The English Whisky Guild (EWG) announced this week that its application for geographical indication (GI) status has been published for consultation by the UK Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs (Defra). If approved, England will join all other UK countries in having protected GI status for its whisky.
The application was created in partnership with the EWG’s 26 member distilleries, and was originally submitted to Defra in 2022. The EWG says the application takes into account the history and traditions of English whisky making, while allowing room for innovation.
Reflecting on the application, Morag Garden, CEO of the EWG, commented: “We are excited for English whisky to gain a geographical indication (GI) and this consultation phase with Defra is the next step towards achieving this. We are confident that English whisky will join the three other nations in the UK with a whisky GI and we are delighted that this growing whisky category is heading towards legal protection. This will support sales of English whisky both in the UK and in over 30 export markets globally.”
The three-month consultation period will end on 19 May 2025, and is an opportunity for parties to respond to the application.
The English whisky GI application lays out specific labelling requirements that producers must meet to label their product as English whisky: the whisky must be made from cereal grain from the UK, use English water, be distilled in England to an alcoholic strength of less than 94.8% ABV, be matured in England in wooden casks (such as, but not limited to, oak), and be bottled at a minimum of 40% ABV.
The additional ‘sub-category’ labelling terms of malt, grain, single, and blended whisky are included in the application, with specific requirements, meaning a single malt English whisky would need to be distilled at a single distillery in England, made from malted barley by batch distillation in copper pot stills.
In a statement, the Scotch Whisky Association (SWA) denounced the application, claiming that the proposed definition of single malt English whisky would be “damaging” to the reputation of single malt Scotch whisky.
The SWA statement read: “The proposal to define ‘single malt’ English Whisky only requires distillation at the single distillery location and not the creation of the spirit from malted barley at a single site. This is entirely inconsistent with the reputation of single malt whisky, which is famous for its integral connection to place, and would undermine the single malt Scotch whisky category.
“It would be very damaging for the reputation of single malt whisky from the UK, and by extension single malt Scotch whisky, if English whiskies were allowed to describe spirit as ‘single malt’ despite being produced in a different manner to the established process and long-standing traditions of the Scotch whisky industry.”
The SWA added that it would be responding formally to the Defra consultation to “robustly defend” against what it described as the “devaluation” of the single malt category.
The proposed definition by the EWG would allow English whisky producers to collaborate with local breweries, using wort produced outside the distillery. In a statement responding to the SWA’s criticism, the EWG said its proposal was in line with practices used by Welsh single malt whisky, which gained GI status in 2023, and the US, where American single malt whiskey became a legally defined category earlier this year.
The EWG said: “It is important to note that the English Whisky GI allows companies to partner with local breweries, leveraging their brewing expertise to create innovative and distinct whiskies. This approach is consistent with practices in other global whisky-producing regions, including the US which requires all production processes to take place in the United States.
“The EU also follows similar standards, and in the UK, the single malt Welsh whisky aligns with our GI characteristic of being distilled at a single distillery. These differing standards support the creation of quality whisky while fostering innovation and differentiation in each country. English whisky uniquely combines the innovation of new world whisky with the craftsmanship of UK manufacturing, positioning it perfectly in the market.”
The EWG reiterated its position that “ensuring quality and innovation are at the forefront of all we do, so it is vital for this fast-growing English whisky industry to receive GI status and legal protection.” English whisky is a growing category, and has garnered acclaim in recent years. Two English whiskies have been named World’s Best Single Malt in recent World Whiskies Awards: the English Distillery in 2024, and the Lakes Distillery in 2022. Both distilleries were among the founding members of the EWG in 2022.
