[Code of Federal Regulations] [Title 27, Volume 1] [Revised as of April 1, 2002] From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access [CITE: 27CFR5.42] [Page 63-66] TITLE 27--ALCOHOL, TOBACCO PRODUCTS AND FIREARMS CHAPTER I--BUREAU OF ALCOHOL, TOBACCO AND FIREARMS, DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY PART 5--LABELING AND ADVERTISING OF DISTILLED SPIRITS--Table of Contents Subpart D--Labeling Requirements for Distilled Spirits Sec. 5.42 Prohibited practices. (a) Statements on labels. Bottles containing distilled spirits, or any labels on such bottles, or any individual covering, carton, or other container of [[Page 64]] such bottles used for sale at retail, or any written, printed, graphic, or other matter accompanying such bottles to the consumer shall not contain: (1) Any statement that is false or untrue in any particular, or that, irrespective of falsity, directly, or by ambiguity, omission, or inference, or by the addition of irrelevant, scientific or technical matter, tends to create a misleading impression. (2) Any statement that is disparaging of a competitor's product. (3) Any statement, design, device, or representation which is obscene or indecent. (4) Any statement, design, device, or representation of or relating to analyses, standards, or tests, irrespective of falsity, which the appropriate ATF officer finds to be likely to mislead the consumer. (5) Any statement, design, device, or representation of or relating to any guarantee, irrespective of falsity, which the appropriate ATF officer finds to be likely to mislead the consumer. Money-back guarantees are not prohibited. (6) A trade or brand name that is the name of any living individual of public prominence, or existing private or public organization, or is a name that is in simulation or is an abbreviation thereof, or any graphic, pictorial, or emblematic representation of any such individual or organization, if the use of such name or representation is likely to falsely lead the consumer to believe that the product has been endorsed, made, or used by, or produced for, or under the supervision of, or in accordance with the specifications of, such individual or organization: Provided, That this paragraph shall not apply to the use of the name of any person engaged in business as a distiller, rectifier, blender, or other producer, or as an importer, wholesaler, retailer, bottler, or warehouseman, of distilled spirits, nor to the use by any person of a trade or brand name that is the name of any living individual of public prominence or existing private or public organization, provided such trade or brand name was used by him or his predecessors in interest prior to August 29, 1935. (b) Miscellaneous. (1) Labels shall not be of such design as to resemble or simulate a stamp of the U.S. Government or any State or foreign government. Labels, other than stamps authorized or required by this or any other government, shall not state or indicate that the distilled spirits are distilled, blended, made, bottled, or sold under, or in accordance with, any municipal, State, Federal, or foreign authorization, law, or regulations, unless such statement is required or specifically authorized by Federal, State, municipal, or foreign law or regulations. The statements authorized by this part to appear on labels for domestic distilled spirits are ``Distilled (produced, barreled, warehoused, blended, or bottled, or any combination thereof, as the case may be) under United States (U.S.) Government supervision'', or in the case of distilled spirits labeled as bottled in bond, ``Bottled in bond under United States (U.S.) Government supervision''. If the municipal, State, or Federal Government permit number is stated on a label, it shall not be accompanied by any additional statement relating thereto. (2) If imported distilled spirits are covered by a certificate of origin or of age issued by a duly authorized official of the appropriate foreign government, the label, except where prohibited by the foreign government, may refer to such certificate or the fact of such certification, but shall not be accompanied by any additional statement relating thereto. The reference to such certificate or certification shall, in the case of Cognac, be substantially in the following form: ``This product accompanied at the time of importation by an `Acquit Regional Jaune d'Or' issued by the French Government, indicating that this grape brandy was distilled in the Cognac Region of France''; and in the case of other distilled spirits, substantially in the following form: ``This product accompanied at time of importation by a certificate issued by the ---- government (name of government) indicating that the product is ---- (class and type as required to be stated on the label), and (if label claims age) that none of the