Cease-and-Desist Letters Just Add to a True Legacy.

As reported by MLive, a small winery and distillery near Grand Rapids, Michigan received a cease and desist letter from an unidentified “larger distiller” over its planned Legacy Whiskey brand.

Legacy Winery & Spirits, in Hudsonville, Michigan, is rebranding from “Legacy” to “Barrel Thief” and in the process had to throw away $2,000 worth of labels. Legacy’s COLA approved in January already included “Barrel Thief Series” but expect a new COLA to be filed without “Legacy” on the label.

The unnamed distillery at issue is presumably Sazerac, which owns a Canadian whisky brand simply named “Legacy.”

While the labels and bottles are distinctly different from each other, and despite the historical and legal difference between Canadian whisky and the Bourbon (who remembers Jack Daniel Distillery, Inc. v. Hoffman Distilling Co. from Bourbon Justice?) planned by Legacy, Sazerac must have complained about the prominent use of the word Legacy. Just as so many other startups have decided, changing a brand name for a few thousand dollars in expenses and legal fees is lightyears better than a legal battle.

Good luck to Legacy Winery & Spirits. I’ll be visiting them on my next trip to West Michigan.