Plans to permit English whisky makers to make use of the time period “single malt” have led to a backlash by Scottish distilleries and politicians.
Beneath proposals being thought of by the UK authorities, “single malt English whisky” may very well be used for the spirit made by a single distillery in England.
Nevertheless, the Scotch Whisky Affiliation (SWA) stated it “devalues” single malts as a result of, it claims, the English methodology can be easier than the method utilized in Scotland.
A spokesperson for the Division for Surroundings, Meals & Rural Affairs (Defra) stated no choices had been made and the applying course of was “ongoing”.
“What Scotch whisky does is it takes the malted barley and it creates the mash, it ferments it after which it distils it at one website,” Graham Littlejohn, SWA director of technique and communications instructed NUZTO Good Morning Scotland.
“What the English proposal would do is to strip away the primary two of these three components and actually take away the basic connection to position that single malt Scotch whisky has.”
Beneath the proposal for English single malt whisky, the drink would solely be required to be distilled at one website, whereas mashing and fermentation might happen elsewhere.
The English Whisky Guild stated that its distilleries associate with native breweries not on the identical website to make use of “their brewing experience to create progressive and distinct whiskies”.
The guild stated it agreed with the SWA that “provenance and a way of place is a crucial aspect of whisky” and English whisky distillers’ grain needed to be sourced from the UK.
Mr Littlejohn stated that permitting the English business to make use of the time period for its alcohol “would actually harm the integrity of the one malt class and with it, the repute of the Scotch whisky business.”
The proposal to permit English single malt whisky is a part of a wider software to Defra by the guild for geographical indication for English whisky.
This might give it protected geographical standing, which means it might solely be used to explain whisky made in England.
Mairi Gougeon, Scotland’s cupboard secretary for rural affairs, stated any proposal “to undermine the repute or definition of the time period single malt might have devastating results on our iconic whisky business and can be wholly unacceptable”.
She stated the business was “of giant financial significance to Scotland”, and exported £5.4bn price of products final 12 months.
Scottish First Minister John Swinney stated the Scottish authorities would “make all vital representations on this challenge to guard the identification and the character of Scotch whisky”.
Opponents of the plans have three months to reply.
The SWA stated it might reply formally to the Defra session “to robustly defend in opposition to any devaluation of the one malt class”.
