Heineken, importers of Desperados beer, is battling Mexico’s Consejo Regulador del Tequila (“CRT”) over the beer being tequila flavored.
Use of the name tequila in alcoholic beverages (like Champagne or Cognac) is a designation of origin regulated by the CRT. The CRT says the beer violates the rules because the beer is, well, a beer and not a spirit.
According to Beverage Daily, the CRT says there is no tequila in the beer. Beverage Daily adds, “Heineken denies the allegation and claims the flavoring it uses does contain genuine tequila which it buys in Mexico from one of the members of the CRT.”
A Heineken spokesperson told Beverage Daily, “…Desperados is a beer, flavored with Tequila, not a spirit.”