If I recall right, TTB did not allow terms like “Tonic” or “Elixir” for many decades. This Thunderbird label, however, clearly shows that “Tonic” is okay these days. Way back, it apparently sounded far too close to a curative claim, as did “elixir.” TTB approved the above label on April 7th.
This label also seems noteworthy because it marks a return of Thunderbird, as an important brand, after almost 10 years without any approval within the TTB database. The new version of Thunderbird is a malt beverage with natural flavors. This is not easy to see. Can you spot the class/type statement off toward the upper right? Before the approval above, and two other versions, Thunderbird last appeared in the TTB database way back in 2008; then and since the 1950s, it was a flavored wine. This article has a lot of history about this important brand and suggests that U.S. law did not allow flavors in wine, until the dawn of this brand. This is yet another example of how brand names have jumped from one category to another, like Smirnoff jumping from spirits to malt beverages more than 16 years ago now.
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