Agriculture Minister Simon Coveney has introduced new regulations to ‘protect the integrity’ of Irish whiskey and other Irish spirits.
Irish Whiskey, Irish Poitin and Irish Cream are now designated as protected ‘Geographical Indications’ under European Law. This means that each spirit must be produced on the Island of Ireland in accordance with strict technical specifications notified to European Commission.
“These regulations provide critically important protection for Irish companies in the developing Irish Spirit Drinks sector, which has ambitious plans to establish a number of new distilleries to meet the growing demand worldwide,” Minister Coveney explained.
The introduction of the regulations means that the names Irish Whiskey, Irish Poitin and Irish Cream cannot be used on products manufactured elsewhere in the EU.
“From a consumer perspective, they will also give assurance to customers, at home and abroad, of the quality of the unique spirit products they are consuming,” Minister Coveney added.
© 2015 - Checkout Magazine by Stephen Wynne-Jones
