A war of words over the spirit of the glen

Canada’s drinking classes are up in arms over what they describe as the "heavy-handed" approach of the Scotch Whisky Association, which is attempting to prevent the sale of the country’s Glen Breton single malt because "it sounds too Scottish".

The SWA says it believes the use of the word "Glen", which is used in popular brands such as Glenfiddich, Glenlivet and Glenmorangie, could mislead the public into thinking the drink, which retails at 35 a bottle, is a real Scotch, distilled in Scotland.

And in a move which has drawn the wrath of Canada’s whisky-lovers, the SWA has filed a complaint with the Canadian Trademark Opposition Board in Ottawa on the grounds of unfair competition.

The owners of the Glenora distillery have described the complaint as "ludicrous", insisting that the word "glen" is not exclusive to Scotland.

Glenora’s president, Lauchie MacLean, whose ancestors emigrated to Canada from Scotland 200 years ago, said he respected the fact that the SWA has to protect the name of Scotch, but this time he feels it has gone too far.

He said: "To argue that ‘glen’ solely belongs to Scotland and the Scotch Whisky Association is a little bit strong. Glenora distillery is in the community of Glenville, which is right next door to Glenora Falls, which is right next door to Glen Dea."

Production started at Glenora in 1990 and ownership changed hands twice while the original whisky aged long enough to be brought on to the market. Today it sells about 2,000 cases a year, which Mr MacLean says is half as much as Scotland’s smallest distillery, Edradour.

Mr MacLean added: "So far the battle has cost us 5,000 but we have to fight it, as Glen Breton is really our only economic brand, and we’ve maintained a very successful and loyal customer base."

The SWA argues that as long ago as 1986 it warned the forerunner of Glenora that the use of a Scottish name for whisky distilled in Canada was likely to cause problems, and that in 2000 it again wrote to Glenora Distillers Ltd seeking information as to what was planned and asking how it proposed to label its products.

David Williamson of the SWA said: "Unfortunately, we received no reply, and when the trademark application was published we had no option but to oppose it.

"We have, of course, no objection to the production of a single-malt whisky in Canada. What is of concern is any product which seeks to take unfair advantage of Scotch Whisky’s international reputation, for example, through the adoption of a Scottish-sounding name."

Scotch whisky must be aged for an absolute minimum of three years in Scotland before it can be legally called Scotch.

The SWA is confident it can win this victory, as its position has been favoured in the past when it objected to applications to register trademarks for whisky which included the word "glen" in countries including Australia, New Zealand, Belgium, Germany, India and Ireland.

Charles Maclean, the author of Scotch Whisky: A Liquid History, and the chairman of the nosing panel at the Scotch Malt Whisky Society, described it as a very good product and a jolly nice whisky.

He said: "It is closer in style to Japanese malt whisky than Scotch malt whisky, but in a blind tasting one might easily mistake it for a Scotch malt."