SWA Clarifications on EU Rulings

... A continuation to Clear And Legal - At Last!

A provisional version of the new European Spirit Drinks Regulation, adopted by the European Parliament on Tuesday, can be found at: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=TA&reference=P6-TA-2007-0259&language=EN&ring=A6-2007-0035

The EU definition of 'whisk(e)y' is in Annex II. The Regulation is expected to be formally endorsed by EU Member States after the summer recess and will enter into force shortly thereafter (when the final text is officially published by the EU).

Separately, the existing entry on the blog site on this subject seems to suggest that the EU Regulation 'approves' the industry's proposals for new Scotch Whisky legislation (on definition and presentation) in the UK.

Rather, the SWA is in discussions with UK government about the industry's package of proposals and how best to introduce the domestic legislation that will implement them. Once that domestic legislation is passed, there is an opportunity to take things forward at EU level. Under the new EU Regulation, there is a facility for individual Member States, such as the UK, to register their national rules on spirit drinks with geographical indications at EU level, and to have the rules enforced across the rest of the EU.

Q: "What is the SWA position on someone mixing Scotch Whisky (or any whisky which does/will meet the generally accepted definitions of whisky (i.e., grain; oak; maturation, etc.) with a drink that does not meet the definition (e.g., a molasses-based "whisky")."

If a Scotch Whisky, or any other whisky as defined under the EU Regulation, is mixed with any other spirit, e.g. a molasses-based spirit, then the final product cannot, under EU and UKlaw, be described as 'Scotch Whisky' or 'whisky'.

Under both current EU law and the new EU Regulation, such a product would have to be described as a 'spirit drink'. (There are fairly complicated rules as to what else could appear on the label depending on the circumstances.)

Both the current EU Regulation, and the new one, apply equally to spirits produced and sold in the EU, spirits imported into the EU, and spirits exported from the EU. In other words, the new text makes no change in this regard.

-David Williamson
Public Affairs Manager
Government & Consumer Affairs
Scotch Whisky Association

Source: The Scotch Blog

Scottish Victory?

THE Scotch whisky industry is poised to secure a victory in its long-running battle with the Indian government, which is expected to slash punitive duties on spirits early next month.

Industry sources say India is preparing legislation that will scrap the import duty that subjects all imported spirits to an additional duty of between 25% and 550%.
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The move would mark a significant turning point in the fortunes of Scotch whisky opening up one of the world's largest markets. The Scotch Whisky Association (SWA) has said that it expects to capture a 5% share of the Indian market by 2015 when the tariffs are removed.

Sources say legislation could come in as early as July 1 as ministers look to outflank any ruling made by the World Trade Organisation (WTO) disputes panel. The panel will meet next week to discuss complaints from the US and European Union about high duties on imported whisky.

If the panel rules against India, it will be told to slash its duties or face authorised retaliatory trade sanctions from US and EU member states.

But last night, one source said: "Everybody is now preparing for July 1 and expecting a positive announcement. We have been here before but it appears time has run out. There is a realisation in India that they have to comply with the WTO."

In the past few months, the SWA has made numerous representations to the Indian government, and both the Chancellor Gordon Brown and the Trade Secretary Alistair Darling have raised the issue during recent visits to India.

It is understood that under the new legislation the national duty would be scrapped, allowing individual states in India to set their own levels of taxation in line with the country's WTO commitment.

The move would be welcomed by Vijay Mallya, who last month paid South African entrepreneur Vivian Imerman £595m for Whyte & Mackay.

Mallya's United Breweries Group hopes to sell premium brands such as Isle of Jura, Dalmore, Whyte & Mackay 13-year-old blend and Glayva liqueur through upmarket hotels, which are allowed to import spirits duty free.

According to John Wakely, an independent drinks analyst, Mallya, having bought into the Scotch whisky industry, has to put his weight behind getting the Indian Scotch market to open up.

He said: "There needs to be quite a hurry on this, because unfortunately the flip-side of the Scotch whisky industry is that if there is a sustained boom over a number of years in prices and volume, they start cranking up production."

Despite all the hype surrounding potentially enormous emerging markets in South America and the Far East, they still pale into insignificance compared with that of India. And a snapshot of emerging markets across the world shows that, even with India's exorbitant tariff barriers, the country still buys more Scotch whisky - one million cases in 2004, according to SWA - than either China (700,000 cases), Russia and Poland (600,000 each) or Turkey (200,000).

Source: Scotland On Sunday

Clear And Legal - At Last!

June 19th, 2007

The Scotch Whisky Association announced that the European Parliament voted and approved clearer EU rules on whisky production, which includes improved protection for Scotch Whisky. The approved regulations include a wide range of improvements to existing EU spirit drinks law, including a clearer legal definition of ‘whisky’, which will assist whisky distillers to tackle unfair and misleading practices overseas.

Nick Soper, the SWA’s European Affairs Director, commented:

"Improved EU protection for the traditional way of making Scotch Whisky is a significant step forward. It will be easier to protect Scotch from unfair practices, supporting export success and the jobs that depend on that continued success. Throughout our campaign, the SWA has welcomed the support of the European Commission, Scottish Executive, UK Government and MEPs. Working together, we have secured an important result for Scottish distillers and the highest level of protection for Scotch Whisky and consumers.”

So what are the potential future impacts of the new regulations?

While the actual final verbiage has not been released, David Williamson of SWA was happy that the SWA/UK proposed rules were approved which will make it easier to ensure national rules on Scotch whisky are enforced across the 27 EU Member States. Reflecting traditional practice, the new law, for example, makes it explicit that "whisky" cannot be flavoured or sweetened - this does not prevent the continued production of whisky liqueurs - it simply means that they can not be presented as "whisky" without a qualifier.

Stay tuned for more on the regulatory specifics in regards to labeling when a Scotch Whisky is theoretically mixed with an alcohol that may not meet the EU definition of whisky.

Source: The Scotch Blog

Making The Right Choice

It is a well known fact that a significant portion of the flavours of a malt are a part of the alcohol content rather than the water content. You can very well expect a malt with 40% ABV to have less intense flavours than a malt that has 46% ABV or more.

If you are to buy a malt thats 10 years old or less, I would suggest you try and stick with an ABV of 46% or more if available as they will have more intense flavour than a 40% ABV counterpart.

As a side note, I would like to point out that any malt in a bottle that is over 75-85% empty will probably change its character over a period of time due to exposure to air. Moreover if its exposed to air, light and heat for a relatively long period the change in the character is very distinct. It will not go bad like wine does but it will certainly change its character. In such cases its better to finish the bottle once it reaches the 75-85% mark rather than keep it in the bar.

Lismore "Pure Single Highland Malt"

On a random visit to Trader Joe's (in San Jose, California), I came across this bottle of Lismore labeled "Pure Single Highland Malt". My first surprise was the unbelievably low price of US $18. My second surprise was that it was actually not bad! Not to my personal choice of taste though.

Lismore is bottled by Wm Lundie & Company, and is available in a wide variety of bottlings, mainly blends. Unfortunately there is no indication of the source of this malt. Although this bottling was not that great, I have heard that there are 8, 12, 21 and 25-year-old bottlings of Lismore single malt that would be worth trying.

Tasting Notes

REGION: Highlands (Speyside)
COLOUR: Deep Gold
NOSE: Malt, Toffee
PALATE: Sweet, Lightly Floral
BODY: ?
FINISH: Abrupt, Rather Tarty
ABV: 40%