Pernod sues Matusalem over 'Cuban' rum.

French drinks giant Pernod Ricard, which has long battled the Bacardi empire in court over use of the "Havana Club" trademark, is now taking on another legal battle.

This one is against Matusalem, a Miami-based company that sells "Cuban" rum.

The Economist, in its Apr. 16 edition, says Pernod Ricard claims in its suit that Havana Club is "the only authentically Cuban spirit." The company is seeking damages from Matusalem for "falsely" claiming Cuban origin.

"Like all disputes involving Cuba, this one is steeped in politics and history," writes the magazine. "A company named Matusalem was founded in Santiago de Cuba in 1873. It produced Cuba's top anejo, or aged dark rum.

The Alvarez family fled Cuba after Fidel Castro's 1959 revolution. They started making rum in the Bahamas using the formula smuggled out of Cuba, but struggled to build the brand globally. Meanwhile, Cuba began making its own version of the Matusalem brand.

Alvarez eventually shifted production to the Dominican Republic and relaunched the brand. It now produces almost two million bottles a year; its Gran Reserva, a 15-year aged dark rum, has proved a hit with connoisseurs in Italy and elsewhere in Europe.

"That may be what has alarmed Pernod," says The Economist, noting that last year it persuaded the U.S. Patent Office to throw out a trademark challenge brought by Bacardi, a spirits firm now based in Bermuda and the maker of the world's biggest-selling rum.

Rather than its trademark rights, Pernod contests Matusalem's slogan, "The Spirit of Cuba," emblazoned across the bottle. The fine print explains that the product is made in the Dominican Republic.

Says the magazine: "Nobody can dispute Matusalem's Cuban past. But given the store that French winemakers set by terroir, the country's courts may well decide that only Cuba can make Cuban rum."