There's nothing snobby about protecting a brand which makes a lot of money for your country.
Rebekah Send a noteboard - 25/01/2010 04:03:45 PM
The scots were being all snobby about "well it's not like it's REAL scotch!! It's made in Japan/Taiwan/China/wherever"
The crux of the issue was the right to use the term "Scotch", of course, and less the actual flavor. One point that was discussed though was that if the whisky TASTES like scotch and holds true to the production methods, it should have the right to be labeled Scotch. I believe the counterargument (reading between the lines) had to do with putting Scottish coopers out of business and a great deal of indignant pride.
The crux of the issue was the right to use the term "Scotch", of course, and less the actual flavor. One point that was discussed though was that if the whisky TASTES like scotch and holds true to the production methods, it should have the right to be labeled Scotch. I believe the counterargument (reading between the lines) had to do with putting Scottish coopers out of business and a great deal of indignant pride.
As Olof says, it's a normal practice for iconic things to be protected by the countries that produce them. You can find examples all over the place.
Spelling it "whisky" is enough to associate it with Scotch. The appellation "Scotch" rightly belongs to that version of whisky which is distilled in Scotland and which adheres to the rules following:
Legal definition
To be called Scotch whisky the spirit must conform to the standards of the Scotch Whisky Order of 1990 (UK),[3] which clarified the Scotch Whisky Act 1988,[4] and mandates that the spirit:
- Must be distilled at a Scottish distillery from water and malted barley, to which only other whole grains may be added, have been processed at that distillery into a mash, converted to a fermentable substrate only by endogenous enzyme systems, and fermented only by the addition of yeast,
- Must be distilled to an alcoholic strength of less than 94.8%[4] by volume so that it retains the flavour of the raw materials used in its production,
- Must be matured in Scotland in oak casks for no less than three years and a day,
- Must not contain any added substance other than water and caramel colouring, and
- May not be bottled at less than 40% alcohol by volume.
*MySmiley*
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/ Booze: And the best whisky comes from?
- 25/01/2010 02:34:43 PM
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I was actually reading something about the whiskys Asia was churning out
- 25/01/2010 03:20:30 PM
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It's a protected label in the EU
- 25/01/2010 03:47:29 PM
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I still haven't decided if I approve of protected labels.
- 25/01/2010 04:41:45 PM
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Normally it would be a trade mark
- 25/01/2010 04:56:59 PM
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No, I am not missing that.
- 25/01/2010 05:02:04 PM
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Partly
- 25/01/2010 05:09:25 PM
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So then if a Scotch Whisky is made in Scotland...
- 25/01/2010 05:32:42 PM
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But the Taiwanese brand doesn't meet the standards for Scotch.
- 25/01/2010 05:54:43 PM
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I mean the standards of taste and quality
- 25/01/2010 06:52:10 PM
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But that's not really the point, is it?
- 25/01/2010 07:33:00 PM
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Just how I think about things then 
I think their body and substance is far more important.
- 25/01/2010 07:54:07 PM
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I think their body and substance is far more important.
- 25/01/2010 07:54:07 PM
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There's nothing snobby about protecting a brand which makes a lot of money for your country.
- 25/01/2010 04:03:45 PM
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I didn't say that it was snobby to do that.
- 25/01/2010 04:27:57 PM
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Re: I didn't say that it was snobby to do that.
- 25/01/2010 04:51:43 PM
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You still get my point.
- 25/01/2010 04:53:33 PM
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Why should they have to label it that?
- 25/01/2010 04:59:13 PM
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Because Scotch indicates a type of Whisky, not ONLY its location.
- 25/01/2010 05:09:09 PM
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There is, as far as I'm aware, nothing stopping them from doing that.
- 25/01/2010 05:13:14 PM
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And see, there's a difference in my mind.
- 25/01/2010 05:18:33 PM
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I guess so
- 25/01/2010 05:21:19 PM
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I so knew someone was going to say something along those lines 9_9
- 25/01/2010 05:35:59 PM
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You also should add that it is protecting the consumer
- 25/01/2010 04:34:22 PM
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again, though, there's no need to be rude 
- 25/01/2010 04:42:27 PM
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- 25/01/2010 04:42:27 PM
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I imagine so
- 25/01/2010 04:58:40 PM
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yes, how dare people make their own scotch.
- 25/01/2010 05:14:58 PM
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*NM*