two months of notifi cation of 
that act to the European Parliament and the Council or if, before the expir y of that period, the European Parliament and 
the Council have both informed the Commission that they will not object. That period shall be extended by two months 
at the initiative of the European Parliament or of the Council. 
Article 47 
Committee procedure 
1. The Commission shall be assisted by the Committ ee for Spir it Drinks established by Regulation (EEC) No 1576/89. 
That committee shall be a committe e within the meaning of Regulation (EU) No 182/2011. 
2. Where reference is made to this paragraph, Article 5 of Regulation (EU) No 182/2011 shall apply . 17.5.2019 L 130/28 Official Jour nal of the European Union EN     SECTION 2 
Derog ation, transitional and final provisions 
Article 48 
Derogation from nominal quantities requirements in Directiv e 2007/45/EC 
By way of deroga tion from Article 3 of Directive 2007/45/EC, and from the sixth row of section 1 of the Annex to that 
Directive, sing le distilled shochu (26), produced by pot still and bottled in Japan, may be placed on the Union market in 
nominal quantities of 720 ml and 1 800 ml. 
Article 49 
Repeal 
1. Without prejudice to Article 50, Regulation (EC) No 110/2008 is repealed with effect from 25 May 2021. 
Howe ver, Chapt er III thereof is repealed with effect from 8 June 2019. 
2. By way of deroga tion from paragraph 1: 
(a)  Article 17(2) of Regulation (EC) No 110/2008 shall continue to apply until 25 May 2021; 
(b)  Article 20 of Regulation (EC) No 110/2008 and, without prejudice to the applicability of the other provis ions of 
Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 716/2013 (27), Article 9 of that Implementing Regulation shall 
continue to apply until the compl etion of the procedures provi ded for in Article 9 of that Implementing Regulation 
but, in any event, no later than 25 May 2021; and 
(c)  Annex III to Regulation (EC) No 110/2008 shall continue to apply until the register referred to in Article 33 of this 
Regulation has been established. 
3. References to Regulation (EC) No 110/2008 shall be constr ued as references to this Regulation and be read in 
accordance with the correlation table set out in Annex IV to this Regulation. 
Article 50 
Transitional measures 
1. Spir it drinks which do not meet the requirements of this Regulation but which meet the requirements of 
Regulation (EC) No 110/2008 and were produced before 25 May 2021 may continue to be placed on the market until 
stoc ks are exhausted. 
2. Notwithstanding paragraph 1 of this Article, spirit drinks the descr iption, presentation or labelling of which is not 
in conf ormity with Articles 21 and 36 of this Regulation but compl ies with Articles 16 and 23 of Regulation (EC) 
No 110/2008 and whic h were labelled before 8 June 2019 may continue to be placed on the mark et until stoc ks are 
exhaust ed. 
3. Until 25 May 2025, the Commission is empo wered to adopt delegat ed acts in accordance with Article 46 
amending Article 3(2), (3), (9), (10), (11) and (12), Article 10(6) and (7), and Articles 11, 12 and 13 or supplementing 
this Regulation by derog ating from those provis ions. 
The delega ted acts refer red to in the first subparagraph shall be strictly limited to meeting demonstrated needs that result 
from market circumstances. 
The Commission shall adopt a separate delegat ed act in respect of each definition, technical definition or requirement in 
the provisions refer red to in the first subparagraph. 17.5.2019 L 130/29 Official Jour nal of the European Union EN     
(26)As referred to in Annex 2-D to the Agreement between the European Union and Japan for an Economic Partnership. 
(27)Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 716/2013 of 25 July 2013 laying down rules for the application of Regulation (EC) 
No 110/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the defin ition, descr iption, presentation, labelling and the prot ection of 
geographical indications of spirit drinks (OJ L 201, 26.7.2013, p. 21). 4. Articles 22 to 26, 31 and 32 of this Regulation shall not apply to applications for registration or for amendment 
or to requests for cancellation, whic h are pending on 8 June 2019. Articles 17(4), (5) and (6), 18 and 21 of Regulation 
(EC) No 110/2008 shall continue to apply to such applications and requests for cancellation. 
The provis ions on the opposition procedure referred to in Articles 27, 28 and 29 of this Regulation shall not apply to 
the applications for registration or to the applications for amendment, in relation to which the main specif ications of 
the technical file or an application for amendment, respectively , have already been published for opposition in the 
Official Journal of the European Union on 8 June 2019. Article 17(7) of Regulation (EC) No 110/2008 shall continue to 
apply to such applications. 
The provis ions on the opposition procedure referred to in Articles 27, 28 and 29 of this Regulation shall not apply to 
a request for cancellation which is pending on 8 June 2019. Article 18 of Regulation (EC) No 110/2008 shall continue 
to apply to such requests for cancellation. 
5. For the geographical indications registered under Chapt er III of this Regulation and of which the application for 
registration was pending on the date of application of the implementing acts laying down detailed rules on the 
procedures for, form and presentation of, applications as referred to in Article 23 provid ed for in Article 42(2) of this 
Regulation, the register may provide direct access to the main specif ications of the technical file within the meaning of 
Article 17(4) of Regulation (EC) No 110/2008. 
6. In respect of geographical indications registere d in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 110/2008 the Commission 
shall, at the request of a Member State, publish a sing le document submitted by that Member State in the Official Journal 
of the European Union. That publication shall be accompanied by the publication reference of the product specification 
and shall not be followed by an opposition procedure. 
Article 51 
Entr y into force and application 
1. This Regulation shall enter into force on the seventh day followi ng that of its publication in the Official Journal of 
the European Union. 
It shall apply from 25 May 2021. 
2. Nothwithstanding paragraph 1, Article 16, point (c) of Article 20, Articles 21, 22 and 23, Article 24(1), (2) and 
(3), the first and second subparagraphs of Article 24(4), Article 24(8) and (9), Articles 25 to 42, Articles 46 and 47, 
Article 50(1), (4) and (6), points 39(d) and 40(d) of Annex I and the definit ions set out in Article 3 relating to those 
provis ions shall apply from 8 June 2019. 
3. The delegat ed acts provided for in Articles 8, 19 and 50, adopt ed in accordance with Article 46, and the 
implementing acts provided for in Article 8(4) and Articles 20, 43 and 44, adopt ed in accordance with Article 47, shall 
apply from 25 May 2021. 
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member State s. 
Done at Strasbourg, 17 Apr il 2019. 
For the European Parliament 
The President 
A. TAJANI  For the Council 
The President 
G. CIAMBA   17.5.2019 L 130/30 Official Jour nal of the European Union EN     ANNEX I 
CATEGORIES OF SPIRIT DRINK S  
1. Rum 
(a)  Rum is a spirit drink produced excl usively by the distillation of the product obtained by the alcoholic 
fermentation of molasses or syrup produced in the manufacture of cane sugar or of sugar -cane juice itself, 
distilled at less than 96 % vol., so that the distillat e has the discer nible specif ic organoleptic charact eristics of 
rum. 
(b)  The minimum alcoholic strength by volume of rum shall be 37,5 %. 
(c)  No addition of alcohol, diluted or not, shall take place. 
(d)  Rum shall not be flavour ed. 
(e)  Rum may only contain added caramel as a means of adjusting the colour . 
(f)  Rum may be sweet ened in order to round off the final taste . Howe ver, the final product may not contain more 
than 20 grams of sweet ening products per litre, expressed as invert sugar. 
(g)  In the case of geographical indications registere d under this Regulation, the legal name of rum may be 
supplemented by: 
(i)  the term ‘traditionnel’ or ‘tradicional’ , provi ded that the rum in question: 
—  has been produced by distillation at less than 90 % vol., after alcoholic fermentation of alcohol- 
producing mat erials originating excl usively from the place of production considered, and 
—  has a volatile substances conte nt equal to or exceed ing 225 grams per hectolit re of 100 % vol. alcohol, 
and 
—  is not sweetened; 
(ii)  the term ‘agricultural’, provided that the rum in question compl ies with the requirements under point (i) and 
has been produced excl usively by distillation after alcoholic fermentation of sugar -cane juice. The term 
‘agricultural’ may only be used in the case of a geographical indication of a French Overseas Depar tment or 
the Autonomous Region of Madeira. 
This point shall be without prejudice to the use of the term ‘agricultural’, ‘traditionnel’ or ‘tradicional’ in 
connection with any product not covered by this catego ry, in accordance with their own specifi c criteria.  
2. Whisky or whiske y 
(a)  Whisky or whiske y is a spirit drink produced exclusively by carrying out all of the follo wing production 
operations: 
(i)  distillation of a mash made from malted cereals, with or without whole grains of unmalt ed cereals, whic h 
has been: 
—  sacch arified by the diastase of the malt contained therein, with or without other natural enzymes, 
—  fermented by the action of yeast ; 
(ii)  each and ever y distillation is carried out at less than 94,8 % vol., so that the distillate has an aroma and 
taste derived from the raw mat erials used; 
(iii)  maturation of the final distillate for at least three years in wooden cask s not excee ding 700 litres capacity . 
