Often abridged to three letters, 'protected denomination of origin' is a designation that protects geographical status and refers to products specific to a particular region or town, which convey a particular quality or characteristic of the designated area.
A DO status affords vital protection against fraud or tampering for spirits and ensures that the particularities of certain styles or the fact that they are made in certain regions are not just rules that are upheld locally, but internationally too. This helps to preserve the authenticity and quality of a spirit’s original production (such as Jamaican Rum).
Some obvious examples of this are Scotch, which can only be produced and bottled in Scotland, Tequila which is restricted to certain regions of Mexico, and Cognac where production is confined to certain region of France. Each spirit category has several DOP / DOM / DOC given to certain areas and / or styles with varying amount of rules to define what is and isn’t permissible.