OT:RR:CTF:FTM H308559 MD
Dr. Don Crowley
Robert A. Merry & Co. Ltd.
Cashel Road, Clonmel
Co. Tipperary, E91 CA44, Ireland
RE: Affirmation of NY N308711; Tariff Classification of “The Whistler Irish Honey Distilled Spirits” from Ireland
Dear Dr. Crowley:
This is in response to your request, dated January 15, 2020, for reconsideration of New York Ruling Letter (“NY”) N308711, issued to you on January 9, 2020. In that ruling, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”) classified “The Whistler Irish Honey,” distilled by Robert A. Merry & Co., under subheading 2208.70.0030, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States Annotated (“HTSUSA”), which provides for “Undenatured ethyl alcohol of an alcoholic strength by volume of less than 80 percent vol.; spirits, liqueurs and other spirituous beverages: Liqueurs and cordials: In containers each holding not over 4 liters.” We have reviewed NY N308711, determined that it is correct and for the reasons set forth below, we affirm NY N308711.
NY N308711 described “The Whistler Irish Honey” as follows:
[A]n Irish Whiskey and Honey Liqueur. The product contains Irish Whiskey 40 percent alcohol by volume, Neutral Irish Spirits 96.2 percent alcohol by volume, Water, Beet Sugar Syrup, Glucose Syrup, Honey, and Natural Golden Honey Flavoring. The finished product has an alcohol volume by strength of 33 percent. The Whistler Irish Honey will be imported into the United States in bottles of 750 ml.
CBP found that “The Whistler Irish Honey Distilled Spirits” is classified in subheading 2208.70.0030, HTSUSA, which provides for “Undenatured ethyl alcohol of an alcoholic strength by volume of less than 80 percent vol.; spirits, liqueurs and other spirituous beverages: Liqueurs and cordials: In containers each holding not over 4 liters.”
In your request for reconsideration, you claim that “The Whistler Irish Honey” should be classified in subheading 2208.30.60, HTSUS, which provides for “Undenatured ethyl alcohol of an alcoholic strength by volume of less than 80 percent vol.; spirits liqueurs and other spirituous beverages: Whiskies: Irish and Scotch: In containers each holding not over 4 liters. In your submission, you specifically refer to the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System Explanatory Notes (“EN”) for heading 2208, specifically, Explanatory Note (B), which states that “Liqueurs and cordials are spirituous beverages to which sugar, honey or other natural sweeteners and extracts have been added.” You state that the United States Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (“TTB”) of the United States Department of the Treasury Regulations allow for many “straight” alcohols to contain “sweeteners, essences, and even Caramel Color” and still be considered a straight product without any declaration on the label of such addition. You assert that the TTB Regulations apply to products such as brandy, cognac, gin, rum, and whiskies, and that such products are ultimately not “classified as ‘Liqueurs’” by TTB. You contend that “The Whistler Irish Honey” is one such product.
Upon review, we find that the ingredient breakdown of “The Whistler Irish Honey” supports the initial CBP classification under subheading 2208.70.0030, HTSUSA, as “Undenatured ethyl alcohol of an alcoholic strength by volume of less than 80 percent vol.; spirits, liqueurs and other spirituous beverages: Liqueurs and cordials: In containers each holding not over 4 liters.” Explanatory Note (B) for heading 2208 states that “Liqueurs and cordials are spirituous beverages to which sugar, honey or other natural sweeteners and extracts have been added.” In determining a threshold amount of the sugar content necessary for classification of a product as a liqueur or cordial, CBP has referred to the industry standards of identity for liqueurs and cordials as provided within Title 27 (Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms) of the Code of Federal Regulations, administered by TTB. See 27 C.F.R. § 5.22(h). The industry standards of identity provided within 27 C.F.R. § 5.22(h) are as follows:
Cordials and liqueurs are products obtained by mixing or redistilling distilled spirits with or over fruits, flowers, plants, or pure juices therefrom, or other natural flavoring materials, or with extracts derived from infusions, percolation, or maceration of such materials, and containing sugar, dextrose, or levulose, or a combination thereof, in an amount not less than 2 ½ percent by weight of the finished product.
Here, the ingredients and method of production of “The Whistler Irish Honey” are aligned with the description and requirements for a liqueur. Production of “The Whistler Irish Honey” begins with the mixture of beet sugar syrup, glucose syrup, Irish whiskey, neutral spirits, honey, and natural honey flavoring, with water. The resulting mixture is subsequently mixed with additional Irish whiskey and water until the desired percent alcohol by volume is achieved. Furthermore, an ingredient breakdown provided by the manufacturer indicates that “The Whistler Irish Honey” contains 32.54 percent by weight of sugar, well over the 2.5 percent by weight of sugar requirement for a product to be identified as a liqueur in accordance with 27 C.F.R. § 5.22(h). Therefore, the mixture of distilled spirits with natural flavoring, containing the requisite percentage by weight of sugar, makes “The Whistler Irish Honey” a liqueur.
Furthermore, while not explicitly binding on CBP, the text of Title 27 has been used to establish a long-standing precedent for determining the requisite sugar threshold for classification of products as cordials or liqueurs. CBP has recognized that to be classified as cordials or liqueurs, the imported spirituous products must contain a minimum of 2.5 percent sugar content. See, e.g. NY J88195, dated September 17, 2003; Headquarters Ruling Letter (“HQ”) 085902, dated February 12, 1990.
Three cases within the last calendar year confirm this precedent is extant. See, e.g. HQ H305105, dated December 4, 2019; NY N309622, dated March 6, 2020; and HQ H307101, dated May 5, 2020. In HQ H305105, the determination that two spirituous beverages did not meet the minimum 2.5 percent by weight sugar content that “CBP has recognized [] to be classified as cordials or liqueurs” resulted in the revocation of the two New York rulings (NY N304274, dated June 7, 2019; and NY N304276, dated June 7, 2019), which classified them as such. In NY N309622, a spirituous beverage from Germany made from a mixture of bourbon whiskey, neutral alcohol, honey, water, sugar, rheingeist, caramel, and tartaric acid, with a final alcohol by volume content of 35 percent, was classified as a liqueur based on its percent by weight sugar content. In HQ H307101, the beverage at issued was determined be spirituous based on its manufacturing process and was classified as a liqueur because “the product contain[ed] 16.51 percent by weight of sugar which is over the 2.5 percent by weight of sugar requirement for a product to be identified as a liqueur, in accordance with 27 C.F.R. § 5.22(h).”
There is no dispute that “The Whistler Irish Honey” is classified under heading 2208, HTSUS, as an “Undenatured ethyl alcohol of an alcoholic strength by volume of less than 80 percent vol.; spirits, liqueurs and other spirituous beverages.” Upon review, we find that “The Whistler Irish Honey” is properly classified under subheading 2208.70.0030, HTSUSA, which provides for “Liqueurs and cordials: In containers each holding not over 4 liters,” because the product meets the requisite 2.5 percent by weight sugar content to be classified as a liqueur or cordial. Accordingly, we affirm NY N308711, dated January 9, 2020, which correctly classified “The Whistler Irish Honey” under subheading 2208.70.0030, HTSUSA.
Sincerely,
For Craig T. Clark, Director
Commercial and Trade Facilitation Division
Cc: Mr. Robert A. Back
Aromar LLC
P.O. Box 639
Putnam Valley, New York 10579