The final distillate, to which only water and plain caramel (for colour ing) may be added, shall retain the colour , 
aroma and taste it derived from the production process referred to in points (i), (ii) and (iii). 
(b)  The minimum alcoholic strength by volume of whisky or whisk ey shall be 40 %. 
(c)  No addition of alcohol, diluted or not, shall take place. 17.5.2019 L 130/31 Official Jour nal of the European Union EN     (d)  Whisky or whisk ey shall not be sweetened, even for rounding off the taste , or flavoured, or contain any additives 
other than plain caramel (E 150a) used for adjusting the colour . 
(e)  The legal name of ‘whisky’ or ‘whiske y’ may be supplemente d by the term ‘sing le malt ’ only if it has been distilled 
excl usively from malte d barle y at a sing le distiller y.  
3. Grain spir it 
(a)  Grain spirit is a spirit drink produced excl usively by the distillation of a fermented mash of whole grain cereals 
and having organoleptic character istics derived from the raw mat erials used. 
(b)  With the excep tion of Korn, the minimum alcoholic strength by volume of grain spirit shall be 35 %. 
(c)  No addition of alcohol, diluted or not, shall take place. 
(d)  Grain spirit shall not be flavoured. 
(e)  Grain spirit may only contain added caramel as a means of adjusting the colour . 
(f)  Grain spirit may be sweetened in order to round off the final taste. However , the final product may not contain 
more than 10 grams of sweetening products per litre, expressed as invert sugar. 
(g)  A grain spirit may bear the legal name ‘grain brandy’ if it has been produced by distillation at less than 95 % 
vol. from a fermente d mash of whole grain cereals, presenting organolep tic features deriving from the raw 
mater ials used. 
(h)  In the legal name ‘grain spirit’ or ‘grain brandy’ , the word ‘grain’ may be replaced with the name of the cereal 
used excl usively in the production of the spirit drink.  
4. Wine spir it 
(a)  Wine spirit is a spirit drink whic h meets the follo wing requirements: 
(i)  it is produced excl usively by the distillation at less than 86 % vol. of wine, wine fortified for distillation or 
wine distillate distilled at less than 86 % vol.; 
(ii)  it has a volatile substances conte nt equal to or exceed ing 125 grams per hectolitre of 100 % vol. alcohol; 
(iii)  it has a maximum methanol conte nt of 200 grams per hect olitre of 100 % vol. alcohol. 
(b)  The minimum alcoholic strength by volume of wine spirit shall be 37,5 %. 
(c)  No addition of alcohol, diluted or not, shall take place. 
(d)  Wine spirit shall not be flavoured. This shall not preclude traditional production methods. 
(e)  Wine spirit may only contain added caramel as a means of adjusting the colour . 
(f)  Wine spirit may be sweet ened in order to round off the final taste. However , the final product may not contain 
more than 20 grams of sweetening products per litre, expressed as invert sugar. 
(g)  Where wine spirit has been matured, it may continue to be placed on the mark et as ‘wine spirit’ provided that it 
has been matured for as long as, or longer than, the maturation period provided for in respect of the spirit 
drink defined under catego ry 5. 
(h)  This Regulation shall be without prejudice to the use of the term ‘Branntwein’ in combination with the term 
‘essig’ in the presentation and labelling of vineg ar.  
5. Brandy or Weinbr and 
(a)  Brandy or Weinbr and is a spirit drink whic h meets the following requirements: 
(i)  it is produced from wine spirit to which wine distillat e may be added, provided that that wine distillate has 
been distilled at less than 94,8 % vol. and does not exceed a maximum of 50 % of the alcoholic conte nt of 
the finished product ; 17.5.2019 L 130/32 Official Jour nal of the European Union EN     (ii)  it has matured for at least : 
—  one year in oak receptacles with a capacity of at least 1 000 litres each; or 
—  six months in oak casks with a capacity of less than 1 000 litres each; 
(iii)  it has a volatile substances cont ent equal to or exceeding 125 grams per hect olitre of 100 % vol. alcohol, 
and derived excl usively from the distillation of the raw mater ials used; 
(iv)  it has a maximum methanol content of 200 grams per hect olitre of 100 % vol. alcohol. 
(b)  The minimum alcoholic strength by volume of brandy or Weinbr and shall be 36 %. 
(c)  No addition of alcohol, diluted or not, shall take place. 
(d)  Brandy or Weinbr and shall not be flavoured. This shall not preclude traditional production methods. 
(e)  Brandy or Weinbr and may only contain added caramel as a means of adjusting the colour . 
(f)  Brandy or Weinbr and may be sweet ened in order to round off the final taste. Howe ver, the final product may not 
contain more than 35 grams of sweet ening products per litre, expressed as invert sugar.  
6. Grape marc spir it or grape marc 
(a)  Grape marc spirit or grape marc is a spirit drink which meets the followi ng requirements: 
(i)  it is produced excl usively from grape marc fermented and distilled either directly by water vapour or after 
water has been added and both of the followi ng conditions are fulfilled : 
—  each and ever y distillation is carried out at less than 86 % vol.; 
—  the first distillation is carried out in the presence of the marc itself; 
(ii)  a quantity of lees may be added to the grape marc that does not excee d 25 kg of lees per 100 kg of grape 
marc used; 
(iii)  the quantity of alcohol derived from the lees shall not excee d 35 % of the total quantity of alcohol in the 
finished product ; 
(iv)  it has a volatile substances content equal to or excee ding 140 grams per hectolitre of 100 % vol. alcohol 
and has a maximum methanol cont ent of 1 000 grams per hectolit re of 100 % vol. alcohol. 
(b)  The minimum alcoholic strength by volume of grape marc spirit or grape marc shall be 37,5 %. 
(c)  No addition of alcohol, diluted or not, shall take place. 
(d)  Grape marc spirit or grape marc shall not be flavoured. This shall not preclude traditional production methods. 
(e)  Grape marc spirit or grape marc may only contain added caramel as a means of adjusting the colour . 
(f)  Grape marc spirit or grape marc may be sweet ened in order to round off the final taste. However , the final 
product may not contain more than 20 grams of sweet ening products per litre, expressed as inver t sugar .  
7. Fruit marc spir it 
(a)  Fruit marc spirit is a spirit drink which meets the followi ng requirements: 
(i)  it is produced excl usively by fermentation and distillation of fruit marc other than grape marc and both of 
the follo wing conditions are fulfilled : 
—  each and ever y distillation is carried out at less than 86 % vol.; 
—  the first distillation is carried out in the presence of the marc itself; 
(ii)  it has a minimum volatile substances cont ent of 200 grams per hectolitre of 100 % vol. alcohol; 
(iii)  the maximum methanol content shall be 1 500 grams per hectolit re of 100 % vol. alcohol; 
(iv)  the maximum hydrocyanic acid cont ent shall be 7 grams per hect olitre of 100 % vol. alcohol in the case of 
ston e-fruit marc spirit. 17.5.2019 L 130/33 Official Jour nal of the European Union EN     (b)  The minimum alcoholic strength by volume of fruit marc spirit shall be 37,5 %. 
(c)  No addition of alcohol, diluted or not, shall take place. 
(d)  Fruit marc spirit shall not be flavoured. 
(e)  Fruit marc spirit may only contain added caramel as a means of adjusting the colour . 
(f)  Fruit marc spirit may be sweet ened in order to round off the final taste. However , the final product may not 
contain more than 20 grams of sweet ening products per litre, expressed as invert sugar. 
(g)  The legal name shall consist of the name of the fruit followed by ‘marc spirit’. If marc of several diffe rent fruits 
is used, the legal name shall be ‘fruit marc spirit’ and may be supplemente d by the name of each fruit in 
decreasing order of the quantity used.  
8. Raisin spir it or raisin brandy 
(a)  Raisin spirit or raisin brandy is a spirit drink produced exclusively by the distillation of the product obtained by 
the alcoholic fermentation of extract of dried grapes of the ‘Cor inth Black’ or ‘Moscat el of Alexandr ia’ varieties, 
distilled at less than 94,5 % vol., so that the distillat e has an aroma and taste derived from the raw mate rials 
used. 
(b)  The minimum alcoholic strength by volume of raisin spirit or raisin brandy shall be 37,5 %. 
(c)  No addition of alcohol, diluted or not, shall take place. 
(d)  Raisin spirit or raisin brandy shall not be flavoured. 
(e)  Raisin spirit or raisin brandy may only contain added caramel as a means of adjusting the colour . 
(f)  Raisin spirit or raisin brandy may be sweet ened in order to round off the final taste . However , the final product 
may not contain more than 20 grams of sweet ening products per litre, expressed as inver t sugar .  
