Whisky · History · Short entry
Royal Commission on Whiskey: "What is whisky?"
A British Royal Commission, announced in 1908, reported in July 1909 that whiskey is a spirit distilled from a wash saccharified by malt diastase. Patent-still grain spirit was whisky, and blends were secure.
July 1909
The Royal Commission on Whiskey and Other Potable Spirits defined whiskey without regard to the type of still, and set no minimum age or malt share.
Why it mattered
It ended the pot-still distillers' attempt to deny the name whisky to patent-still grain spirit and blends.
From Islington to the Royal Commission
Islington Borough Council prosecuted merchants under the Sale of Food and Drugs Act 1875 for selling whisky "not of the nature, substance and quality demanded". The magistrate held that "Irish or Scotch whisky" meant pot-still spirit; the appeal was inconclusive. In February 1908 the government announced a Royal Commission on Whiskey and Other Potable Spirits, which held 37 sittings.
Its report of July 1909 concluded that "'Whiskey' is a spirit obtained by distillation from a wash saccharified by the diastase of malt" and that "'Scotch Whiskey' is whiskey, as above defined distilled in Scotland". It set no compulsory maturation period and no minimum percentage of malt in a blend: the result favoured the blenders and patent-still distillers.
How it connects
Style
- regulates Blended Scotch Whisky
Method
- related Column still (Coffey still)
Story
- related A history of whisky
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