The EU institutions are currently revising the Spirit Drinks Regulation (EC) 110/ 2008, the primary piece of legislation that regulates the production of spirit drinks within Europe. The Commission published its proposal in December 2016, and the European Parliament (EP) adopted its report on the proposal in January 2018. In March 2018 the EP approved the opening of trilogue negotiations, to continue the legislative process. This reform itself is mostly unremarkable, its main objective being to align the existing Regulation with the TFEU, supposedly without changing the scope of protection already offered by the existing Regulation. The most interesting change made is the introduction of a new procedure for the management and registration of geographical indications of spirit drinks. The Commission’s proposal has been made in light of “the Member States’ and stakeholders’ expectations of regulatory simplification and…the guiding principles of better regulation”. This short report will examine whether the Juncker Commission’s drive for “better regulation” has been realised in this particular corner of the alcohol policy field. It will briefly outline the purpose of the “better regulation” agenda, and will then offer comment upon whether certain salient aspects of the Commission’s proposal represent “better regulation”.