9. Fruit spir it 
(a)  Fruit spirit is a spirit drink which meets the followi ng requirements: 
(i)  it is produced excl usively by the alcoholic fermentation and distillation, with or without ston es, of fresh 
and fleshy fruit, including bananas, or the must of such fruit, berries or veget ables; 
(ii)  each and ever y distillation shall be carried out at less than 86 % vol. so that the distillate has an aroma and 
taste derived from the raw mat erials distilled; 
(iii)  it has a volatile substances conte nt equal to or exceed ing 200 grams per hectolitre of 100 % vol. alcohol; 
(iv)  in the case of stone-fr uit spirits, it has a hydrocyanic acid content not exceeding 7 grams per hectolitre of 
100 % vol. alcohol. 
(b)  The maximum methanol content of fruit spirit shall be 1 000 grams per hectolit re of 100 % vol. alcohol, 
excep t: 
(i)  in the case of fruit spirits produced from the follo wing fruits or berries, and in respect of which the 
maximum methanol content shall be 1 200 grams per hectolitre of 100 % vol. alcohol: 
—  apple (Malus domestica Borkh.), 
—  apricots (Prunus armeniaca L.), 
—  plum (Prunus domestica L.), 
—  quetsc h (Prunus domestica L.), 
—  mirabelle (Prunus domestica L. subsp. syriaca (Borkh.) Janc h. ex Mansf.), 
—  peach (Prunus persica (L.) Batsc h), 
—  pear (Pyrus communis L.), excep t for Williams pears (Pyrus communis L. cv ‘Williams’), 
—  blac kber ry (Rubus sect. Rubus), 
—  raspber ry (Rubus idaeus L.). 17.5.2019 L 130/34 Official Jour nal of the European Union EN     (ii)  in the case of fruit spirits produced from the follo wing fruits or berries, and in respect of which the 
maximum methanol content shall be 1 350 grams per hectolitre of 100 % vol. alcohol: 
—  quince (Cydonia oblong a Mill.), 
—  juniper berry (Juniper us communis L. or Juniper us oxicedr us L.), 
—  Williams pear (Pyrus communis L. cv ‘Williams’), 
—  blac kcur rant (Ribes nigrum L.), 
—  redcur rant (Ribes rubrum L.), 
—  rosehip (Rosa canina L.), 
—  elderber ry (Sambucus nigra L.), 
—  rowan berry (Sorbus aucupar ia L.), 
—  sorb apple (Sorbus domestica L.), 
—  wild service tree (Sorbus torminalis (L.) Crantz). 
(c)  The minimum alcoholic strength by volume of fruit spirit shall be 37,5 %. 
(d)  Fruit spirit shall not be coloured. 
(e)  Notwithstanding point (d) of this categor y and by way of derogation from food categor y 14.2.6 of Part E of 
Annex II to Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008, caramel may be used to adjust the colour of fruit spirits that have 
been aged at least one year in contact with wood. 
(f)  No addition of alcohol, diluted or not, shall take place. 
(g)  Fruit spirit shall not be flavour ed. 
(h)  Fruit spirit may be sweetened in order to round off the final taste. Howe ver, the final product may not contain 
more than 18 grams of sweetening products per litre, expressed as invert sugar. 
(i)  The legal name of fruit spirit shall be ‘spir it’ supplemente d by the name of the fruit, berry or vegeta ble. In the 
Bulgar ian, Czech, Greek , Croatian, Polish, Romanian, Slovak and Slovenian languag es, the legal name may be 
expressed by the name of the fruit, berry or vegeta ble, supplement ed by a suffix. 
Alte rnatively: 
(i)  the legal name refer red to in the first subparagraph may be ‘wasser ’, used together with the name of the 
fruit; or 
(ii)  the followi ng legal names may be used in the follo wing cases: 
—  ‘kirsch’ for cherr y spirit (Prunus avium (L.) L.); 
—  ‘plum’, ‘quetsch’ or ‘slivovitz’ for plum spirit (Prunus domestica L.); 
—  ‘mirabelle ’ for mirabelle spirit (Prunus domestica L. subsp. syriaca (Borkh.) Janc h. ex Mansf.); 
—  ‘fruit of arbutus’ for fruit of arbutus spirit (Arbutus unedo L.); 
—  ‘Golden Delicious’ for apple spirit (Malus domestica var. ‘Golden Delicious’ ); 
—  ‘Obstler ’ for a fruit spirit produced from fruits, with or without berries, provided that at least 85 % of 
the mash is derived from different varieties of apples, pears or both. 
The name ‘Williams’ or ‘williams’ may be used only to place on the mark et pear spirit produced solely from 
pears of the ‘Williams’ variety. 
If there is a risk that the final consumer does not easily understand one of the legal names not containing the 
word ‘spir it’ refer red to in this point, the descr iption, presentation and labelling shall include the word ‘spir it’, 
which may be supplement ed by an explanation. 17.5.2019 L 130/35 Official Jour nal of the European Union EN     (j)  Whenever two or more fruits, berries or vege tables are distilled together , the product shall be placed on the 
mark et under the legal name: 
—  ‘fruit spirit’ for spirit drinks excl usively produced by distillation of fruits or berries or both; or 
—  ‘veget able spirit’ for spirit drinks excl usively produced by distillation of vegetables; or 
—  ‘fruit and vegeta ble spirit’ for spirit drinks produced by distillation of a combination of fruits, berries and 
vegetables. 
The legal name may be supplemente d by that of each fruit, berry or vege table, in decreasing order of the 
quantity used.  
10. Cider spir it, perry spir it and cider and perry spir it 
(a)  Cider spirit, perry spirit and cider and perry spirit are spirit drinks which meet the followi ng requirements: 
(i)  they are produced excl usively by the distillation at less than 86 % vol. of cider or perry so that the distillat e 
has an aroma and taste derived from the fruits; 
(ii)  they have a volatile substances cont ent equal to or exceed ing 200 grams per hectolit re of 100 % vol. 
alcohol; 
(iii)  they have a maximum methanol content of 1 000 grams per hect olitre of 100 % vol. alcohol. 
(b)  The minimum alcoholic strength by volume of cider spirit, perry spirit and cider and perry spirit shall be 
37,5 %. 
(c)  No addition of alcohol, diluted or not, shall take place. 
(d)  Cider spirit, perry spirit and cider and perry spirit shall not be flavoured. This shall not preclude traditional 
production methods. 
(e)  Cider spirit, perry spirit and cider and perry spirit may only contain added caramel as a means of adjusting the 
colour . 
(f)  Cider spirit, perry spirit and cider and perry spirit may be sweetene d in order to round off the final taste. 
However , the final product may not contain more than 15 grams of sweet ening products per litre, expressed as 
inve rt sugar. 
(g)  The legal name shall be: 
—  ‘cider spirit’ for spirit drinks excl usively produced by the distillation of cider; 
—  ‘perry spirit’ for spirit drinks excl usively produced by the distillation of perry; or 
—  ‘cider and perry spirit’ for spirit drinks produced by the distillation of cider and perry.  
11. Honey spir it 
(a)  Honey spirit is a spirit drink which meets the followi ng requirements: 
(i)  it is produced excl usively by fermentation and distillation of hone y mash; 
(ii)  it is distilled at less than 86 % vol. so that the distillat e has the organolep tic charact eristics derived from the 
raw mate rials used. 
(b)  The minimum alcoholic strength by volume of hone y spirit shall be 35 %. 
(c)  No addition of alcohol, diluted or not, shall take place. 
(d)  Honey spirit shall not be flavour ed. 
(e)  Honey spirit may only contain added caramel as a means of adjusting the colour . 
(f)  Honey spirit may only be sweet ened with hone y in order to round of the final taste . Howe ver, the final product 
may not contain more than 20 grams of hone y per litre, expressed as inver t suga r. 17.5.2019 L 130/36 Official Jour nal of the European Union EN     12. Hefebrand or lees spir it 
(a)  Hefebr and or lees spirit is a spirit drink produced exclusively by the distillation at less than 86 % vol. of lees of 
wine, lees of beer or lees of fermente d fruit. 
(b)  The minimum alcoholic strength by volume of Hefebr and or lees spirit shall be 38 %. 
(c)  No addition of alcohol, diluted or not, shall take place. 
(d)  Hefebr and or lees spirit shall not be flavoured. 
(e)  Hefebr and or lees spirit may only contain added caramel as a means of adjusting the colour . 
(f)  Hefebr and or lees spirit may be sweetened in order to round off the final taste. However , the final product may 
not contain more than 20 grams of sweet ening products per litre, expressed as inve rt sugar. 
(g)  The legal name ‘Hefebrand’ or ‘lees spirit’ shall be supplemented by the name of the raw mat erials used.  
13. Beer spir it 
(a)  Beer spirit is a spirit drink produced exclusively by direct distillation under normal pressure of fresh beer with 
an alcoholic strength by volume of less than 86 %, so that the resulting distillate has organolep tic charact eristics 
deriving from the beer . 
(b)  The minimum alcoholic strength by volume of beer spirit shall be 38 %. 
