Why Scotch-whisky makers want to stay in the European Union
The rise of Scotch is a story of canny marketing, innovation and political luck.
One boon was the devastation of Europe’s vines in the 1860s by an infestation of
lice, allowing whisky to supplant brandy as England’s favourite tipple. Trading
ships brought whisky to the ends of the British empire. Yet in the 19th century
Ireland’s malts had more prestige. Only by the turn of the 20th century had
Scotch begun to supplant them. One reason was the rise of Scottish blenders,
such as the descendants of the original John Walker, a grocer from Kilmarnock,
who mixed malts with mass-produced spirit derived from other grains using
continuous-distillation techniques. This allowed the marketing of lighter, more
affordable whisky of consistent quality. A Royal Commission in 1909 ruled that
blends could be called whisky.
