The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) has opened a consultation on an application to register English whisky and English whiskey as a geographical indication (GI) which would mean that the drink originates in the territory of a country.

This means whiskey could not be bottled or produced in another country and labelled as English.

Interested parties have until 20 May 2025 to submit an objection to the proposal.

The English Whiskey Guild, which has 26 members, submitted an application for a GI in 2022. The product specification for English whiskey says: “English Whisky is a whisky made from UK grain at an English distillery using water local to the distillery for distilling and mashing and matured in England. English Whisky is a product that epitomises a strong sense of place and provenance with all production processes (except bottling) undertaken exclusively in England.”

The news comes after the United States set rules requiring US barley to be used in US single malt whiskey production in December 2024.

Irish Whiskey has a Geographical Indication but there is no requirement for the grain used in whiskey production to come from Ireland. The Irish whiskey technical file is currently under review and will be open for public consultation once that review is complete.