(c)  No addition of alcohol, diluted or not, shall take place. 
(d)  Beer spirit shall not be flavoured. 
(e)  Beer spirit may only contain added caramel as a means of adjusting the colour . 
(f)  Beer spirit may be sweet ened in order to round off the final taste. However , the final product may not contain 
more than 20 grams of sweet ening products per litre, expressed as invert sugar.  
14. Topinambur or Jerusalem artichok e spir it 
(a)  Topinambur or Jerusalem artichok e spirit is a spirit drink produced excl usively by fermentation and distillation at 
less than 86 % vol. of Jerusalem artichok e tubers (Helianthus tubero sus L.). 
(b)  The minimum alcoholic strength by volume of topinambur or Jerusalem artichoke spirit shall be 38 %. 
(c)  No addition of alcohol, diluted or not, shall take place. 
(d)  Topinambur or Jerusalem artichok e spirit shall not be flavour ed. 
(e)  Topinambur or Jerusalem artichok e spirit may only contain added caramel as a means of adjusting the colour . 
(f)  Topinambur or Jerusalem artichoke spirit may be sweet ened in order to round off the final taste. However , the 
final product may not contain more than 20 grams of sweet ening products per litre, expressed as inve rt sugar.  
15. Vodka 
(a)  Vodka is a spirit drink produced from ethyl alcohol of agricultural origin obtained follo wing fermentation with 
yeast of either: 
—  potatoes or cereals or both, 
—  other agricultural raw mat erials, 
distilled so that the organoleptic charact eristics of the raw mater ials used and by-products formed in 
fermentation are selectively reduced. 
This may be followe d by additional distillation or treatment with appropr iate processing aids or both, including 
treatment with activated charcoal, to give it special organolep tic charact eristics. 
Maximum levels of residue for the ethyl alcohol of agricultural origin used to produce vodka shall meet those 
levels set out in point (d) of Article 5, excep t that the methanol content shall not exceed 10 grams per hectoli tre 
of 100 % vol. alcohol. 
(b)  The minimum alcoholic strength by volume of vodka shall be 37,5 %. 17.5.2019 L 130/37 Official Jour nal of the European Union EN     (c)  The only flavourings whic h may be added are natural flavouring substances or flavouring preparations that are 
present in distillate obtained from the fermented raw mat erials. In addition, the product may be given special 
organoleptic character istics, other than a predominant flavour . 
(d)  Vodka shall not be coloured. 
(e)  Vodka may be sweetene d in order to round off the final taste. However , the final product may not contain more 
than 8 grams of sweetening products per litre, expressed as invert sugar . 
(f)  The descr iption, presentation or labelling of vodka not produced excl usively from potat oes or cereals or both 
shall prominently bear the indication ‘produced from …’, supplement ed by the name of the raw mater ials used 
to produce the ethyl alcohol of agricultural origin. This indication shall appear in the same visual field as the 
legal name. 
(g)  The legal name may be ‘vodka’ in any Member State.  
16. Spir it (supplemented by the name of the fruit, berries or nuts) obtained by maceration and distillation 
(a)  Spir it (supplemented by the name of the fruit, berries or nuts) obtained by maceration and distillation is a spirit 
drink which meets the followi ng requirements: 
(i)  it has been produced by: 
—  maceration of fruit, berries or nuts listed under point (ii), whether partially fermented or unfermented, 
with the possible addition of a maximum of 20 litres of ethyl alcohol of agricultural origin or of a spirit 
or distillat e deriving from the same fruit, berries or nuts, or of a combination thereof, per 100 kg of 
fermented fruit, berries or nuts, 
—  followe d by distillation; each and ever y distillation shall be carried out at less than 86 % vol; 
(ii)  it is produced from the follo wing fruits, berries or nuts: 
—  chokeber ry (Aron ia Medik. nom cons.), 
—  blac k chokeber ry (Aron ia melanocar pa (Mich x.) Elliott), 
—  chestnut (Castanea sativa Mill.), 
—  citrus fruits (Citr us spp.), 
—  hazelnut (Cor ylus avellana L.), 
—  crowberr y (Empetr um nigrum L.), 
—  strawber ry (Frag aria spp.), 
—  sea-buckth orn (Hippophae rhamnoides L.), 
—  hollyber ry (Ilex aquifolium and Ilex cassine L.), 
—  cornel cherry or cornelian cherry (Cor nus mas), 
—  walnut (Juglans regia L.), 
—  banana (Musa spp.), 
—  myrtle (Myr tus communis L.), 
—  prickly pear (Opuntia ficus-indica (L.) Mill.), 
—  passion fruit (Passif lora edulis Sims), 
—  bird cherr y (Prunus padus L.). 
—  sloe (Prunus spinosa L.), 
—  blac kcur rant (Ribes nigrum L.), 
—  whit e currant (Ribes niveum Lindl.), 
—  redcur rant (Ribes rubrum L.), 17.5.2019 L 130/38 Official Jour nal of the European Union EN     —  gooseber ry (Ribes uva-crispa L. syn. Ribes grossular ia), 
—  rosehip (Rosa canina L.), 
—  arctic bramble (Rubus arcti cus L.), 
—  cloudber ry (Rubus chamaemor us L.), 
—  blac kber ry (Rubus sect. Rubus), 
—  raspber ry (Rubus idaeus L.), 
—  elderber ry (Sambucus nigra L.), 
—  rowan berry (Sorbus aucupar ia L.), 
—  sorb apple (Sorbus domestica L.), 
—  wild service tree (Sorbus torminalis (L.) Crantz), 
—  ambarella (Spondias dulcis Parkinson), 
—  hog plum (Spondias mombin L.), 
—  high bush blueber ry (Vaccinium corymbosum L.), 
—  wild cranber ry (Vaccinium oxycoccos L.), 
—  bilber ry/blueber ry (Vaccinium myrtillus L.), 
—  cowb erry (Vaccinium vitis-idaea L.). 
(b)  The minimum alcoholic strength by volume of a spirit (supplemented by the name of the fruit, berries or nuts) 
obtained by maceration and distillation shall be 37,5 %. 
(c)  Spir it (supplemented by the name of the fruit, berries or nuts) obtained by maceration and distillation shall not 
be flavoured. 
(d)  Spir it (supplemented by the name of the fruit, berries or nuts) obtained by maceration and distillation shall not 
be coloured. 
(e)  Notwithstanding point (d) and by way of derogat ion from food cate gory 14.2.6 of Part E of Annex II to 
Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008, caramel may be used to adjust the colour of spirit (supplemented by the name 
of the fruit, berries or nuts) obtained by maceration and distillation that has been aged at least one year in 
contact with wood. 
(f)  Spir it (supplemente d by the name of the fruit, berries or nuts) obtained by maceration and distillation may be 
sweetene d in order to round off the final taste. However , the final product may not contain more than 
18 grams of sweet ening products per litre, expressed as inve rt sugar. 
(g)  As regar ds the descr iption, presentation and labelling of spirit (supplemente d by the name of the fruit, berries 
or nuts) obtained by maceration and distillation, the wording ‘obtained by maceration and distillation’ shall 
appear in the descr iption, presentation or labelling in characters of the same font, size and colour and in the 
same visual field as the wording ‘spir it (supplemented by the name of the fruit, berries or nuts)’ and, in the case 
of bottles, on the front label.  
17. Geist (supplemented by the name of the fruit or the raw mater ials used) 
(a)  Geist (supplemented by the name of the fruit or the raw mat erials used) is a spirit drink produced by maceration 
of unferm ented fruits and berries liste d in point (a)(ii) of catego ry 16 or vegeta bles, nuts, other plant mater ials, 
such as herbs or rose petals, or mushrooms in ethyl alcohol of agricultural origin, followed by distillation at less 
than 86 % vol. 
(b)  The minimum alcoholic strength by volume of Geist (supplemented by the name of the fruit or the raw 
mater ials used) shall be 37,5 %. 
(c)  Geist (supplement ed by the name of the fruit or the raw mat erials used) shall not be flavour ed. 
(d)  Geist (supplement ed by the name of the fruit or the raw mat erials used) shall not be coloured. 17.5.2019 L 130/39 Official Jour nal of the European Union EN     (e)  Geist (supplemented by the name of the fruit or the raw mat erials used) may be sweet ened in order to round off 
the final taste . However , the final product may not contain more than 10 grams of sweet ening products per 
litre, expressed as invert sugar. 
(f)  The term ‘-geist’ preceded by a term other than the name of a fruit, plant or other raw mater ial may supplement 
the legal name of other spirit drinks and alcoholic beverage s, provi ded that such use does not mislead the 
consumer .  
18. Gentian 
(a)  Gentian is a spirit drink produced from a distillat e of gentian, itself obtained by the fermentation of gentian 
roots with or without the addition of ethyl alcohol of agricultural origin. 
(b)  The minimum alcoholic strength by volume of gentian shall be 37,5 %. 
(c)  Gentian shall not be flavoured.  
