The UK’s Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs has this week begun consultation on the proposal which would protect the names ‘English whisky’ and ‘English whiskey’ a geographical indication under the UK government’s Spirit Drinks Geographical Indications Scheme.
The proposed product specification summarises English whisky as a spirit “made from UK cereal grain and English water”, “distilled in England”, “distilled at an alcoholic strength of less than 94.8% by volume in such a way that the distillate has an aroma and taste derived from the materials used”, “matured in England in wooden casks, such as oak (but not limited to), of no more than 700 litres for a minimum of 3 years”, and “the final whisky to have a minimum 40% abv”.
The SWA has slammed the proposal, warning that it could damage the reputation of UK single malt.
A spokesperson for the Scotch Whisky Association said: “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. This is entirely inconsistent with the reputation of single malt whisky, which is famous for its integral connection to place, and 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.
“We will be responding formally to the DEFRA consultation to robustly defend against any devaluation of the Single Malt category.”
A Defra spokesman said: “No decisions have been made on whether to recognise English Whisky as a geographical indication (GI) – the application process is ongoing.”
