Wednesday 8 June 2011

Scotch Whisky - under threat



I always enjoy meeting representatives of British industry in Strasbourg, and helping in any way that I can. I was therefore delighted when Mike Nattrass and I had the opportunity to meet with Nick Soper of the Scotch Whisky Association.
Whilst the EU is very precious about ensuring that continental brands are protected - Parma Ham must be from Parma, Cognac must be from Cognac, etc - Scotch Whisky suffers from the fact that the origin need not be shown clearly as part of the product name. If it says 'Scotch Whisky', it is of course from Scotland, but if it just says 'Whisky', then take care - it may be from Moldova, Brazil, or anywhere in between.