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Scottish whisky comes to England

Published:  23 July, 2008

One of Scotland's most lauded master distillers has crossed the border to establish England's first whisky distillery.

The English Whisky Company's distillery has produced 250 casks of spirit which, once aged in oak for the required three years, will go on sale in 2009. Henderson said England's first single malt will be light-bodied with a toffee sweetness.

Scottish distilleries are reported to be impressed by the raw spirit and the Scotch Whisky Association has welcomed the venture as a testament to Scotch whisky's global success.

The English spirit has been made just as it is in Scotland, using East Anglian malt barley and yeast, but it cannot be called Scotch - a term which this week was granted improved protection by the European Parliament.

MEPs in Strasbourg approved a range of improvements to existing EU spirit drinks law, including a clearer legal definition of whisky. This will help distillers tackle unfair or misleading practices overseas, and make it explicit that whisky cannot be flavoured or sweetened.

Ian Hudghton, a Nationalist MEP, welcomed the changes and said English whisky, or any other, could never compete with the real McCoy.

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