Shops asked to halt mafia-themed Scotch whisky orders

Regulators person asked UK retailers to halt placing orders for a Sicilian mafia-themed Scotch whisky.

It said the packaging was apt to origin "serious and wide offence".

The regulator added that its findings were successful "the discourse of rising weapon transgression successful the UK".

It recovered that the product's bottle, which is shaped similar a Thompson submachine weapon - commonly known arsenic a Tommy weapon - created "a nonstop nexus betwixt the portion and a unsafe weapon".

In issuing a retailer alert bulletin, the Portman Group said: "The sheet considered that a Tommy weapon was often utilized successful depictions of humanities organised transgression syndicates, and portion a Tommy weapon was not a modern gun, the mean user would recognise it arsenic a firearm.

"Therefore, the sheet considered that the signifier of the vessel created a wide nexus betwixt the portion and a unsafe limb which was wholly inappropriate for an alcoholic drink."

Text connected the packaging states "post proelia praemia", which translates arsenic "after the battle, comes the reward".

The Portman Group said the merchandise was recovered to person "a nonstop relation with violent, aggressive, unsafe and amerciable behaviour, and caused superior and wide offence".

Nicola Williams, chairwoman of the group's autarkic complaints panel, said: "In airy of rising weapon transgression successful the UK, it is profoundly irresponsible of an intoxicant shaper to glamorise firearms and marketplace a merchandise successful this form.

"I anticipation Bartex Bartol takes enactment that specified products are wholly unacceptable."

The uncovering comes aft Italy's largest cultivation commercialized group, Coldiretti, condemned the Cosa Nostra merchandise for associating itself with the Sicilian mafia.

In 2014, Portman Group issued a retailer alert bulletin against Bartex Bartol for its merchandise Red Army Vodka.

It concluded past that its packaging was "unacceptable for an alcoholic portion due to the fact that they suggested an relation with convulsive and unsafe behaviour".

Bartex Bartol, which did not respond to the complaint, has been approached for comment.