Irish Whiskey Association recruits legal adviser in campaign to protect whiskey

The Association’s Protect Irish Whiskey Campaign is calling for Irish whiskey producers and distributors to report products which are wrongly advertised, packaged, displayed or named as Irish whiskey.

Irish whiskey is protected under EU regulations as it has Geographical Indication (GI) status.

Speaking at the launch of the campaign, Ms Madigan said: “The growing popularity and reputation of Irish Whiskey may encourage some individuals to seek to take unfair advantage of it.

“The Protect Irish Whiskey Campaign aims to ensure the integrity of the category is maintained and will ensure that the category maximises its potential.

“The Irish Whiskey Association cannot visit every market worldwide and accordingly we rely on data and information from others to alert us to instances of misleading labelling, imitation or unfair competition so that action can be taken.”

Bernard Walsh, chairman of the Irish Whiskey Association, added: “While we have achieved Geographical Indication status for Irish Whiskey, which is significant in terms of protecting the integrity of category, we must not rest on our laurels.

“As Irish Whiskey continues to perform well, we are likely to be challenged considerably more in terms of misleading products, which is why this enforcement campaign is important.

“We very much welcome the Minister for Agriculture and the Departments support in ensuring the category reaches its full potential.”