There are weird laws governing this stuff. Yes, Tequila has to be made to the standards set in that region. Same thing is true of Burgundy. If you started making wine and calling it Burgundy, the French would come after you, and we all know how serious that would be. There’s a few other weird things like that, mostly food stuff, but I can’t think of them at the moment.
Champagne, Parmesan, Stilton,...
All manner of things follow that sort of rule ... wines, cheeses, spirits ... If it's not made in Scotland, it's not Scotch. For example. American wines are (generally) labeled according to the breed of grape; European wines are (generally) labeled according to the defined region where the grapes were grown.
How about bourbon? Although it originally came from Bourbon County, Ky., I've seen bourbon from other places. I recently had some from Montana which was expensive, but I didn't like it.
On the other hand, most scotch is from Scotland, although when I was in Mexicali, I saw a bottle of scotch for sale that had a Scottish-sounding name--Highland Glen or something like that--but the fine print said, Hecho en Mexico.
For a little while, back in year 2022, several American supermarkets began removing all bottles French Dressing from their shelves, never to be sold. Why? The FDA revoked a Standard Of Identity definition for French Dressing, ending a rule that had been in place since 1950.
An industry group petitioned for the change, saying the former way was outdated.
Result; Current manufacturers are no longer legally required to follow the old rules on what qualifies as French Dressing. Many new varieties are now widely available for sale without the “crippling fear” of the merchant being sued for improper labeling.
Yay!
Roquefort cheese comes to mind. They have to be aged in the natural Combalou caves of Roquefort-sur-Soulzon France to be labeled Roquefort.
I love the stuff!