distilled spirits are of an age less than stated on this label.'' [[Page 65]] (3) The words ``bond'', ``bonded'', ``bottled in bond'', ``aged in bond'', or phrases containing these or synonymous terms, shall not be used on any label or as part of the brand name of domestic distilled spirits unless the distilled spirits are: (i) Composed of the same kind of spirits produced from the same class of materials; (ii) Produced in the same distilling season by the same distiller at the same distillery; (iii) Stored for at least four years in wooden containers wherein the spirits have been in contact with the wood surface except for gin and vodka which must be stored for at least four years in wooden containers coated or lined with paraffin or other substance which will preclude contact of the spirits with the wood surface; (iv) Unaltered from their original condition or character by the addition or subtraction of any substance other than by filtration, chill proofing, or other physical treatments (which do not involve the addition of any substance which will remain incorporated in the finished product or result in a change in class or type); (v) Reduced in proof by the addition of pure water only to 100 degrees of proof; and (vi) Bottles at 100 degrees of proof. In addition to the requirements of Sec. 5.36(a) (1) or (2), the label shall bear the real name of the distillery or the trade name under which the distillery produced and warehoused the spirits, and the plant (or registered distillery) number in which produced; and the plant number in which bottled. The label may also bear the name or trade name of the bottler. (4) The words ``bond'', ``bonded'', ``bottled in bond'', ``aged in bond'', or phrases containing these or synonymous terms, shall not be used on any label or as part of the brand name of imported distilled spirits unless the distilled spirits meet in all respects the requirements applicable to distilled spirits bottled for domestic consumption, so labeled, and unless the laws and regulations of the country in which such distilled spirits are produced authorize the bottling of distilled spirits in bond and require or specifically authorize such distilled spirits to be so labeled. All spirits labeled as ``bonded'', ``bottled in bond'', or ``aged in bond'' pursuant to the provisions of this paragraph shall bear in direct conjunction with such statement and in script, type, or printing substantially as conspicuous as that used on such statement, the name of the country under whose laws and regulations such distilled spirits were so bottled. (5) The word ``pure'' shall not be stated upon labels unless: (i) It refers to a particular ingredient used in the production of the distilled spirits, and is a truthful representation about that ingredient; or (ii) It is part of the bona fide name of a permittee or retailer for whom the distilled spirits are bottled; or (iii) It is part of the bona fide name of the permittee who bottled the distilled spirits. (6) Distilled spirits shall not be labeled as ``double distilled'' or ''triple distilled'' or any similar term unless it is a truthful statement of fact; except that ``double distilled'' or ``triple distilled'' shall not be permitted on labels of distilled spirits produced by the redistillation method when a second or third distillation step is a necessary distillation process for the production of the product. (7) Labels shall not contain any statement, design, device, or pictorial representation which the appropriate ATF officer finds relates to, or is capable of being construed as relating to, the armed forces of the United States, or the American flag, or any emblem, seal, insignia, or decoration associated with such flag or armed forces; nor shall any label contain any statement, design, device, or pictorial representation of or concerning any flag, seal, coat of arms, crest or other insignia, likely to mislead the consumer to believe that the product has been endorsed, made, or used by, or produced for, or under the supervision of, or in accordance with the specifications of the government, organization, family, or individual with whom such flag, seal, coat of arms, crest, or insignia is associated. (8) Curative and therapeutic claims. Labels shall not contain any statement, design, representation, pictorial [[Page 66]] representation, or device representing that the use of distilled spirits has curative or therapeutic effects if such statement is untrue in any particular or tends to create a misleading impression. (26 U.S.C. 7805 (68A Stat. 917, as amended); 27 U.S.C. 205 (49 Stat. 981, as amended)) [T.D. 7020, 34 FR 20637, Dec. 30, 1969, as amended by T.D. ATF-62, 44 FR 71621, Dec. 11, 1979; T.D. ATF-180, 49 FR 31673, Aug. 8, 1984; 49 FR 35768. Sept. 12, 1984; T.D. ATF-198, 50 FR 8464, Mar. 1, 1985; 50 FR 23410, June 4, 1985]