Addition of Certain Ingredients Means Don Papa Should Be Labeled ‘Imitation Rum,’ Class Action Argues

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A proposed class action contends that Don Papa rum should more accurately be represented as “imitation rum” since the product contains glycerin, vanillin, caramel color, sugar and other added ingredients.

The 14-page case out of Illinois claims that Don Papa rum, made by defendant Zamora Company USA, a subsidiary of Diego Zamora S.A., is not rum “as this spirit is defined by regulations and understood by consumers.” According to the filing, rum is defined federally as a class of spirits that are “distilled from the fermented juice of sugar cane, sugar cane syrup, sugar cane molasses, or other sugar cane by-products at less than 95 percent alcohol by volume (190 proof),” with the taste and attributes of rum and “bottled at not less than 40 percent alcohol by volume (80 proof).” 

The lawsuit states that “multiple independent laboratory analyses” of the Don Papa rum, reportedly one of the few rums sourced from outside the Western Hemisphere, in the Philippines, concluded that the product contained additional glycerin, which provides sweetness, viscosity and body to distilled spirits, and vanillin and sugar.

According to the lawsuit, the plaintiff, an Illinois resident, and other consumers believed that the Don Papa rum at issue was made only from sugar and/or molasses and was aged for the number of years indicated on the product’s label. 

Moreover, the case claims that the manufacturer’s representation that the rum’s black color comes from being treated in casks is “questionable.” 

“Though manufacturers are permitted to add coloring, flavoring, and blending materials to distilled spirits, they are required to disclose this unless an exception applies,” the lawsuit says. “Glycerin, vanillin, caramel color and added sugar are not essential components of rum.”

The complaint also claims that the added ingredients are “not customarily employed in rum in accordance with established trade usage." Ultimately, the additives cause Don Papa rum to be “an imitation rum,” and require the product to be labeled accordingly, the lawsuit says. 

“The addition of coloring and flavoring causes the Product to simulate the class of flavored rums because it conforms to the standard of identity for rum but for these additional ingredients,” the filing reads. 

Lastly, the lawsuit contends that the label statement that the Don Papa rum is “aged up to 7 [or 10] years in Oak Barrels” is misleadingly in that it creates among consumers the incorrect impression that the blended rums are “very close or equal to seven years, when they are not.” According to the suit, the product is a mix of younger and older rums, and the oldest is seven years old. 

“The value of the Product that Plaintiff purchased was materially less than its value as represented by Defendant,” the complaint alleges. 

The suit looks to represent all persons in Illinois, Virginia, Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, Alaska, West Virginia, Kansas, Nebraska, North Dakota, Iowa, Mississippi, Arkansas, South Carolina and Utah who bought Don Papa-brand rum within the applicable statute of limitations period. 

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