Indian whisky makers, fighting with their backs to the wall against the Scotch Whisky Association, finally have something to gloat over. Europe is riven by a 'vodka war' and the issue dividing the continent is the list of ingredients that defines a true vodka.

With the European Commission proposing to tighten the definition of spirit drinks and restricting the raw materials that can be used to make vodka, members of the European Vodka Alliance are predicting doom for the business.

The issue is threatening to escalate into full-scale rows between several EU member states, as new proposals for defining spirit drinks work their way through the EU machine, reports www.beveragedaily.com.

Poland has led a delegation including Sweden, Finland, the Baltic states and Germany demanding that true vodka could only be made from potatoes or cereals. Anything else, it said, was just a poor copy and should be labelled as such.

Opponents believe the move is merely a cynical ploy to gain ground in Europe's fastest growing vodka markets around the Mediterranean, as consumption in Eastern Europe stagnates.

The Alliance said the restrictions could not be justified on grounds of either tradition or consumer protection.

"Most consumers outside of Poland don't know what vodka is made from, and more importantly they don't care," a lawyer said Chris Scott-Wilson, a lawyer for the Alliance .

Most of the taste from the raw materials is lost during vodka distillation, which takes place at around 96% alcohol by volume, Scott-Wilson said, adding that tradition could play very little part, considering Sweden only launched its first 'vodka' product in 1958 and Finland in 1965. On the Alliance's side is the UK, Ireland and the Netherlands .

The UK, in particular, said earlier this year that restricting the range of raw materials that could be used to make vodka would hamper innovation in the sector. The US is one potential foe. Laws there impose no restrictions on raw materials used to make vodka, except that consumers should not be able to taste the raw material in the final product.

Restrictions in Europe may hamper US imports and could lead to retaliation.

In trade terms, Europe would be likely to come off worse; the US is one of the world's largest vodka markets and takes in €500m worth of EU vodka imports. US vodka sales in Europe are only a fraction of this, according to the Alliance .

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