A oui dram!

IT’S as Scottish as haggis and Robert Burns.

Now, in an ambitious bid to capitalise on the "Scottishness" of whisky, the nation’s favourite tipple is about to be given a distinctly French flavour.

A company is swapping Paris for West Lothian in a 15 million relocation plan which will create up to 100 jobs and allow the company to label its Glen Turner whisky "Made in Scotland".

French spirits company La Martiniquaise, which sells its whisky mainly in Europe, is so desperate to get the tartan facelift to give its product a more authentic flavour that it is willing to move 670 miles to do so.

Under UK law, a Scotch whisky can only be branded as being made in Scotland if it has been matured in a Scottish warehouse in oak casks for at least three years.

The move is part of the firm’s philosophy of bottling its products in their country of origin. It has plants in Madeira for its Madeira wines and a plant in Portugal where it bottles port. And now La Martiniquaise is about to go fully operational on a 15-acre storage, blending and distribution facility at Starlaw Business Park in Livingston.

With an initial run of two million cases a year, the plant will have the capacity to produce five million cases annually.

The firm’s 12-year plan will ultimately see tens of millions of cases of Scotch whisky sold abroad from West Lothian every year.

It will buy in whisky from distillers, which could be based anywhere in the world, before bottling it in the Lothians.

Mike Horner, managing director of Edinburgh-based Blyth and Blyth, project managers and designers of the Livingston plant, said the ambitious project was one of the biggest the firm had undertaken.

He said: "The company believes that it will increase the value of the products it sells by bottling them in their country of origin. It adds to the authenticity of the product and I assume will make people more likely to drink a whisky which is labelled as being produced in Scotland."

The final products, a single malt called Glen Turner and a blend called Label Five, will be transported and sold on the Continent with a Made in Scotland stamp.

Scotch whisky has been defined in United Kingdom law since 1909 and recognised in European Community legislation since 1989. The current UK legislation relating specifically to Scotch whisky is the Scotch Whisky Act 1988 and the Orders made under it, which came into effect in 1990.

Councillor Willie Dunn, deputy leader of West Lothian Council, said the arrival of the company was a welcome boost to an area which has suffered thousands of jobs losses in recent years with the closure of factories such as Motorola and NEC. He said: "It’s good to see this development opening up for full operation. It’s bringing jobs to West Lothian and whisky to the people."

A spokeswoman for Scottish Enterprise Edinburgh and Lothians added: "We are delighted to see this company."

La Martiniquaise is run by Jean-Pierre Cayard, whose family are said to be the 93rd richest in France. His family controls 66 per cent of the company, which is the fourth largest spirits firm in France, with annual sales of more than 100m.

France is the third-largest export market for Scotch whisky after the United States and Spain.

Whisky-maker Glenmorangie already has a base in West Lothian, at Broxburn.

A spokesman for the Scotch Whisky Association said: "The Scotch whisky industry is a key employer. The opening of new facilities in West Lothian is welcome and will add to the one in 50 Scottish jobs that already depend on Scotch whisky production."