British vodka company 02 has apparently taken issue with Dr. Dre‘s release of a sparkling vodka thought to be similar to their own brand. In August, the legendary producer announced he would unveil both a cognac and sparkling vodka as a marketing tie-in with his long-awaited album, Detox. Drinks Americas, who is partnering with Dre and Aftermath/Interscope, described the spirit as a “unique new to market sparkling vodka” in an associated press release.
Phillip Maitland, President of International English
Distillers Ltd., 02‘s parent company, has now issued a similar press release, calling Dr. Dre‘s version a poor imitation, among other things.
“I am very complimented that Dr. Dre has recognized how innovative and
special our sparkling vodka is and is trying to copy it,”Maitland said, in a written statement. “My concern is that it isn’t produced by our patented method and may well turn out to be a very poor imitation.”
Maitland‘s product was launched in the U.S. in January. Drinks Americas announced the creation of Aftermath Cognac and the as-yet unnamed sparkling vodka in August.
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“I hope that consumers will not be swayed by the celebrity endorsement
of a copycat product by Dr. Dre,”Maitland added. “There are a lot of mixed messages going on, Dre‘s unreleased album is even called Detox to ad a bitterly ironic twist.”
Dr. Dre as well as Aftermath artists 50 Cent (who is signed to Aftermath via Eminem‘s Shady Records label) and Bishop Lamont have both stated Detox will be released sometime during the fourth quarter.
