
Whisky from a German Glen? The E.U. Won’t Drink to That - kwindla
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/07/business/scotch-whisky-glen-ecj-europe.html
======
fatjoel
See also the Canadian distillery[1] using the "Glen Breton Rare" label.
Located in Glenville, Nova Scotia ("New Scotland") I feel like they have a bit
of legitimacy to their name.

[1]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glenora_Distillers](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glenora_Distillers)

~~~
mcv
Glen Breton? That sounds like it's simultaneously from Scotland and Bretagne.
Sounds like the EU court would disapprove, but I notice it's available here.
Apparently their labelling does make it clear it's from Canada rather than
Scotland. Maybe that helps? But then the German brewer should be able to do
the same.

------
alistoriv
"The term 'glen,' a Gaelic word that means 'narrow valley,' is not
specifically included in that protection."

Well, the Scottish Gaelic word is actually gleann, and glen in Manx (a Gaelic
language) actually means clean. Glen is an English borrowing of a generally
Celtic word (compare Welsh glyn and Cornish glynn; both Brythonic languages,
not Gaelic). In fact, the only modern Celtic language where the word is
spelled glen is Breton, which is spoken in France.

------
wavefunction
The contention is not whether it can be called whisky/whiskey but whether it
can be marketed under a name containing "Glen" as that word evokes Scotland.

It seems like a cheap attempt to cash in by the Germans. If their stuff is
good, let it stand on its own merits.

~~~
leg100
Quite. They even admit to it being a "pun" on the name of the local town,
rather than merely 'named after'.

------
mcv
Wait, does this article call Belgian frites "a local variation of French
fries"? That's fighting words!

It's a local variation of Dutch patat, of course.

------
tomohawk
Good luck telling Wisconsin cheese heads they can't call cheese what they've
been calling it for decades.

~~~
nomocrypto
I don’t think Wisconsin is in the EU.

~~~
taejo
But they would like to sell their products there.

~~~
mcv
If they want to sell it in a particular market, they have to obey the rules of
that market. The EU market is a very attractive market, but with very strict
standards.

This is basically the source of most EU-US trade disputes. The US wants to
sell to the EU according to US standards, and the EU won't allow it.

------
moogly
Related; these guys got away with it (but it's not a brand, just a specific
bottling): [https://www.masterofmalt.com/whiskies/svenska-
eldvatten/sven...](https://www.masterofmalt.com/whiskies/svenska-
eldvatten/svenska-eldvatten-glenn-blended-scotch-whisky/)

This independent bottler also has a rum called "WeiRon", named after a famous
Gothenburgian actor, Weiron Holmberg.

This kind of lame pun-based humour is considered a Gothenburg stereotype in
Sweden, so you could say that these guys are pushing it to its limit.

------
detaro
Kind of misleading headline, since it suggests the ECJ already forbid the use,
where it merely said that's possible that it is misleading.

------
Aloha
I personally find the European food labeling rules to be strange.

But I'm an American, and we have our own strange rules too.

~~~
heavenlyblue
Come on, the spirit if the law in the EU is not to make labelings misguiding.

I don’t think you can have both really - someone will always be in a weaker
position. But I would rather know that if I am paying for a bottle of
champaigne - I am paying for what it is, rather than for some designer drugs.

~~~
setr
The problem though is you can easily imagine the correct conditions for
producing the food/drink can be found (or artifically constructed) in any
variety of places; the us protects a companies branding, but its very strange
(to me at least) to protect a location's branding. Particularly on a _type_ of
production style.

If it ain't produced like wisconsin cheese, then fine, you shouldnt call it
that, but if it's more or less equivalent, then who the hell cares if it was
made in wisconsin versus ohio?

~~~
SmellyGeekBoy
But Champagne is a region in France. Wine made using the same method is known
as "Methode Champenoise" (or, less commonly, "Cremant"). You can use either of
those on your "Champagne" made elsewhere, but if it's not from the Champagne
region you can't call it Champagne.

Seems reasonable enough to me.

Edit: That said, the case in OP does seem unreasonable - if they were
attempting to use the word "Scotch" then it might be a different matter but I
don't see why "Glen" should be protected.

~~~
kilo_bravo_3
Appellation protection is the lamest form of protection.

Nothing is special because it comes from a certain lat/long. Despite the
fierce objections of sommeliers, "terroir" is cargo-cult pseudoscience.

Not being able to call bubbly wine "champagne" is like not being able to call
a disc of ground beef between a sliced bun a "hamburger" because it wasn't
grilled in Hamburg, Germany or not being able to call pizza "pizza" if it
wasn't baked in Pisa, Italy.

Also out: Frankfurters, Vienna sausages, California rolls, Buffalo wings,
baked Alaska, Worcestershire sauce, Mississippi mud pies, Peking duck, and
Mayonnaise not made in Frankfurt, Vienna, California, Buffalo, Alaska,
Worcestershire, Mississippi, Beijing, and Mayenne, respectively.

And forget about selling Monterey Jack cheese not made in Monterey,
California.

~~~
Maarten88
Even in the EU, not every origin name is protected. For instance, Gouda cheese
may be produced anywhere, the Dutch were unable to get that name protected.

------
easyfrag
Since Germany/Deutschland has an ‘e’ shouldn't it be “whiskey”?

~~~
detaro
Maybe according to some language theory, but not how it's used here, the
standard German word is "Whisky". If "Whiskey" is used at all, then only as an
exception when referring to stuff where the makers refer to it as such, so
Irish or American Whiskey. (e.g. you might see a category "Whisky & Whiskey"
in online shops...)

The local distilleries all use "Whisky" as far as I know.

------
emptyfile
It's been quite a few years that articles such as this one have been coming
out, how could the americans possibly still be surprised by European food
regulations?

Glen Buchenbach does not sound German and is pretty obviously named like that
to try and associate its brand with Scottish brands, just as the Commission
said.

>The European Court of Justice said on Thursday that a German distiller’s use
of the term “glen” could mislead or confuse customers about the origins of its
beverage, potentially suggesting it was a product of Scotland.

------
DocTomoe
Only a few months until the UK drops out of the EU, and then this will be
completely legal.

~~~
growlist
I don't think you are correct in saying this. Brexit negotiations are ongoing,
and I haven't seen any indications that either side is interested in dropping
this aspect of regulation; but one thing worth bearing in mind is that the UK
has relatively fewer of these designations in comparison to the EU, and thus
you could argue has less to lose. But I very much doubt it will come to that,
and I think it would be a loss for both sides if it did.