19. Juniper -flavoured spir it drink 
(a)  A juniper -flavour ed spirit drink is a spirit drink produced by flavouri ng ethyl alcohol of agricultural origin or 
grain spirit or grain distillate or a combination thereof with juniper (Juniper us communis L. or Juniper us 
oxicedr us L.) berries. 
(b)  The minimum alcoholic strength by volume of a juniper -flavoured spirit drink shall be 30 %. 
(c)  Flavouri ng substances, flavouring preparations, plants with flavouri ng proper ties or parts of plants with 
flavouri ng proper ties or a combination thereof may be used in addition to juniper berries, but the organolept ic 
character istics of juniper shall be discer nible, even if they are sometimes attenuat ed. 
(d)  A juniper -flavoured spirit drink may bear the legal name ‘Wacholder ’ or ‘genebr a’.  
20. Gin 
(a)  Gin is a juniper -flavoured spirit drink produced by flavouring ethyl alcohol of agricultural origin with juniper 
berries (Juniper us communis L.). 
(b)  The minimum alcoholic strength by volume of gin shall be 37,5 %. 
(c)  Only flavouring substances or flavouring preparations or both shall be used for the production of gin so that 
the taste is predominantly that of juniper . 
(d)  The term ‘gin’ may be supplemente d by the term ‘dry’ if it does not contain added sweet ening exceeding 
0,1 grams of sweet ening products per litre of the final product, expressed as inver t sugar .  
21. Dist illed gin 
(a)  Distilled gin is one of the follo wing: 
(i)  a juniper -flavoured spirit drink produced exclusively by distilling ethyl alcohol of agricultural origin with an 
initial alcoholic strength of at least 96 % vol. in the presence of juniper berries (Juniper us communis L.) and of 
other natural botanicals, provided that the juniper taste is predominant ; 
(ii)  the combination of the product of such distillation and ethyl alcohol of agricultural origin with the same 
composition, purity and alcoholic strength; flavouring substances or flavouri ng preparations as specifi ed in 
point (c) of categor y 20 or both may also be used to flavour distilled gin. 
(b)  The minimum alcoholic strength by volume of distilled gin shall be 37,5 %. 
(c)  Gin produced simply by adding essences or flavourings to ethyl alcohol of agricultural origin shall not be 
considered distilled gin. 
(d)  The term ‘distilled gin’ may be supplement ed by or incor porate the term ‘dry’ if it does not contain added 
sweetening exceed ing 0,1 grams of sweet ening products per litre of the final product, expressed as invert sugar. 17.5.2019 L 130/40 Official Jour nal of the European Union EN     22. London gin 
(a)  London gin is distilled gin whic h meets the follo wing requirements: 
(i)  it is produced excl usively from ethyl alcohol of agricultural origin, with a maximum methanol content of 
5 grams per hect olitre of 100 % vol. alcohol, the flavour of which is impar ted exclusively through the 
distillation of ethyl alcohol of agricultural origin in the presence of all the natural plant mate rials used; 
(ii)  the resulting distillate contains at least 70 % alcohol by vol.; 
(iii)  any further ethyl alcohol of agricultural origin that is added shall comply with the requirements laid down 
in Article 5 but with a maximum methanol content of 5 grams per hectolitre of 100 % vol. alcohol; 
(iv)  it is not coloured; 
(v)  it is not sweetened in excess of 0,1 grams of sweetening products per litre of the final product, expressed as 
invert sugar; 
(vi)  it does not contain any other ingredients than the ingredients refer red to in points (i), (iii) and (v), and 
water . 
(b)  The minimum alcoholic strength by volume of London gin shall be 37,5 %. 
(c)  The term ‘London gin’ may be supplemented by or incor porate the term ‘dry’.  
23. Carawa y-flavoured spir it drink or Kümmel 
(a)  A carawa y-flavour ed spirit drink or Küm mel is a spirit drink produced by flavouring ethyl alcohol of agricultural 
origin with carawa y (Car um carvi L.). 
(b)  The minimum alcoholic strength by volume of a cara way-flavoured spirit drink or Kümmel shall be 30 %. 
(c)  Flavouri ng substances or flavouring preparations or both may additionally be used but there shall be 
a predominant taste of cara way.  
24. Akv avit or aquavit 
(a)  Akvavit or aquavit is a spirit drink flavoured with carawa y or dill seeds or both, produced by using ethyl alcohol 
of agricultural origin flavour ed with a distillate of plants or spices. 
(b)  The minimum alcoholic strength by volume of akva vit or aquavit shall be 37,5 %. 
(c)  Natural flavouring substances or flavouring preparations or both may additionally be used, but the flavour of 
these drinks shall be largely attributable to distillat es of cara way (Car um carvi L.) or dill (Anethum graveole ns L.) 
seeds or both, the use of essential oils being prohibit ed. 
(d)  The bitter substances shall not obviously dominate the taste ; the dry extract cont ent shall not excee d 1,5 grams 
per 100 millilitres.  
25. Aniseed-f lavoured spir it drink 
(a)  An aniseed-f lavoured spirit drink is a spirit drink produced by flavouri ng ethyl alcohol of agricultural origin 
with natural extracts of star anise (Illicium verum Hook f.), anise (Pimpinella anisum L.), fennel (Foeniculum vulgare 
Mill.), or any other plant which contains the same principal aromatic constituent, using one of the followi ng 
processes or a combination thereof: 
(i)  maceration or distillation or both; 
(ii)  distillation of the alcohol in the presence of the seeds or other parts of the plants specified above; 
(iii)  addition of natural distilled extracts of aniseed-f lavoured plants. 
(b)  The minimum alcoholic strength by volume of an aniseed-f lavour ed spirit drink shall be 15 %. 
(c)  An aniseed-f lavoured spirit drink may only be flavoured with flavouring preparations and natural flavouri ng 
substances. 
(d)  Other natural plant extracts or aromatic seed may also be used, but the aniseed taste shall remain predominant. 17.5.2019 L 130/41 Official Jour nal of the European Union EN     26. Pastis 
(a)  Pastis is an aniseed-f lavoured spirit drink which also contains natural extracts of liquor ice root (Glyc yrrhiza spp.), 
which implies the presence of the colorants kno wn as ‘cha lcones ’ as well as glycyrrhizic acid, the minimum and 
maximum levels of whic h shall be 0,05 and 0,5 grams per litre, respectively . 
(b)  The minimum alcoholic strength by volume of pastis shall be 40 %. 
(c)  Pastis may only be flavoured with flavouri ng preparations and natural flavouring substances. 
(d)  Pastis shall contain less than 100 grams of sweetening products per litre, expressed as invert sugar , and have 
a minimum and maximum anethole level of 1,5 and 2 grams per litre, respectively .  
27. Pastis de Marseille 
(a)  Pastis de Marseille is a pastis with a pronounced anise taste with an anethole conte nt between 1,9 and 2,1 grams 
per litre. 
(b)  The minimum alcoholic strength by volume of pastis de Marseille shall be 45 %. 
(c)  Pastis de Marseille may only be flavoured with flavouri ng preparations and natural flavouring substances.  
28. Anis or janeže vec 
(a)  Anis or janeže vec is an aniseed-f lavoured spirit drink whose characteri stic flavour is derived excl usively from 
anise (Pimpinella anisum L.), star anise (Illicium verum Hook f.) or fennel (Foeniculum vulgare Mill.) or 
a combination of them. 
(b)  The minimum alcoholic strength by volume of anis or janeže vec shall be 35 %. 
(c)  Anis or janeže vec may only be flavoured with flavouring preparations and natural flavouring substances.  
29. Dist illed anis 
(a)  Distilled anis is anis which contains alcohol distilled in the presence of the seeds refer red to in point (a) of 
catego ry 28 and, in the case of geographical indications, mastic and other aromatic seeds, plants or fruits, 
provid ed such alcohol constitutes at least 20 % of the alcoholic strength of the distilled anis. 
(b)  The minimum alcoholic strength by volume of distilled anis shall be 35 %. 
(c)  Distilled anis may only be flavour ed with flavouring preparations and natural flavouri ng substances.  
30. Bitter -tasting spir it drink or bitter 
(a)  A bitter-tasting spirit drink or bitter is a spirit drink with a predominantly bitter taste produced by flavouring 
ethyl alcohol of agricultural origin or distillat e of agricultural origin or both with flavouring substances or 
flavouri ng preparations or both. 
(b)  The minimum alcoholic strength by volume of a bitter-tasting spirit drink or bitter shall be 15 %. 
(c)  Without prejudice to the use of such term s in the presentation and labelling of foodstuffs other than spirit 
drinks, a bitter-tasting spirit drink or bitter may also be placed on the mark et under the names ‘bitter ’ or ‘bitter ’ 
with or without another term . 
(d)  Notwithstanding point (c), the term ‘bitter’ or ‘bitter ’ may be used in the descr iption, presentation and labelling 
of bitter -tasting liqueurs.  
