A proposal to define ‘single malt’ English whisky in a different way to its scotch counterpart would be “very damaging” to the reputation of the UK single malt, the Scotch Whisky Association (SWA) has warned.
The trade body for scotch whisky this week issued a fiery rebuke to proposals to define English whisky/whiskey put forward by the English Whisky Guild and published by Defra.
The proposal, which seeks to give both ‘English whisky’ and ‘English whiskey’ protected geographical status, was “entirely inconsistent” with the reputation of single malt whisky, the SWA said.
As the proposed definition of English whisky/whiskey only required “distillation at the single distillery location and not the creation of the spirit from malted barley at a single site” it could “undermine the single malt scotch whisky category”, it warned.
“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,” the SWA said.
Presently, single malt scotch whisky must be created from malted barley that has been mashed, fermented and distilled at a single site.
Under the proposed English whisky/whiskey definition, however, an English whisky can be described as single malt as long as it is distilled at a single distillery, even if the base liquid is created elsewhere.
The proposal also stipulates English whisky/whiskey must be: made from UK cereal grains and English water; distilled in England; distilled to an abv of less than 94.8%; matured in England in wooden casks of no more than 700 litres for a minimum of three years; and bottled at a minimum abv of 40%.
It is currently in the consultation phase, and open to public feedback until 19 May.
“We will be responding formally to the Defra consultation to robustly defend against any devaluation of the single malt category,” the SWA added.
A spokesperson for Defra said the application process was “ongoing” and no final decision had been made.
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