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New Spirit for Northumberland drinks maker

The producer of iconic North East drinks Alnwick Rum and Alnwick IPA now has a new Spirit after registering a new trademark. The Alnwick Rum Company used Newcastle-based law firm Ward Hadaway to register “Spirit of Northumberland” as a trademark for all of its drinks in the UK.

The company, which was revived by managing director Ian Linsley in 2003, is now looking to use the trademark to market its products across the country.

Alnwick Rum Company has already secured an agreement with supermarket giant Tesco to sell its beer, Alnwick IPA, in 41 Tesco stores from the North East to Yorkshire and is hoping to do the same with Alnwick Rum.

Ian Linsley, managing director of the Alnwick Rum Company, said: “This is a real milestone for the business. We had been wanting to get ‘Spirit of Northumberland’ as a trademark for a long time because it covers not just the fact that we make spirits, but also the fact that our products have such an affinity with Northumberland and such a history with the place.

“We believe that what we make and the way we do business sums up the spirit and the ethos of Northumberland so we are delighted that Ward Hadaway has secured this trademark for us.”

Whilst none of the Alnwick Rum Company’s drinks are currently made in Northumberland, their long-term is to bring the brewing back into Alnwick and make the brewery a tourist attraction, as well as a full production centre.

Alex Shiel, partner and head of intellectual property at Ward Hadaway, said:“Registering ‘Spirit of Northumberland’ with the UK Trademark Registry means that the company is the only one in the country which can sell drinks products under the ‘Spirit of Northumberland’ banner.

“It is quite a broad trademark, which offers a lot of scope for product expansion, and will hopefully help to spread the word not just about the Alnwick Rum Company but about Northumberland as a whole.”

Further details can be found at the website www.alnwickrum.com.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .