An attempt to secure ‘geographical indication’ status for English whisky is “entirely inconsistent” with existing rules for single malt scotch, according to the trade organisation for neighbours north of the border.
The UK’s Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs has this week commenced a consultation on awarding the terms ‘English whisky’ and ‘English whiskey’ protection under the Government’s ‘Spirit Drinks Geographical Indications Scheme’. The three-month notice period, which expires on 19 May, follows an application submitted by the recently-founded English Whisky Guild.
Among the defining characteristics for the two terms are that the liquid has been matured in wooden casks for a minimum of three years, that the finished product has an ABV of at least 40% and, for single malt, that the whisky “has been distilled exclusively from malted barley at a single distillery”.
In a response to the consultation’s launch, however, the Scotch Whisky Association (SWA) has taken issue with the single malt definition. “The proposal to define ‘single malt’ English whisky only requires distillation at the single distillery location and not the creation of the spirit from malted barley at a single site,” the organisation said.
“This is entirely inconsistent with the reputation of single malt whisky, which … would undermine the single malt scotch whisky category. It would be very damaging for the reputation of single malt whisky from the UK, and by extension single malt scotch whisky, if English whiskies were allowed to describe spirit as ‘single malt’ despite being produced in a different manner to the established process and long-standing traditions of the scotch whisky industry.”
Set up in 2022, the English Whisky Guild has 22 members operating 50 distilleries.
In figures released by the SWA last week, exports of scotch in the 12 months of last year declined by 3.7% in value terms despite a volumes increase of 3.9%. Shipments by value of single malt scotch tumbled by 17.2%.