31. Flavoured vodka 
(a)  Flavoured vodka is vodka whic h has been given a predominant flavour other than that of the raw mat erials 
used to produce the vodka. 
(b)  The minimum alcoholic strength by volume of flavoured vodka shall be 37,5 %. 
(c)  Flavoured vodka may be sweetened, blended, flavoured, matured or coloured. 17.5.2019 L 130/42 Official Jour nal of the European Union EN     (d)  When flavoured vodka is sweet ened, the final product shall contain less than 100 grams of sweet ening products 
per litre, expressed as invert sugar. 
(e)  The legal name of flavoured vodka may also be the name of any predominant flavour combined with the word 
‘vodka’ . The term ‘vodk a’ in any official Union language may be replaced by ‘vodka’.  
32. Sloe-aromatised spir it drink or pachar án 
(a)  A sloe-aromatised spirit drink or pachar án is a spirit drink whic h has a predominant sloe taste and is produced 
by the maceration of sloes (Prunus spinosa) in ethyl alcohol of agricultural origin, with the addition of natural 
extracts of anise or distillat es of anise or both. 
(b)  The minimum alcoholic strength by volume of a sloe-aromatised spirit drink or pachar án shall be 25 %. 
(c)  For the production of a sloe-aromatised spirit drink or pachar án, a minimum quantity of 125 grams of sloe 
fruits per litre of the final product shall be used. 
(d)  A sloe-aromatised spirit drink or pachar án shall have a conte nt of sweetening products, expressed as invert 
sugar , between 80 and 250 grams per litre of the final product. 
(e)  The organoleptic charact eristics, colour and taste of a sloe-aromatised spirit drink or pachar án shall be provid ed 
excl usively by the fruit used and the anise. 
(f)  The term ‘pachar án’ may be used as a legal name only when the product is produced in Spain. When the 
product is produced outside Spain, ‘pachar án’ may only be used to supplement the legal name ‘sloe-aromatised 
spirit drink’, provid ed that it is accompan ied by the words: ‘produced in …’, followed by the name of the 
Member State or third countr y of production.  
33. Liqueur 
(a)  Liqueur is a spirit drink: 
(i)  having a minimum content of sweetening products, expressed as invert sugar, of: 
—  70 grams per litre for cherr y or sour cherry liqueurs, the ethyl alcohol of which consists exclusively of 
cherry or sour cherry spirit, 
—  80 grams per litre for liqueurs which are flavoured excl usively with gentian or a similar plant or 
wormwood, 
—  100 grams per litre in all other cases; 
(ii)  produced using ethyl alcohol of agricultural origin or a distillate of agricultural origin or one or more spirit 
drinks or a combination thereof, whic h has been sweetene d and to which one or more flavouri ngs, 
products of agricultural origin or foodstuffs have been added. 
(b)  The minimum alcoholic strength by volume of liqueur shall be 15 %. 
(c)  Flavouri ng substances and flavouri ng preparations may be used in the production of liqueur . 
However , the follo wing liqueurs may only be flavoured with flavouri ng foodstuffs, flavouring preparations and 
natural flavouring substances: 
(i)  fruit liqueurs: 
—  pineapple (Ananas), 
—  citrus fruit (Citr us L.), 
—  sea buckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides L.), 
—  mulber ry (Mor us alba, Mor us rubra), 
—  sour cherr y (Prunus cerasus), 
—  cherry (Prunus avium), 
—  blac kcur rant (Ribes nigrum L.), 
—  arctic bramble (Rubus arcti cus L.), 17.5.2019 L 130/43 Official Jour nal of the European Union EN     —  cloudber ry (Rubus chamaemor us L.), 
—  raspber ry (Rubus idaeus L.), 
—  wild cranber ry (Vaccinium oxycoccos L.), 
—  bilber ry/blueber ry (Vaccinium myrtillus L.), 
—  cowb erry (Vaccinium vitis-idaea L.); 
(ii)  plant liqueurs: 
—  génépi (Artemisia genepi), 
—  gentian (Gentiana L.), 
—  mint (Mentha L.), 
—  aniseed (Pimpinella anisum L.), 
(d)  The legal name may be ‘liqueur ’ in any Member State and: 
—  for liqueurs produced by maceration of sour cherries or cherr ies (Prunus cerasus or Prunus avium) in ethyl 
alcohol of agricultural origin, the legal name may be ‘guignolet’ or ‘češnje vec’, with or without the term 
‘liqueur ’; 
—  for liqueurs produced by maceration of sour cherries (Prunus cerasus) in ethyl alcohol of agricultural origin, 
the lega l name may be ‘ginja’ or ‘ginjinha’ or ‘višnje vec’, with or without the term ‘liqueur ’; 
—  for liqueurs for which the alcohol cont ent is provid ed exclusively by rum, the legal name may be ‘punch au 
rhum’ , with or without the term ‘liqueur ’; 
—  without prejudice to point (2) of Article 3, point (b) of Article 10(5) and Article 11, for liqueurs containing 
milk or milk products, the legal name may be ‘cream’ supplement ed by the name of the raw mater ial used 
conferr ing on the liqueur its predominant flavour , with or without the term ‘liqueur ’. 
(e)  The followi ng compo und term s may be used in the descr iption, presentation and labelling of liqueurs produced 
in the Union, where ethyl alcohol of agricultural origin or distillate of agricultural origin is used to mirror 
established production methods: 
—  prune brandy ; 
—  orange brandy ; 
—  apricot brandy ; 
—  cherry brandy ; 
—  solbaer rom or blac kcur rant rum. 
As regards the descr iption, presentation and labelling of the liqueurs refer red to in this point, the compo und 
term shall appear in one line in unif orm charact ers of the same font and colour and the word ‘liqueur ’ shall 
appear in immediate proximity in charact ers no smaller than that font. If the alcohol does not come from the 
spirit drink indicated , its origin shall be shown on the label in the same visual field as the compound term and 
the word ‘liqueur ’ either by stating the type of agricultural alcohol or by the words ‘agricultural alcohol’ 
preceded on each occasion by ‘made from’ or ‘made using’. 
(f)  Without prejudice to Articles 11 and 12 and Article 13(4), the legal name ‘liqueur ’ may be supplement ed by the 
name of a flavouring or foodstuff that confer s the predominant flavour of the spirit drink, provided that the 
flavour is confe rred on the spirit drink by flavouring foodstuffs, flavouring preparations and natural flavouring 
substances, derived from the raw mater ial referred to in the name of the flavouring or of the foodstuff, 
supplemented by flavouri ng substances only where necessar y to reinf orce the flavour of that raw mat erial.  
34. Crème de (supplemented by the name of a fruit or other raw mater ial used) 
(a)  Crème de (supplemented by the name of a fruit or other raw mat erial used) is a liqueur which has a minimum 
content of sweet ening products of 250 grams per litre expressed as invert sugar . 
(b)  The minimum alcoholic strength by volume of crème de (supplemented by the name of a fruit or other raw 
mater ial used) shall be 15 %. 17.5.2019 L 130/44 Official Jour nal of the European Union EN     (c)  The rules on flavouri ng substances and flavouring preparations for liqueurs laid down under catego ry 33 shall 
apply to this spirit drink. 
(d)  The raw mater ials used shall excl ude milk products. 
(e)  The fruit or any other raw mat erial used in the legal name shall be the fruit or the raw mater ial that confe rs on 
that spirit drink its predominant flavour. 
(f)  The legal name may be supplemented by the term ‘liqueur ’. 
(g)  The legal name ‘crème de cassis’ may only be used for liqueurs produced with blac kcur rants, which have a conte nt 
of sweetening products of more than 400 grams per litre expressed as invert sugar .  
35. Sloe gin 
(a)  Sloe gin is a liqueur produced by maceration of sloes in gin with the possible addition of sloe juice. 
(b)  The minimum alcoholic strength by volume of sloe gin shall be 25 %. 
(c)  Only natural flavouring substances and flavouring preparations may be used in the production of sloe gin. 
(d)  The legal name may be supplemented by the term ‘liqueur ’.  
36. Sambuca 
(a)  Sambuca is a colourless aniseed-f lavour ed liqueur which meets the followi ng requirements: 
(i)  it contains distillat es of anise (Pimpinella anisum L.), star anise (Illicium verum L.) or other aromatic herbs; 
(ii)  it has a minimum content of sweetening products of 350 grams per litre expressed as invert sugar; 
(iii)  it has a natural anethole conte nt of not less than 1 gram and not more than 2 grams per litre. 
(b)  The minimum alcoholic strength by volume of sambuca shall be 38 %. 
(c)  The rules on flavouri ng substances and flavouring preparations for liqueurs laid down under catego ry 33 shall 
apply to sambuca. 
(d)  Sambuca shall not be coloured. 
(e)  The legal name may be supplemented by the term ‘liqueur ’.  
