Whisky war erupts as English single malts win protected status

RegulationIndustry
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Summary · why it matters

A whisky war has broken out after English single malts were granted protected geographical indication status by the Government late on Friday, officially recognising them as a distinctive whisky category alongside Scotch, Welsh and Irish whiskies. The Scottish Whisky Association, which represents 90 companies including Glenmorangie, Johnnie Walker and Diageo, said it is "profoundly concerned" and is considering retaliation, with chief executive Mark Kent arguing the rules are "entirely inconsistent with the reputation of single malt whisky" because English single malt must be made on a single site but can use malt barley from different locations, whereas single malt Scotch must be made in one location with barley from the same site. England is now home to more than 70 whisky distilleries, up from 46 in 2023, exporting to more than 30 countries and estimated to be worth around £1bn, while Scotch whisky directly contributes more than £5bn a year to the Scottish economy. Tagore Ramoutar of the English Whisky Guild said he would defend any claim against the new status, and Andrew Nelstrop, owner of The English Distillery, called the SWA's response "baseless", noting English whisky has won world's best single malt three times in the last four years. Kevin Hollinrake, the MP for Thirsk and Malton, said there is plenty of room in the market for a growing English sector alongside Scotland's.

Impact on stocks 1

Consumer Staples▼ · 1 stocks
Diageo PLC
DGE
▼ NegativeRegulationrelevance

Diageo is named among SWA members whose Scotch single malt faces new competition from English single malts granted protected geographical indication status, and the SWA is considering retaliation.

Off-coverage companies 2

The English DistilleryPrivate▲ Positive
Regulationrelevance

The English Distillery's owner Andrew Nelstrop welcomed the protected geographical indication status for English single malts and defended it against the SWA's claims.

The Glenmorangie CompanyPrivate▼ Negative
Regulationrelevance

Glenmorangie is named as an SWA member affected by the Government's protected status for English single malts, which the SWA says is inconsistent with single malt Scotch rules.

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