Every now and then, TTB likes to say stamps (and things looking like postage stamps) are not allowed. Don’t ask me why. Maybe they look like “government symbols” or endorsements. All I know for sure is that TTB has resisted, tooth and nail, on more than one occasion.
But if you have your heart set on using stamp imagery, it is well worth a try, as these many labels show. Benton-Lane is pinot noir from the Wilamette Valley. Times Ten is a cabernet-merlot blend from the Napa Valley. And here is Hardys Stamp of Australia Shiraz.
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Timberlake Tequila
The parade of celebrity beverage purveyors continues. This time it’s Justin Timberlake, with a Tequila called 901. TTB approved it in early 2009. The Examiner explains:
This past winter Justin Timberlake was “spied” wandering the Mexican state of Jalisco scoping out tequilas. We soon learned he was launching a label called 901 (as in both the area code of JT’s home state and the evening hour when the Par-taaayyy gets rolling…well, in other parts of the country anyway).
DIAB is the importer, based in St. Louis, Missouri. TTB records show exactly zero other approvals for DIAB, run by Kevin Ruder.
Ruder spent 12 years with Anheuser Busch, overseeing that company’s initial forays into spirits as well as the company’s “entertainment sponsorships and celebrity relationships,” according to the press profile. A couple of years ago, Ruder founded Diab … and spent two years developing 901 with Timberlake. They visited 10 distilleries in the Mexican state of Jalisco before striking a deal with Tequilera Newton.
A similarly famous singer was a few years earlier. In about 2007 Madonna launched a Michigan wine with her father.
CSPI Comment; Top 6 Things to Know
It is likely that all beer, wine and spirits labels will change dramatically in the near future. TTB has been working on new rules since CSPI and other groups submitted a petition in 2003. The new rules would require a “Serving Facts” panel on every container. This panel would include a lot more information, such as the typical serving size, number of servings per container, calories, carbohydrates, protein and fat. Because this is a big, controversial change, TTB has received more than 18,000 public comments during the past few years. There are far too many comments for most people to review, and so we will highlight and summarize the most noteworthy comments here. The most recent proposal and comments are here. This is comment 20 in a series; to see others, click on the “serving facts” tag below.
CSPI submitted a 10 page comment. It said:
- CSPI has been pushing TTB and ATF on this since 1972.
- Alcohol beverage labels offer few uniform disclosures to help consumers. Consumers deserve basic, uniform information that can help them “measure, monitor, and moderate their drinking.”
- Alcohol is “America’s most popular, legal drug.”
- TTB ignores more than 35 years of requests for ingredient labeling, and instead requires disclosure of rarely occurring nutrients such as fats and proteins. TTB should also require ingredient labeling.
- CSPI is concerned that marketers will exploit the nutritional information to “hawk alcoholic beverages as diet or health drinks.”
- CSPI strongly opposes the linear format except on 50 ml. containers.
Thirty five years into its marathon, and nearing the finish line, this article says CSPI is in dire financial circumstances.
Marion Berry Wine
Consider this a public service announcement, so you will never face the awkward predicament of confusing one of these for the other, especially since TTB has approved wines made from dozens of different types of berries. We will try to show many of them, starting with these.
The berry on the left is the marionberry. It is used to make this wine from Scatter Creek of Tenino, Washington. This berry is closely related to the blackberry and “the relative complexity of its flavor has led to a marketing label as the ‘Cabernet of Blackberries.’ The more powerful flavor of the marionberry has led to it dominating current blackberry production.”
It is not to be confused with Marion Barry, Washington, DC’s practically unstoppable mayor, from 1979 to 1999.
On the right is a thimbleberry. It is used to make this Threefold Vine wine in Garden, Michigan. Wiki says “Thimbleberry fruits are larger, flatter, and softer than raspberries, and have many small seeds. Because the fruit is so soft, it does not pack or ship well, so thimbleberries are rarely cultivated commercially.”
Cassava Beer
BusinessWeek recently reported that SABMiller is looking at several low-cost alternatives to barley. Cassava is one of the most promising. Cassava is the third largest source of carbohydrates for human food in the world. This woody shrub yields more food energy per acre per day, compared to almost any crop other than sugarcane. SABMiller is also looking at sorghum as a much lower-cost alternative to corn and barley, at least in poor countries.
The Hooligan label is way ahead of the trend here, using both cassava and sorghum. It is likely that this Widmer product was too early. Under this 2008 TTB Ruling it is unlikely TTB would re-approve the product, and this may explain why the current status of this label is “surrendered.” TTB requires “beer” to be made with malted barley and hops.
Beer & Bowling Like Astaire & Rogers
It must be bowling season because these two beers went to TTB one day apart, in January of 2009. We liked the graphics on the the Nefarious Ten Pin Porter. It is made by Ska Brewing Company of Durango, Colorado. Ska has a good looking website but it doesn’t explain the brand name here. The Icehouse Beer is made by MillerCoors at breweries around the US.