Scotch Whisky Association

Welcome to Cask to Glass, the whiskey podcast where I explore the heritage and flavor of Scotland's national drink and the world's favorite spirit.

[instrumental music] Cask to Glass is proud to be brought to you by the Scotch Whisky Association's Made to be Measured campaign.

The chief medical officer recommends that adults should not regularly consume more than 14 units of alcohol in a week, and a 25 milliliter measure of Scotch whisky carefully crafted right here in Scotland is one unit of alcohol.

So savor your Scotch whisky.

It's made to be measured.

In this episode, I speak to Mark Kemp, the chief executive of the Scotch Whisky Association, about the issues facing Scotch.

He says it's a crucial moment in time for the industry.

[instrumental music] Mark, thanks for talking to me.

So we ended up with over 10,000 images.

And because it was a highly aesthetic project, we had to get permission from the Portman Group, the Scotch Whisky Association.

So we ended up with 1,046 images, which we culled down to 1,000.

Were you part of that selection process-

to say.

That's the Scotch Whiskey Association for those who don't know.

They had nothing to say about Welsh or Irish whiskey, but anyway.

But we got what we wanted in the end.

Thank you, Presiding Officer.

The Scotch Whisky Association has said it is profoundly concerned by the Labour government's decision to give a geographic indicator for English whiskey, including single malt.

Unlike Scotch single malt, English single malt does not need to be produced and distilled on a single site, something which the Scotch Whisky Association warns jeopardizes the category which the Scotch whisky industry has established and built the reputation of around the world.

What action will the First Minister take to ensure the concerns of Scotland's distillers are heard loudly and clearly by the Labour government in Westminster?

First Minister.

Presiding Officer, the issue that Laura Mitchell raises is a very significant issue for the Scotch whisky industry, and, uh, I discussed the possibility of this decision in my most recent meeting with the Scotch Whisky Association.

I think the point that Laura Mitchell highlights about the fact that a significantly weaker definition of single malt has been arrived at to support English whisky is of, uh, a real and dramatic threat to the Scotch whisky industry and potentially undermines its success when, of course, we have made such progress in assisting the industry by the removal of tarot- tariffs from the United States.

Um, the Scottish Government has consistently supported the Scotch Whisky Association's concerns in this matter, and the economy secretary, Stephen Flynn, has written to the United Kingdom government asking that they reconsider this extremely shortsighted decision, that they amend the specification to remove risks to our whisky sec- sector, and to ensure that the Scottish Government and partners can rightly scrutinize significant changes m- uh, are made following the consultation process before any collective decision is reached.

It requires that English whiskeys be made from UK-grown grains, but does not require that mashing, fermentation, and distilling all take place in the same location.

This allows distillers to team up with breweries to produce their mash, and it was one of the things the Scotch Whiskey Association objected to.

The GI status will officially be registered on October 1st.

In other news, this year's Van Winkle whiskeys are on the way.

And we're gonna hear about- And it's from- ... and it's from a single distillery ... we're gonna hear about...

John's gonna talk us through the intricacies of what they went through with people at the Scotch Whisky Association, uh, as well as others.

[laughs] G- good luck to them for listening.

[laughs] Other government organizations.