‘Misconceptions’ over SWA opposition to English whisky protection

The Scotch Whisky Association (SWA) has said there are “a lot of misconceptions” about its opposition to the new protected status for English whisky.

The trade body launched a legal appeal against the UK Government’s decision to award protected geographical indication (GI) status to English whisky.

The Scottish Government has warned the decision could have a “devastating” impact on Scotland’s national drink.

The SWA, along with its counterparts in Ireland and Wales, wants the decision reversed.

The group said while it supports English whisky makers receiving legal protection, it disagreed with the definition of an English single malt, which is different from a Scottish single malt.

Speaking to the Scottish Affairs Committee, Graeme Littlejohn, director of strategy at the SWA, said: “There are quite a lot of misconceptions about why the Scottish industry has taken forward an appeal to the English whisky GI.”

Under the current rules, all stages of Scotch whisky production must take place at a single site – however, this is not mandatory for English single malt, with some steps allowed to take place elsewhere.

Mr Littlejohn said Scotch had effectively “built” the category of single malt in the 1960s and 1970s.

He said that the new rules would damage Scotch’s reputation while giving English whisky a competitive advantage.

“The equity which is now within that category has really been derived from Scotch whisky producers putting in that effort over the last few decades,” he told MPs.

“Essentially, single malt Scotch whisky means that malted barley is brought into a distillery, it is mass fermented and distilled on that single site, and that’s well understood by consumers around the world.

“The difference with the now approved English whisky GI, which we are currently appealing through the first tier tribunal, is that you wouldn’t have to mash and ferment on that single site, you could only distil on that site, and it would still be called single malt English whisky.

“So the practical impact of that is that you could have wash brought in from a brewery anywhere in the country, distilled, for example, in Cornwall, and you could call it Cornish Single Malt.”

Mr Littlejohn said the SWA believed the connection to a single site was “vital” to being considered single malt.

He said the trade body was in favour of giving English whisky GI status, but was against the rules on what was considered a single malt.

The UK Government previously said its plans would not “water down” the definition of single malt whisky.

But Mr Littlejohn said under the new rules, a product which did not comply with the agreed English whisky GI “could still call itself a single malt”.

“That, for me, is the very definition of watering down the definition, and that is unfortunately where we are and why we’re appealing the decision,” he added.

A Defra spokesperson said: “We are committed to the growth of the UK whisky sector and are confident in our decision to register English Whisky following a full consultation involving industry.

“Recognising this rich tradition does not come at the expense of others – and Scotch Whisky’s protections and production requirements rightly remain unchanged.”