'US bias' holds English whisky over a barrel

MOST Scots won't give a dram, but an English whisky producer is claiming to be the victim of US double standards.

UK officials are urging their American counterparts to rethink a policy that effectively bans the firm from selling its product across the Atlantic.

St George's Distillery in Norfolk made history in 2009 by producing the first single malt to be made in England for more than 120 years.

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The East Anglian tipple has impressed a number of connoisseurs, including Prince Charles, and has already become a hit in whisky-loving Japan.

But the owners of the English Whisky Company claim they are being prevented from entering the lucrative US market.

The US authorities have ruled the spirit cannot be classified as a single malt whisky as it was matured in recycled, rather than new, oak barrels.

However, whiskies produced in Scotland, as well as Ireland, Wales, France and other nations, have been granted dispensation to be sold as single malts in America - despite also using pre-used casks.

Andrew Nelstrop, the firm's managing director, feels the ruling by the American Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau smacks of anti-English discrimination.

US rules define malt whisky as whisky produced at not exceeding 160 proof from a fermented mash of not less than 51 per cent malted barley and stored at not more than 125 proof in charred new oak containers.

Nelstrop said: "We produce our whisky at less than 160 proof, use 100 per cent malted barley, store it at 125 proof, but use ex-bourbon casks which were first used at the Jim Beam distillery in Kentucky.

"However, the Americans have allowed Welsh, French, Australian, New Zealand and Indian whiskies to call themselves single malts.

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"It's particularly bizarre because, as far as we can ascertain, they too all use previously used casks. It hardly seems fair that other nations appear to have been treated more favourably."

The distillery owner is working with officials on both sides of the Atlantic to negotiate an end to the stalemate.

He said: "If there was one rule for all we would happily accept it. Instead there seem to be all kinds of random exemptions and we can't seem to get anyone to explain them to us.

"It's quite frustrating to find the Welsh, for example, are happily selling their whisky in the US as a single malt.

"We've asked them how they managed to gain an exemption, but all we get in response are wry smiles and little else."

Wales' Penderyn whisky, like its English counterpart, is matured in pre-used bourbon barrels and is then finished in Portuguese Madeira casks.

England's sole whisky producer has the option of altering its labels, and stripping itself of single malt status, to gain entry to the American market, but is unwilling to do so.

Nelstrop, who believes using new casks would alter his whisky's unique taste, said: "The fact that we are a single malt is our main selling point and is key to what we are all about.

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"If we don't have that on the label there is nothing to distinguish us from cheap, mass-produced whisky that you can buy in plastic bottles in your local corner store.

"We could easily claim to have used new oak casks, but we believe in playing the game fairly and abiding by the rules."

UK Trade and Investment, the government commerce department, is backing the distillery.

A spokesman said: "We are continuing to proactively lobby the US government for a change in federal legislation and to work with the English Whisky Company to resolve this issue to everyone's satisfaction."

The American Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau claimed their rules on whisky classification are clearly stated and denied discriminating against the English.

Spokesman Tom Hogue declined to comment on specific cases, but said: "Should the distiller have evidence that other malt whiskies imported into the United States are not produced in accordance with US regulations, I would encourage him to provide it to us."

Whiskies produced in Scotland and Ireland receive automatic exemption from the US restrictions, regardless of how they are produced, while spirits from other nations are judged on a case-by-case basis.

The distillery, which produces more than 150,000 bottles a year, is already exporting English whisky to Canada, France, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Singapore and Japan.

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Perhaps surprisingly, St George's single malt, which uses East Anglian barley and sells for 34.99 a bottle, has also gained plaudits in Scotland, with the firm shipping more than 500 bottles north of the Border every month.

The Anglo-dram gained rave reviews in the Whisky Bible 2010, with expert Jim Murray hailing its "exceptional quality."