The Scotch Whisky Association is investigating after a product named Cosa Nostra sold in a machine gun-shaped bottle caused outrage in Italy.
The product, produced by a Polish company, is branded as a three-year-old Scotch and is named after the Sicilian mafia.
There are a number of strict conditions which must be met to sell whisky as Scotch, including having been matured for at least three years in oak casks, having a minimum alcoholic strength by volume of 40 per cent, be produced at a distillery in Scotland from water and malted barley and contain no added substances outside water and caramel colouring.
The trade body which upholds standards in the industry confirmed it was investigating after being approached by The Herald.
A spokesperson for the Scotch Whisky Association said: “The Scotch Whisky industry takes its commitment to responsible marketing extremely seriously, and the marketing of products which celebrate violence, aggression or illegal behaviour is not something we would ever condone.
"The product is under investigation by both our legal and alcohol policy teams.”
Bartex, the company which produces the drink, is not a member of the SWA.
Matt Lambert, CEO of the Portman Group, the alcohol social responsibility body and marketing regulator said: “The Portman Group Code regulates the whole of the alcohol sector in the UK and products must adhere to the 12 Code rules on the naming, packaging and promotion of alcoholic drinks.
"We operate on a complaint basis and would encourage anyone who is concerned about the marketing of alcohol to submit a complaint to us.
"Should we receive a complaint about this product, it would be reviewed first by the Chair of the Independent Complaints Panel (Panel), who will then determine the next steps regarding how the case should proceed. Ultimately it could be referred to the full Panel for consideration.”
Coldiretti, the association of agricultural entrepreneurs and farmers in Italy, along with Fileria Italia, an agriculture and industry alliance, condemned Cosa Nostra whisky and other products which use mafia imagery last week.
They accused the businesses of operating “without regard for the pain of the victims and to the detriment of the country’s image”.
President of Coldiretti Ettore Prandini said: “The use of names alluding to the mafia is a business that causes serious damage to the image of Made in Italy by exploiting stereotypes related to mafia organisations, trivialising and quasi-normalising a phenomenon which has brought pain and grief across our country.”
Read more:
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel