An Important Year in Black History Has Become a Flashpoint in a Legal Battle Between Rémy Martin and a Craft Spirits Brand

Rémy Martin sent a legal letter to Fort Mosé over usage of the year 1738. (Photo: Victor Harvey)

On Jan. 23, the Miami New Times reported that Rémy Martin Cognac was pursuing legal action against Victor George Spirits, a Black-owned craft spirits business in Fort Lauderdale, over the use of the year 1738 in its branding. Fort Mosé — the first town in America to allow Black people to live as free individuals — was founded in 1738.

Rémy Martin, sent a notice to the spirits brand in November claiming the year “1738” competes with its Rémy Martin 1738 Accord Royal Cognac.

“We have a very significant reason to use this year as part of our brand, and this story will always be bigger than us,” said the Founder and CEO of Victor George Spirits Victor Harvey to the Miami New Times.

Victor George Spirits makes Fort Mosé 1738 Bourbon Whiskey, which won a gold medal at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition in 2023.

“I’m not an attorney, but I’ve never known you could trademark an entire year as part of a trademark,” Harvey said, according to the Miami New Times. “We 100 percent chose the year 1738 because of its significance to Black people in America… it was the first year in this country where Black people could live free in some regard. That’s our sole reason for using it.”

According to PBS, Fort Mosé was a town a stone’s throw away from St. Augustine. It was founded between the spring and fall of 1738 and served as a place of refuge for Black individuals escaping enslavement in the surrounding states like the Carolinas and Georgia. Per PBS, the town was protected by an army of Black men and is considered “the first all-Black town in what is now the United States and as the headquarters of the first Black armed soldiers commanded by a Black officer, who actively engaged in military combat with English colonists from the Carolinas and Georgia.”

“Sadly, the story of Fort Mosé has never really been told,” Harvey said, according to the Miami New Times. “It was not only an opportunity for a great name, but to get the story out there and do our part of telling some history.”

The Black-owned spirits brand appears to be doing well, and according to the Miami New Times, intends to open a new distillery in the future.

As for Rémy Martin’s ties to the year 1738, on the brand’s website, the brand claims it chose the year because it marked the year in which King Louis XV awarded the cognac brand “the reward of excellence.”

“I’m the type of businessman who stands on principle, and, in our opinion we’ve done everything absolutely right here,” Harvey stated.

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