New BSI guidelines will improve quality of UK and Irish whisky
The Scottish, Welsh, English and Irish whisky industries have agreed on a consistent method of production to ensure quality is consistent across the entire category.
The new guidelines have been developed by industry experts in collaboration with the British Standards Institution (BSI) to become the world’s first standard for whisky.
The standard sets out details including the desired colour of the whisky, which should be caramel, ranging from a pale yellow/gold to deep amber/mahogany and that the whisky must be matured for at least three years in wooden casks and cannot be sweetened or contain any additives.
It also sets the minimum alcoholic strength by volume as 40% and says every distillation should be carried out at less than 94.8% volume, “so that the distillate has an aroma and taste derived from the raw materials used”.
Whisky exports are currently booming in the UK – sales to the US exceeded £1 billion in 2022 alone, out of £6.5 billion in total alcohol exports, according to government figures.
Scott Steedman, director-general of Standards at BSI said: “We hope the standard will create a benchmark for quality that will add value to the distillers who use it and increase the confidence of consumers everywhere. This new standard has worldwide application and can help to facilitate the production and trade of high-quality whisky worldwide.”
The new standard will be managed by a dedicated technical committee in the BSI, which may revise and update the standard as required based on market feedback. The BSI will discuss with the committee plans for the future, including the possibility of using the standard as a base document for an international (ISO) standard.
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