Scotch Whisky Association and Others v Glen Kella Distillers Ltd (No 2)
| Jurisdiction | England & Wales |
| Judgment Date | 24 March 1997 |
| Date | 24 March 1997 |
| Court | Chancery Division |
Chancery Division
Before Mr Justice Rattee
Passing off - redistilled liquor not whisky - enforcement of EC regulation - locus standi
A drink made by redistillation of Scotch whisky could not be called "whiskey" since it had not been matured after redistillation and therefore did not comply with the definition of whisky in article 1(4)(b) of European Council Regulation (EEC No 1576/89) (OJ 1989 L160/1).
The purposes of the regulation included not only the protection of the consumer but also the protection of the reputation of the spirit sold as whisky. Therefore producers of whisky had sufficient locus standi to enforce the provisions of the regulation.
Mr Justice Rattee so ruled in the Chancery Division, giving judgment for the plaintiffs, the Scotch Whisky Association, United Distillers plc and Allied Domecq Spirits and Wine Ltd, and granting an injunction against the defendant, Glen Kella Distillers Ltd, restraining it from describing as "whiskey" a drink made by redistilling blended Scotch whisky.
Mr Simon Thorley, QC and Mr Mark Brealey for the plaintiffs; Miss Joanne Moss and Miss Emily Windsor for the defendant.
MR JUSTICE RATTEE said that each of the second and third plaintiffs made and sold Scotch whisky on a large scale.
The first plaintiff was a trade association whose members included the majority of the makers of the leading brands of Scotch whisky.
The defendant produced and sold, presently only on a small scale and mostly in the Isle of Man as a distinctive souvenir to visitors there, a drink which it called "White whiskey" made by redistilling in the Isle of Man matured blended Scotch whisky bought from whisky producers in Scotland.
The long established process traditionally used to manufacture whisky included sequentially the four stages of saccharification, fermentation, distillation and maturation.
The plaintiffs' complaint about the "whiskey" produced by the defendant was that it had admittedly undergone a further process of redistillation after maturation, which, according to the plaintiffs, significantly altered the organoleptic qualities, in particular colour and flavour, of the whisky.
The redistilled liquid looked like gin, vodka or any other colourless spirit. However expert evidence clearly established that that there were contained in matured whisky certain involatile maturation cogeners which did not pass over into the...
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Matthew Gloag and Son Ltd and Another v Welsh Distillers Ltd and Others
... ... Passing off - marketing Scotch whisky as Welsh - capable of founding civil action ... of Mr Justice Rattee in The Scotch Whisky Association v Glen Kella JD Vintners ([1997] TLR 186; [1997] ETMR 470) ... ...
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Diageo North America Inc. and another v Intercontinental Brands Ltd & others
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