What must be stated on a bottle of liqueur?

On every liqueur bottle are the designation, the net quantity, the alcohol content by volume, the allergens, the name and address of the food business operator and a lot number.

Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 lists the mandatory particulars in Article 9. For a bottle of liqueur, these are the legal name, the net quantity, the actual alcoholic strength by volume above 1.2 percent by volume, and the mention of substances that can cause allergies or intolerances.

This includes the name or trade name and the address of the operator under whose name the product is placed on the market. This way it is always possible to trace who is responsible for the bottle.

The lot number is based on the Dutch Food Information Decree (Warenwetbesluit informatie levensmiddelen). With that number an entire batch can be recalled when something turns out to be wrong.

All mandatory information must appear on the label at least in Dutch.

A drink may be called liqueur at a minimum of 15 percent alcohol and a minimum of 100 grams of sugar per litre, expressed as invert sugar.

That requirement is in category 33 of Annex I to Regulation (EU) 2019/787, the European regulation for spirit drinks. The European Commission summarises that category in its guidelines as an alcohol content by volume of at least 15 percent and a sugar content of at least 100 grams per litre.

Different thresholds apply to a number of designations. Crème de cassis has its own category in Annex I, with at least 400 grams of sugar per litre and likewise at least 15 percent alcohol. The other crème designations also have a higher minimum sugar content than ordinary liqueur.

The sugar content itself does not have to be on the label. The legal designation sets the lower limit, and you can rely on that.

Drinks with more than 1.2 percent alcohol by volume are exempt from the ingredients list and the nutrition declaration, under article 16(4) of Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011.

That article provides that for such drinks the particulars in Article 9, paragraph 1, points b and l, are not mandatory. Point b is the list of ingredients, point l the nutrition declaration.

The allergen declaration is not covered by that exemption. If a liqueur contains milk, nuts or sulphite above the threshold, for example, it must still be stated on the label.

If you still want to know exactly what is in it, look at the producer’s site. Many houses voluntarily post the composition there. In the shop you can also simply ask us.

For wine, a mandatory ingredient list and nutrition declaration have applied since 8 December 2023, introduced by Regulation (EU) 2021/2117.

That regulation amended the European market organisation for agricultural products and thereby took wine out of the old exemption. Wine placed on the market from 8 December 2023 carries the new statements. Wine produced before that date may be sold with the old label until the batch is gone.

For spirit drinks that step has not been taken. A bottle of liqueur still falls under the exemption of Article 16(4).

As a result, you can take home a bottle of wine with a full list of ingredients and a bottle of liqueur without one in the same bag. Both labels comply with the law.

Een NIX18-logo hoeft niet op het etiket te staan, maar de Alcoholwet verbiedt verkoop van alcohol aan iemand van wie niet is vastgesteld dat hij 18 jaar is.

Article 20, first paragraph, of the Alcoholwet provides that it is prohibited to supply alcoholic drink, commercially or otherwise than free of charge, to a person in respect of whom it has not been established that he or she has reached the age of 18.

The logo you see on bottles and in shops belongs to an information campaign. It is not a label statement that follows from food legislation.

At the till in Bathmen we ask for valid ID when there is reason to. That also applies to a liqueur of 15 percent, because the age limit of 18 does not depend on strength.

In Bathmen there are 681 liqueurs of 15 percent alcohol or more on the shelf, from 238 brands from 32 countries.

The liqueur shelf holds 779 bottles in total. The 681 bottles that meet the lower limit of category 33 make up the majority. The strongest bottle in that selection is at 55 percent.

On all those bottles you will find the same mandatory particulars: name, net quantity, alcohol percentage, allergens, name and address of the operator and a lot number.

If you want to know what is in a particular bottle, drop in at Brink 2 in Bathmen or call 0570 541 278. We take the bottle out and read the label through with you.