By Cara Sulieman
NEW regulations come in to force tomorrow (Mon) to protect the reputation of Scottish whisky.
In an attempt to stop cheap imitations from tricking people into buying what they think is the real McCoy, rules on labelling have been stepped up.
Only whisky that has been bottled in Scotland will be allowed to carry the phrase “Scotch whisky” and it must be clear whether the water of life is a single malt or blend.
And a distillery name can only be used if the whisky was distilled there.
“Iconic”
They have been developed by a partnership between the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and the Scotch Whisky Association.
The move has been welcomed by Scottish ministers, who say it provides much needed protection for the Scottish whisky industry.
Jim Mather, Enterprise minister said: “Scotch Whisky is a truly iconic Scottish product. It makes a huge contribution to our economy and promotes the brand of ‘Scotland’ across the world.
“It is vital to protect the good name of Scotch from inferior imitations, and that is why the Scottish Government has contributed to the development of the new regulations, which do just that.
“The Regulations will make it clear exactly what is in the bottle, where and how it was distilled and will require Single Malt to be bottled in Scotland.
“Economic boost”
“We will work with our enterprise agencies – in particular Scottish Development International (SDI) – to promote the Regulations throughout the world in order to further strengthen the protection of Scotch Whisky in overseas markets.
“This should help maximise the massive economic potential of the industry, safeguarding jobs and investment in Scotland.”
Richard Lochhead, Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and Environment, said: “Scotch whisky is rightly celebrated around the world.
“It is one of our most successful and iconic exports and these regulations will further strengthen its reputation and deliver a further boost to our whisky sector.”
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