Alcoholic carbonates, RTD alcopops, are generally produced by
adding fruit, herbal or other flavoured concentrates to a fermented
wine, cider or beer base or to a neutral or flavoured spirit base.
They normally have an abv not exceeding 5.5%.
Where spirits are added to beer and the resulting product is
of a strength exceeding 1.2% abv, it is dutied as a spirit.
Exceptions are where the spirit is used as a carrier for
flavourings, where no spirit is left in the final product or where
the abv of the product is not increased by more than 0.1%.
Where spirits are added to wine/made wine the duty status
will depend on whether the spirit or wine/made wine makes up the
majority of volume and strength of the final product. If these
first two results are not conclusive then the product may still be
treated as a made wine as long as it does not take on the
characteristics of a spirit.
