As a former founding member of the English Whisky Guild (EWG), our decision to resign was rooted in fundamental disagreements with the Guild’s proposed Geographical Indication (GI) for English Whisky. While the GI’s restrictions may not immediately impact all producers, and would not affect Circumstance Distillery, its flawed definitions risk distorting the historical legacy, stifling innovation, and creating unnecessary conflict within the broader whisky community. The SWA has already voiced its opinion and argued that the proposed GI is inadequate and rules should be stricter. We outline our perspective on why the SWA is wrong, and why the GI—particularly its rules for ‘Single Malt English Whisky’—should be less prescriptive.
The Scotch Whisky Association (SWA) has argued that the English GI’s definition of ‘Single Malt English Whisky’ threatens the ‘reputation of single malt whisky’ by not requiring all production stages (e.g., mashing, fermentation) to occur at a single site. This stance is inconsistent with both global practices and the SWA’s own actions:
The GI’s technical file defines 'Malt English Whisky', and therefore by extension “Single Malt English Whisky” as follows:
'The spirit must be batch distilled in a copper pot still; Malt English Whisky must be distilled for a minimum of two times.'
This requirement is problematic for four reasons:
The current GI framework prioritizes arbitrary restrictions over historical accuracy and innovation. While geographical indications should protect regional identity, this proposal imposes foreign standards and limits English whisky’s potential.
