Hand Grenade Secret Recipe Trademark?

Factual Questions
1

I’ve got a friend visiting Louisiana and he was telling me he drank a Hand Grenade TM last night. I asked him what was in it and he told me that it was a secret and that the drink was trademarked.
So I googled it and got this:
THE HAND GRENADE®

My question is this, I know you can trademark the name Hand GrenadeTM and any use of it would be illegal, but can you trademark a recipe?*

(*Please don’t post the recipe, I don’t want the Straight Dope in trouble even if the recipe can’t be trademarked).

(Side question, is this where the Flaming Homer/Moe episode of the Simpson’s is based on)

2

Only the name can be trademarked. I don’t think a recipe could be patented so the only violation would come from calling the drink a Hand Grenade®.

3

I have a bone to pick with the quote that St. Pauler got. I admit that all of the fake recipes for a HAND GRENADE are putrid, but so is the original recipe for a HAND GRENADE!

I live in Louisiana and of course I have been to New Orleans, and to the particular club in the french quarter that made them famous. And, Hand Grenades are awful to drink. So don’t drink any kind of HAND GRENADE.

Drink a white russian instead…

4

If its a secret its a (trade) secret.

As Padeye said, you can’t trademark a recipe. Its definately not illegal to display a recipe, but it may be unlawful to use the words “HAND GRENADE” in conjunction with the recipe.

5

Here’s a link to why trade secret protection is the appropriate for of protection for a drink recipe:

http://www.wyattfirm.com/chicken.html