The petition
Future prospects for the Scotch whisky industry rest in part on the ability of Scotch whisky makers to offer products viewed as approachable, understandable and relevant by consumers around the world.
Yet many consumers around the world find the range and types of Scotch whisky daunting and confusing, relative to other drink categories.
The Scotch Whisky Association (SWA) has made an effort to help limit consumer confusion in the labelling of Scotch whisky, but unfortunately a key aspect of their proposal will make matters far worse.
The SWA has proposed that the UK government pass a law that would change the language of the category, and specifically to prohibit the terms “vatted malt” and “pure malt” to describe a whisky made of a blend of single malt whiskies. The SWA’s proposed term to replace these is “blended malt Scotch whisky.”
In the confident view of those of us who have signed this petition, the term “blended malt Scotch whisky” would be bad for the industry.
The main problem stems from the fact that “blended Scotch whisky” (the term currently used to describe a blend of grain whisky and malt whisky) is not understood by most Scotch consumers. Further, the word “blend,” in relation to Scotch whisky, is associated with “bad” or “inferior” in the minds of too many people around the world. Therefore, it stands to reason that creating a new term using the word “blended”, as in “blended malt Scotch whisky,” would compound the confusion that already exists and dampen the sales potential of any product forced to carry this term.
The SWA’s proposal for new legislation now sits with the UK government’s Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), as part of a package of measures to update the laws around Scotch whisky. DEFRA is to make a final examination and revision of these proposals before passing them to UK Parliament to be turned into law.
We, the undersigned of this petition, being comprised of Scotch whisky consumers and industry & trade members, ask DEFRA to remove the “blended malt Scotch whisky” section of the proposed legislation because it is bad for Scotch whisky.
Please DEFRA, in the name of clarity for consumers, “SAY NO TO ‘BLENDED MALT SCOTCH WHISKY!’”
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