As distilleries around the world push the boundaries with their spirits, it’s forcing debate in the Northern Hemisphere around what defines whisky, as Dominic Roskrow explains…

Should a country’s spirits drinks have a Geographical Indication (GI)? Is it possible, for example, to define a gin as specifically from New Zealand? Probably, if it contains only or mainly locally-sourced botanicals from a pre-approved list.

The GI issue has become something of a hot potato in the Northern Hemisphere, where Welsh whisky is seeking to define itself, and Irish whiskey distilleries are arguing about what should or shouldn’t be allowed.

Scotland has long had definitions in place for what can be called Scotch whisky. The country makes four types of whisky: single malt, grain, blended malt, and blended. Its views that whisky must contain just grain, yeast and water, that the spirit is made up with a wash distilled in a pot still and matured for at least three years are widely adopted across Europe and respected across the world. 

Scotch whisky must be matured in oak barrels in Scotland and bottled in Scotland. The rules are overseen by The Scotch Whisky Association, which was set up by the major whisky companies such as Diageo and Pernod Ricard. The Association argues that the rules ensure a high standard of whisky and protect its reputation worldwide.

But there are anomalies. If you mature spirit for three years and a day in a cask that has been used several times before and is very tired, and then colour it caramel so that it looks old, where’s the quality in that? 

And after years of telling the world that whisky makers can’t cut corners and Scotch whisky needs 10 or 12 years to reach its peak, how can you explain the plethora of Non Age Statement whiskies that are considerably younger, and taste it? Or the fact that different climates, different temperature extremes, and different levels of humidity all affect the maturation process?

Then there’s the cask itself. What is it made of (world distillers aren’t bound by the oak barrel rule)? If it’s oak, what sort of oak is it (there are huge differences between French oak, American oak and East European oak)? What size of barrel is being used, how many times has it been used before, and what did it previously contain? 

As distilleries spring up around the world, unfettered by tight rules, and bring innovation and blue sky thinking to the sector, Scotland looks like an unwieldy tanker in a sea of speed boats. How is it possible, for instance, that it’s okay to use a cask that previously contained beer or wine, but not cider? One company in Australia has made a whisky using a cask that previously contained cola. 

For years, Irish Distillers pretty much defined what Irish whiskey could be, but a while back the country got its own Irish Whiskey Association (IWA) – and promptly fell into dispute with its most scholarly and educated new distillers. 

Nothing is more Irish than Pot Still Whiskey, which has nothing to do with the still and everything to do with the grain recipe. Look it up and you’ll find countless definitions referring to it as a mix of malted barley and un-malted barley. That’s plain wrong. Pot Still is a mix of malted barley and another un-malted grain. The new distillers want to make whiskey using ancient recipes where other grains are included. At the time of writing, the IWA was reconsidering its definitions.

What happens next will influence whether whisky can evolve to compete with other sectors – or stay plodding on with the slow-reacting tanker.

Dominic Roskrow is a UK-based world spirits expert and editor of Stills Crazy