Apart from the fact that the sun is cracking the pavements and the mercury is heading towards 30 degrees, if you needed any more proof that we are entering the journalistic silly season then it arrived this morning with the news that Pernod is having to change its label so that people realise it is alcoholic.
Like many alcohol brands, Pernod may well have been consumed by the odd under 18, but I think we can safely assume that those under-age partakers were doing so fully aware of what kind of drink it was. While they will have known they were drinking alcohol, they may have been surprised by the aniseed flavour first time around.
Pernod is having to make the change because of a review carried out by the Portman Group. Apparently, the description of the product as “spiritueux anise”, which appears only in French on the front of pack, could be more prominent and the 40% abv declaration was not legible enough.
These are no doubt technical issues over font and size of print, but I defy anyone to see a bottle of Pernod and not come very quickly to the conclusion that it was an alcoholic beverage. Not least of all because those stumbling over a bottle in-store will be doing so in the spirits fixture of a supermarket or behind the counter of a c-store.
The Portman Group does have an important role to play in rooting out some of the less than savoury practices some drink manufacturers will stoop to in a bid to tempt underage drinkers – but rulings like this risk undermine that work and make it look more like over-zealous interfering busy-bodies – probably best we don’t ask Laverstoke Park’s Jody Scheckter what he makes of today’s move.
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