Mix it up and start again
Why don't whiskies from different nations ever get belnded togeterh? Or do they? Gavin Smith found out
It was one of those questions that hardly seemed worth answering. âIf they blend different Scotch whiskies together, why donât they ever put Irish or bourbon in as well?â
âWell, it wouldnât work, of courseâ, I replied. âI mean it just wouldnât be possible, itâs probably not legal, and then thereâsâ¦â
I trailed off. Why wouldnât it work, why wouldnât it be possible, would it be legal? Had it actually been tried, experimentally or commercially, and even if it had, why didnât we do it for ourselves and see what happened?
So whatâs the story? First stop, the Scotch Whisky Association â keepers of the flame of true, unadulterated Scotch spirit. The SWAâs director of government & consumer affairs, Campbell Evans, was sceptical.
âWould it have any marketing kudos?â he queried. âItâs a crowded market already, and how would you position it? Why wouldnât you rather have a glass of Irish then a glass of bourbon, or whatever?â
He pointed out that âlegally thereâs no reason why you couldnât blend bourbon, for example, and Irish, and call the outcome âwhiskeyâ. If both are made according to their countryâs legal definitions of what constitutes whisk(e)y then there wouldnât be a problem, provided, of course, you didnât try to mislead anyone as to the origins of the drink.
âGlenmorangie matured exclusively in bourbon casks is probably as close as you have got so far, though of course bulk Scotch sold to Japan gets mix.....
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By Gavin D. Smith
Section : Whisky Trends
Page number : 32
