THE Scottish Government has responded to the UK Government's plans for a legal definition change of English single malt whisky.
Currently, single malts must be made in one single distillery, but now it has been reported that new rules would mean English whisky could be made in several different locations – drastically cutting costs for whisky distillers there.
This has sparked fears of the market being flooded with cheap, low-quality products, ruining the reputation of “single malt” whisky.
The Scotch Whisky Association and Scottish Government insiders claim the plans could undermine the £5.4 billion whisky industry in Scotland.
A UK Government spokesperson said:: “No decisions have been made on whether to recognise English whisky as a Geographical Indication (GI) - the application process is ongoing.”
Rural Affairs Secretary Mairi Gougeon has now said she intends to raise this issue directly with UK Ministers despite geographical indications being a reserved area.
Gougeon warned the move could have "devastating effects on our iconic whisky industry", adding that it would "remove the integral connection to place that is so vital in the whisky creation process".
She said: “Scotland’s national drink is one of our greatest exports with unbreakable ties to our culture, history and industry and it is world-renowned thanks to its continued quality and authenticity.
“Any proposal to undermine the reputation or definition of the term Single Malt could have devastating effects on our iconic whisky industry and would be wholly unacceptable.
“The whisky industry is of huge economic importance to Scotland employing around 20,000 full time equivalent staff and exporting £5.4 billion worth of products, that success is built on a reputation hundreds of years in the making.
“If English whiskies are allowed to dilute the definition of the term ‘Single Malt’ by using it to describe whisky only distilled at a single location rather than being created by malted barley at a single site it would remove the integral connection to place that is so vital in the whisky creation process.
The minister added: “The long-standing tradition and processes used to create iconic Scotch whisky cannot be damaged by allowing quicker and cheaper methods of creation to use the same respected terminology to describe a far less involved process and end product."
Meanwhile, First Minister John Swinney said today that the Scottish Government "will make all necessary representations on this issue to protect the identity and the character of Scotch whisky".
The Scottish Minister for Business Richard Lochhead also reacted to the news, and said Scotland "can’t allow our globally successful and iconic Scotch be undermined in this way".
