Overview: English whisky has been granted geographical protection status, aligning it legally with Scotch, Welsh, and Irish whiskies. The Scottish National Party criticized the legal change regarding production requirements and quality perception, highlighting a renewed political angle in the ongoing Anglo-Scotch rivalry.
The Full Story
The Scottish National Party rarely misses an opportunity to bash England. This week, English whisky has been given geographical protection status, aligning it with the legal protection afforded to Scotch, Welsh, and Irish whiskies. While English whisky has long been a punching bag for the Scots over its lower quality — something that does appear to be changing thanks to some excellent new English producers — the legal change has given the Scots a new angle of attack.
The argument that prompted the SNP to declare, admittedly with some humor, that “Scotland’s still an afterthought” has some merit. Under the geographical protection rules, Scotch and English whiskies are subject to different production requirements, with the rules for Scotch significantly tighter. Britain is the outlier compared to France, Spain, Italy and other European countries with similarly rich food traditions.
Production & Profile
For Scotch whisky, mashing, fermentation and distillation must all take place at the same distillery. For English whisky, mashing and fermentation must take place in England but can be carried out away from the distillery where the spirit is distilled. The UK geographical protection system covers food and drink through geographical indications (GIs), including Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) and Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) status. These protections link a product’s name and characteristics to a defined geographical area and specified production methods.
Brand & Industry History
Britain inherited its system from the European Union and has largely treated it as an exercise in regulatory compliance. France established the predecessor of the Institut national de l’origine et de la qualité in 1935, which oversees its geographical protection system. It has therefore had the best part of a century to develop and refine the framework. Britain only does this for around 100 food and drink products, often without much detail. The boundaries of the five main Scotch whisky-producing localities can seem rather arbitrary, with Campbeltown and Speyside having boundaries based on electoral arrangements dating from 2006.
What This Means
Quality is not the issue. British food and drink can rival that of anywhere in Europe. English sparkling wine, for example, frequently outperforms Grande Marque Champagne houses on taste, yet Britain’s geographical protection regulations make no meaningful provision for this. The closest designation is the locality simply known as Sussex, an area larger than Bordeaux, let alone Champagne. Many of England’s finest wines are not even produced in Sussex. Geographical protections need expanding and codifying properly. Britain’s food and drink heritage deserves better than a neglected tick-box exercise.
Consumer Takeaway
This release highlights the regulatory landscape governing UK-origin alcoholic drinks. The geographical protection regime is not as comprehensive as those of many other European countries, and there is little obvious reason for this. Currently, the UK’s geographical protection system covers food and drink through geographical indications (GIs), including Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) and Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) status.
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