Gin-maker forced to stop production over IP issue

Redsmith Distillery’s navy strength gin expression named Outlaw with a nod towards the legendary Nottingham outlaw, Robin Hood, has itself been outlawed.

The micro-distillery opened in 2016 and is the only gin maker in Nottingham.

Redsmith Outlaw Gin was the navy strength version of the distillery’s award-winning London Dry Gin which won Gin of the Year in the classic category at the Craft Distilling Expo in 2016 and went on to pick up a Double Gold Medal at the San Francisco World Spirit Competition in 2018.

However, bottling of the Redsmith 57% ABV gin, which started in October 2018, has now been forced to stop over intellectual rights issues and a conflict of interest with an existing brand owner who intends to import rum for sale into the UK.

Redsmith Outlaw Gin was the first gin to be so called Outlaw Gin, but there are Outlaw spirit brands (whiskey and rum) in the United States, along with an Outlaw tea liqueur elsewhere.

It seems that there are too many outlaws and things could get complicated, according to the Nottingham distillery. Reports in 2018 said that as the number of trademarks registered for spirit and liqueur brands had risen by 41% to reach 2210 in the previous year, it was inevitable that there would be a rise in trade mark disputes involving spirit brands.

Redsmith’s founder and head distiller Wayne Asher said: “It is very disappointing to have to call time on the production of Redsmith’s navy strength offering and it is a shame as Outlaw seemed the perfect name for this navy strength gin as no other county in Britain has an outlaw more famous than Robin Hood. It is hoped to re-introduce this popular product in another guise sometime in the future.”