English malt plans could be ‘devastating’ for Scotch whisky, Gougeon warns

The Scottish Rural Affairs Secretary is to raise concerns over a proposed definition of English single malt with UK ministers.

A man sniffs whisky in a glass — The Scottish Government is to raise concerns with UK ministers over a proposed definition of English single malt that has been described as ‘very damaging’ by the whisky industry in Scotland (Jane barlow/PA)

Scotland’s Rural Affairs Secretary is to challenge the UK Government over plans industry leaders insist could be “very damaging for the reputation of single malt whisky”.

Mairi Gougeon confirmed she will raise the issue with Westminster in the wake of an outcry over its proposed definition of English single malt whisky.

It comes as the UK Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) is considering making an application for protected geographic status for English single malt.

This proposes defining English single malt as being made from “UK grain at an English distillery using water local to the distillery”.

The Scotch Whisky Association (SWA) however has protested that this “only requires distillation at the single distillery location and not the creation of the spirit from malted barley at a single site”.

The SWA said: “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.

Its spokesperson added: “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.”

Asked about the issue at First Minister’s Questions at Holyrood, John Swinney pledged the Scottish Government would “make all necessary representations on this issue to protect the identity and the character of Scotch whisky”.

Ms Gourgon meanwhile described Scotch whisky as “one of our greatest exports” as she pledged to raise the issue with Defra.

Scottish Rural Affairs Secretary Mairi Gougeon will raise the concerns with UK ministers (Andrew Milligan/PA)

The Scottish Rural Affairs Secretary said: “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.”

Ms Gougeon insisted: “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.”

While she accepted geographical indications for products are a reserved matter, she vowed: “I intend to raise this issue directly with UK ministers.”

A Defra spokesperson said: “No decisions have been made on whether to recognise English Whisky as a Geographical Indication (GI) – the application process is ongoing.”