EU court rules non-alcoholic drinks cannot be called gin

A gin tasting. There are concerns the ruling could be a setback to the EU’s fast-growing alcohol-free drinks market. Photograph: Carly Earl/The Guardian

The makers of spirits may be raising a toast to the European judges of Luxembourg after the EU’s court ruled that non-alcoholic drinks cannot be called gin.

Only spirit drinks based on ethyl alcohol flavoured by juniper berries with a minimum alcoholic strength of 37.5% by volume can be known as gin, the court said in a judgment issued on Thursday.