37. Mar asch ino, mar rasquino or mar askino 
(a)  Mar aschino, marrasquino or maraskino is a colourless liqueur the flavour of which is given mainly by a distillate of 
marasca cherries or of the product produced by macerating cherr ies or parts of cherries in ethyl alcohol of 
agricultural origin or in a distillate of marasca cherries, with a minimum conte nt of sweet ening products of 
250 grams per litre expressed as inve rt sugar. 
(b)  The minimum alcoholic strength by volume of maraschino, marrasquino or maraskino shall be 24 %. 
(c)  The rules on flavouri ng substances and flavouring preparations for liqueurs laid down under catego ry 33 shall 
apply to maraschino, marrasquino or maraskino. 
(d)  Mar aschino, marrasquino or maraskino shall not be coloured. 
(e)  The legal name may be supplemented by the term ‘liqueur ’.  
38. Nocino or orehovec 
(a)  Nocino or orehovec is a liqueur the flavour of whic h is given mainly by maceration, or by maceration and 
distillation, of whole green walnuts (Jugl ans regia L.), with a minimum content of sweet ening products of 
100 grams per litre expressed as inve rt sugar. 
(b)  The minimum alcoholic strength by volume of nocino or orehovec shall be 30 %. 
(c)  The rules on flavouri ng substances and flavouring preparations for liqueurs laid down under catego ry 33 shall 
apply to nocino or orehovec. 
(d)  The legal name may be supplemented by the term ‘liqueur ’. 17.5.2019 L 130/45 Official Jour nal of the European Union EN     39. Egg liqueur or advocaat or avocat or advokat 
(a)  Egg liqueur or advocaat or avocat or advokat is a liqueur , whether flavoured or not, produced from ethyl alcohol 
of agricultural origin, distillate of agricultural origin or spirit drink, or a combination thereof, and the 
ingredients of which are quality egg yolk, egg whit e and sugar or honey or both. The minimum sugar or hone y 
content shall be 150 grams per litre expressed as invert sugar . The minimum content of pure egg yolk shall be 
140 grams per litre of the final product. Any use of eggs from hens belonging to a species other than Gallus 
gallus shall be indicated on the label. 
(b)  The minimum alcoholic strength by volume of egg liqueur or advocaat or avocat or advokat shall be 14 %. 
(c)  Only flavouri ng foodstuffs, flavouri ng substances and flavouring preparations may be used in the production of 
egg liqueur or advocaat or avocat or advokat. 
(d)  Milk products may be used in the production of egg liqueur or advocaat or avocat or advokat.  
40. Liqueur with egg 
(a)  Liqueur with egg is a liqueur , whether flavour ed or not, produced from ethyl alcohol of agricultural origin, 
distillate of agricultural origin or spirit drink, or a combination thereof, the charact eristic ingredients of whic h 
are quality egg yolk, egg whit e and sugar or hone y or both. The minimum sugar or hone y cont ent shall be 
150 grams per litre expressed as inver t sugar . The minimum egg yolk content shall be 70 grams per litre of the 
final product. 
(b)  The minimum alcoholic strength by volume of liqueur with egg shall be 15 %. 
(c)  Only flavouring foodstuffs, natural flavouri ng substances and flavouring preparations may be used in the 
production of liqueur with egg. 
(d)  Milk products may be used in the production of liqueur with egg.  
41. Mistr à 
(a)  Mistr à is a colourless spirit drink flavoured with aniseed or natural anethole whic h meets the follo wing 
requirements: 
(i)  it has an anethole cont ent of not less than 1 gram and not more than 2 grams per litre; 
(ii)  it may also contain a distillat e of aromatic herbs; 
(iii)  it has not been sweet ened. 
(b)  The minimum alcoholic strength by volume of mistr à shall be 40 % and the maximum alcoholic strength by 
volume shall be 47 %. 
(c)  Mistr à may only be flavoured with flavouri ng preparations and natural flavouring substances. 
(d)  Mistr à shall not be coloured.  
42. Väke vä glögi or spritglögg 
(a)  Väke vä glögi or spritglögg is a spirit drink produced by flavouring wine or wine products and ethyl alcohol of 
agricultural origin with the flavour of cloves or cinnamon or both, using one of the follo wing processes or 
a combination thereof: 
(i)  maceration or distillation, 
(ii)  distillation of the alcohol in the presence of parts of the plants specified above, 
(iii)  addition of natural flavouring substances of cloves or cinnamon. 
(b)  The minimum alcoholic strength by volume of väke vä glögi or spritglögg shall be 15 %. 
(c)  Väke vä glögi or spritglögg may only be flavour ed with flavouring substances, flavouring preparations or other 
flavouri ngs but the flavour of the spices specif ied in point (a) shall be predominant. 
(d)  The cont ent of wine or wine products shall not exceed 50 % of the final product. 17.5.2019 L 130/46 Official Jour nal of the European Union EN     43. Berenburg or Beer enburg 
(a)  Berenburg or Beer enburg is a spirit drink which meets the followi ng requirements: 
(i)  it is produced using ethyl alcohol of agricultural origin; 
(ii)  it is produced by the maceration of fruit or plants or parts thereof; 
(iii)  it contains as a specific flavour distillat e of gentian root (Gentiana lutea L.), of juniper berries (Juniper us 
communis L.) and of laurel leav es (Laur us nobilis L.); 
(iv)  it varies in colour from light to dark brown ; 
(v)  it may be sweet ened to a maximum of 20 grams of sweet ening products per litre expressed as inve rt sugar. 
(b)  The minimum alcoholic strength by volume of Berenburg or Beerenburg shall be 30 %. 
(c)  Berenburg or Beer enburg may only be flavoured with flavouri ng preparations and natural flavouring substances.  
44. Honey necta r or mead necta r 
(a)  Honey nectar or mead nectar is a spirit drink produced by flavouri ng a mixture of fermented hone y mash and 
hone y distillat e or ethyl alcohol of agricultural origin or both, which contains at least 30 % vol. of fermented 
hone y mash. 
(b)  The minimum alcoholic strength by volume of hone y nectar or mead nectar shall be 22 %. 
(c)  Honey nectar or mead nectar may only be flavour ed with flavouring preparations and natural flavouri ng 
substances, provid ed that the hone y taste is predominant. 
(d)  Honey nectar or mead nectar may only be sweetened with hone y.  17.5.2019 L 130/47 Official Jour nal of the European Union EN     ANNEX II 
SPECIFIC RULES CONC ERNING CERT AIN SPIRIT DRINK S 
1.  Rum-V erschnitt is produced in Germany and obtained by mixing rum and ethyl alcohol of agricultural origin, in such 
a manner that a minimum propor tion of 5 % of the alcohol contained in the final product shall come from rum. 
The minimum alcoholic strength by volume of Rum-V erschnitt shall be 37,5 %. The word ‘Verschnitt’ shall appear in 
the descr iption, presentation and labelling in charact ers of the same font, size and colour as, and on the same line as, 
the word ‘Rum’ and, in the case of bottles, on the front label. The legal name of this product shall be ‘spir it drink’. 
Where Rum-V erschnitt is placed on the mark et outside Germany , its alcoholic composition shall appear on the label. 
2.  Slivovice is produced in Czec hia and obtained by the addition to the plum distillat e, before the final distillation, of 
ethyl alcohol of agricultural origin, in such a manner that a minimum propor tion of 70 % of the alcohol contained 
in the final product shall come from plum distillate . The legal name of this product shall be ‘spir it drink’. The name 
‘slivovice’ may be added if it appears in the same visual field on the front label. If slivovice is placed on the mark et 
outside Czec hia, its alcoholic composition shall appear on the label. This provis ion shall be without prejudice to the 
use of the legal names for fruit spirits in categor y 9 of Annex I. 
3.  Guignolet Kirsch is produced in France and obtained by mixing guignolet and kirsch, in such a manner that a minimum 
propor tion of 3 % of the total pure alcohol contained in the final product shall come from kirsch. The word 
‘guignolet’ shall appear in the descr iption, presentation and labelling in charact ers of the same font, size and colour as, 
and on the same line as, the word ‘kirsch’ and, in case of bottles, on the front label. The legal name of this product 
shall be ‘liqueur ’. Its alcoholic compo sition shall indicate the percentage by volume of pure alcohol that guignolet and 
kirsch represent in the total pure alcohol conte nt by volume of guignolet kirsch.  17.5.2019 L 130/48 Official Jour nal of the European Union EN     ANNEX III 
DYNAMIC OR ‘CRIADERAS Y SOLERA ’ OR ‘SOLERA E CRIADERAS’ AGEING SYSTEM 
The dynamic or ‘criader as y soler a’ or ‘soler a e criader as’ ageing system consists in the execution of periodical extractions of 
a portion of the brandy contained in each of the oak cask s and containers that form an ageing scale and the 
corresponding replenishments with brandy extracted from the preceding ageing scale. 
