Jim Beam latest to win ‘handcrafted’ lawsuit

Beam Suntory has claimed victory in a lawsuit alleging its Jim Beam Bourbon brand misleads consumers by marketing itself as “handcrafted”, three months after winning a similar case over Maker’s Mark.

A judge has thrown out a lawsuit accusing Jim Beam Bourbon of misleading marketing

The legal action against Jim Beam was first launched by consumer Scott Welk in a California federal court in February this year.

Welk accused brand owner Beam Suntory of violating California’s False Advertising Law with its handmade claims, thus duping him into paying a premium price for Jim Beam’s white label Bourbon.

He said that while Jim Beam’s labels describe the product as “handcrafted”, photographs and videos on the brand’s website shows a mechanised process “resembling a modern day assembly line and involving little to no human supervision”.

Beam Suntory responded by claiming the lawsuit was “frivolous” and that consumers could not have been misled by the “miniscule size” of the word “handcrafted”.

The company also argued that its labels are protected under legislation in California as they have already been approved by the TTB.

Six months after the lawsuit was first launched, US District Judge Larry Alan Burns ruled in favour of Beam Suntory, claiming its use of the word “handcrafted” would “not mislead a reasonable consumer”.

According to the Chicago Tribune, Burns said: “Machines, including stills and other equipment, have always been necessary to make Bourbon.

“A reasonable consumer wouldn’t interpret the word ‘handcrafted’ on a Bourbon bottle to mean that the product is literally created by a hand process rather than by a machine.”

In May this year, Beam Suntory’s Maker’s Mark Bourbon set a precedent by becoming the first spirit brand in a recent spate of lawsuit to successfully defend its “handmade” credentials.

The brand won two lawsuits, one on Florida and one in California, which accused its of false marketing.

Kent Rose, senior vice president and general counsel of Beam Suntory, said at the time: “This ruling is very good news, and it should send a strong message to those who would seek to gain from similar baseless and irresponsible litigation.”

A spokesperson for Beam Suntory said of its latest lawsuit win: “We are pleased with this swift and decisive victory, which ends the last remaining lawsuit against the labeling of our Bourbon brands.”