The Crown of Texas

Bag that booze: Crown Royal, Texas Crown Club battle over crown logo, cloth bag back in court​


It sounds like a dispute that should be settled over a drink.

A Houston company that sells whiskey bottled and sold in a cloth bag is locked in a legal battle with a liquor giant over the packaging and marketing of booze.

The Texas company, Mexcor, which makes and sells Texas Crown Club whiskey, and Diageo North America, the company behind Crown Royal, are locked in a legal fight over which liquor can claim the crown and the cloth bag that comes with it.

The U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans last week sent the case back to federal court in Houston after tossing out an injunction stopping Mexcor from using the word "crown" and packaging liquor bottles in a cloth bag.


Mexcor started producing state-branded liquors - Texas Crown Club, Florida Crown Club, etc. - in 2008, about 60 years after Crown Royal first started using the crown logo and purple bag. The logo and bag, by the way, are both trademarked.

Part of the case focused on Mexcor's sale of Texas Crown Club in a Texas flag bag - a cloth bag featuring the state flag, but no crown.

Diageo bagged the battle for the crown last year, when U.S. District Judge David Hittner ruled in the company's favor and issued the order cutting off Mexcor's use of the word and packaging.


Diageo sued in 2013 in federal court in Houston, claiming trademark infringement. But, the company conceded that the Texas flag doesn't violate its trademark. Hittner granted a permanent injunction in 2015, prompting Mexcor to appeal.

The appeals court, in an unsigned opinion, found parts of the injunction too vague to enforce and sent it back to Hittner for review.

The case hadn't been set for a new date as of Wednesday. There was no indication the two sides would get together for a drink to settle the issue.
 
Whiskey War of 2020!
 
Boycott that Canadian shit.
Give me some good old American Bourbon!
 
Is it better than crown? Bag looks sweet
 
I'd hit it
 
I remember as a kid, those purple CR bags were highly sought after
 
Typically I’m going to stay away from anything that says “Ultra- Premium”. It just says we are lying.
 
Does the Texas one make a vanilla flavored label?
 
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