Defi nitions 
‘Agei ng scale’ means each group of oak cask s and containers with the same level of maturation, through which the 
brandy progresses in the course of its ageing process. Each scale is kno wn as ‘criader a’, exce pt the last one, previous to the 
expedition of the brandy , known as the ‘soler a’. 
‘Extraction’ means the partial volume of brandy drawn from each oak cask and container in an ageing scale, for its 
incor poration into the oak casks and containers in the next ageing scale or, in the case of the soler a, for its shipping. 
‘Replenishment’ means the volume of brandy from the oak cask s and containers of a given ageing scale that is 
incor porate d into and blended with the content of the oak casks and containers of the followi ng scale in term s of age. 
‘Average age’ means the period of time corresponding to the rotation of the total stoc k of brandy that is undergoing the 
ageing process, calculat ed by dividing the tota l volume of brandy contained in all the ageing scales by the volume of the 
extractions made from the last scale – the soler a – in one year . 
The averag e age of the brandy drawn from the soler a shall be calculat ed using the followi ng formula: t = Vt/V e, in which: 
—  t is the averag e age, expressed in years; 
—  Vt is the total volume of stoc ks in the ageing syste m, expressed in litres of pure alcohol; 
—  Ve is the total volume of product extract ed for shipping during a year, expressed in litres of pure alcohol. 
In the case of oak casks and containers of less than 1 000 litres, the number of annual extractions and replenishments 
shall be equal to or lower than twice the number of scales in the syste m, in order to guarant ee that the youngest 
compo nent has an age equal to or higher than six months. 
In the case of oak casks and containers of 1 000 litres or more, the number of annual extractions and replenishments 
shall be equal to or lower than the number of scales in the system, in order to guarant ee that the youngest compo nent 
has an age equal to or higher than one year.  17.5.2019 L 130/49 Official Jour nal of the European Union EN     ANNEX IV 
Correlation table 
This Regulation Regulation (EC) No 110/2008 
Article 1(1) and (2) Article 1(1) and (2) 
Article 2, points (a) to (d) Article 2(1) and (3) 
Article 2, point (e) Article 2(2) 
Article 2, point (f) Annex I, point 6 
Article 3(1) Article 8 
Article 3(2) and (3) Article 10 
Article 3(4) Article 15(1) 
Article 3(5) — 
Article 3(6) — 
Article 3(7) Article 15(3), third subparagraph 
Article 3(8) — 
Article 3(9) and (10) Article 11(2) and Annex I, point 4 
Article 3(11) and (12) Annex I, point (7) 
Article 4(1) Article 7 and Annex I, point (14) 
Article 4(2) Article 7 and Annex I, point (15) 
Article 4(3) Article 7 and Annex I, point (16) 
Article 4(4) — 
Article 4(5) Annex I, point (17) 
Article 4(6) — 
Article 4(7) Annex I, point (2) 
Article 4(8) Annex I, point (3) 
Article 4(9) Annex I, point (3) 
Article 4(10) Annex I, point (5) 
Article 4(11) Annex I, point (8) 
Article 4(12) Annex I, point (9) 
Article 4(13) — 
Article 4(14) — 
Article 4(15) — 
Article 4(16) — 
Article 4(17) — 
Article 4(18) — 
Article 4(19) and (20) Annex I, point (10) 
Article 4(21) — 
Article 4(22) — 
Article 4(23) Annex I, point (11) 
Article 4(24) Annex I, point (12) 
Article 5 Annex I, point (1) 17.5.2019 L 130/50 Official Jour nal of the European Union EN     This Regulation Regulation (EC) No 110/2008 
Article 6(1) Article 3(1) 
Article 6(2) Article 3(3) 
Article 6(3) Article 3(4) 
Article 7(1) Article 4 
Article 7(2) Article 5(1) 
Article 7(3) Article 5(2) 
Article 7(4) Article 5(3) 
Article 8(1) Article 26 
Article 8(2) Article 1(3) 
Article 8(3) — 
Article 8(4) — 
Article 9 — 
Article 10(1) — 
Article 10(2) Article 9(1) 
Article 10(3) Article 9(2) 
Article 10(4) Article 9(3) 
Article 10(5) Article 9(5) and (6) 
Article 10(6), points (a) to (c), (e) and (f) — 
Article 10(6)(d) Article 12(2) 
Article 10(7), first subparagraph Article 9(4) and (7) 
Article 10(7), second subparagraph — 
Article 11(1) Article 10(1) and (2) 
Article 11(2) and (3) — 
Article 12(1) Article 10(1) 
Article 12(2),(3) and (4) — 
Article 13(1) Article 12(1) 
Article 13(2) Article 9(9) 
Article 13(3), first and second subparagraph Article 11(4) 
Article 13(3), third subparagraph Article 11(5) 
Article 13(3), fourth subparagraph — 
Article 13(4), first subparagraph Article 11(3) 
Article 13(4), second subparagraph Article 11(4) 
Article 13(4), third subparagraph Article 11(5) 
Article 13(5) — 
Article 13(6) Article 12(3) 
Article 13(7) — 
Article 14(1) Annex I, point (13) 
Article 14(2) — 
Article 15(1) Article 14(2) 17.5.2019 L 130/51 Official Jour nal of the European Union EN     This Regulation Regulation (EC) No 110/2008 
Article 15(2) — 
Article 16 — 
Article 17 Article 13 
Article 18 — 
Article 19(1) Article 12(3) 
Article 19(2) — 
Article 20, point (a) — 
Article 20, point (b) Article 28(2) 
Article 20, point (c) — 
Article 20, point (d) — 
Article 21(1) — 
Article 21(2) Article 16 
Article 21(3) Article 15(3), first subparagraph 
Article 21(4) — 
Article 22(1), first subparagraph Article 17(4) 
Article 22(1), second subparagraph — 
Article 22(2) — 
Article 23(1), introduct ory wording and points (a), (b) 
and (c) — 
Article 23(1), second subparagraph Article 17(3) 
Article 23(2) Article 17(1), second senten ce 
Article 24(1) to (4) — 
Article 24(5), (6) and (7) Article 17(2) 
Article 24(8) Article 17(3) 
Article 24(9) Article 17(1), first senten ce 
Article 25 — 
Article 26(1), first subparagraph Article 17(5) 
Article 26(1), second subparagraph — 
Article 26(2) Article 17(6) 
Article 27(1) Article 17(7), first senten ce 
Article 27(2), (3) and (4) — 
Article 27(5) Article 17(7), second senten ce 
Article 28 — 
Article 29 — 
Article 30(1), (2) and (3) Article 17(8), first senten ce 
Article 30(4), first subparagraph Article 17(8), second senten ce 
Article 30(4), second subparagraph — 
Article 31 Article 21 
Article 32 Article 18 17.5.2019 L 130/52 Official Jour nal of the European Union EN     This Regulation Regulation (EC) No 110/2008 
Article 33(1) Article 15(2) 
Article 33(2) and (3) — 
Article 34(1), (2) and (3) Article 19 
Article 34(4) — 
Article 35(1), first subparagraph Article 15(3), second subparagraph 
Article 35(1), second subparagraph — 
Article 35(2) Article 23(3) 
Article 35(3) — 
Article 36(1) Article 23(1) 
Article 36(2) Article 23(2) 
Article 37 — 
Article 38(1) — 
Article 38(2) Article 22(1) 
Article 38(3) Article 22(2) 
Article 38(4) — 
Article 38(5) Article 22(3) 
Article 38(6) Article 22(4) 
Article 39(1) — 
Article 39(2) and (3) — 
Article 40 — 
Article 41 — 
Article 42 — 
Article 43(1) Article 24(1) 
Article 43(2) Article 24(3) 
Article 44(1) Article 24(2) 
Article 44(2) — 
Article 45 Article 6 
Article 46 — 
Article 47 Article 25 
Article 48 — 
Article 49 Article 29 
Article 50 Article 28 
Article 51 Article 30 
Annex I, cate gories 1 to 31 Annex II, categor ies 1 to 31 
Annex I, cate gory 32 Annex II, categor y 37a 
Annex I, cate gory 33 Annex II, categor y 32 
Annex I, cate gory 34 Annex II, categor y 33 
Annex I, cate gory 35 Annex II, categor y 37 17.5.2019 L 130/53 Official Jour nal of the European Union EN     This Regulation Regulation (EC) No 110/2008 
Annex I, cate gory 36 Annex II, categor y 38 
Annex I, cate gory 37 Annex II, categor y 39 
Annex I, cate gory 38 Annex II, categor y 40 
Annex I, cate gory 39 Annex II, categor y 41 
Annex I, cate gory 40 Annex II, categor y 42 
Annex I, cate gory 41 Annex II, categor y 43 
Annex I, cate gory 42 Annex II, categor y 44 
Annex I, cate gory 43 Annex II, categor y 45 
Annex I, cate gory 44 Annex II, categor y 46 
Annex II Annex II, part under the Title ‘Other spirit drinks’ 
Annex III — 
Annex IV —   17.5.2019 L 130/54 Official Jour nal of the European Union EN